A Harriet Quigley Mystery Book II
Nicola Slade
Robert Hale
release 31 January 2011/ ISBN 9780709091820
Mystery / Contemporary / England
Amazon
US
|| UK
Reviewed
by Rachel A Hyde
Recently retired headmistress Harriet Quigley needs a place to
recuperate following an operation and chooses Firstone Grange. This
is a home for short stay older people who need a place for some
rest and relaxation, perhaps while families or caretakers get a
break. It all seems very pleasant and ordinary, but one guest is
determined to upset things. Elderly wheelchair-bound Frenchwoman
Christiane Marchant looks like everybody’s idea of a sweet
old lady, but is anything but. Things are surely going to come to
a head, and they do in a surprising way. Cue Harriet and her clergymen
cousin Sam Hathaway to investigate.
This author has previously penned two excellent Victorian whodunits
Murder
Most Welcome and Death
is the Cure (also reviewed on this site), and although
I hope she will be returning to this series, here is something different.
Modern social satire rubs shoulders with a traditional mystery and
delivers some surprises, somewhat in the way of Caroline
Graham or Lis
Howell. Characters can appear at times to be stock, but this
is all part of the satire and makes for an enjoyable tale. Parts
of the dénouement are powerful enough to shock, and it is
a testament to the author’s skill that this book manages to
run the gamut from being amusing to moments of horror. If this is
the first in a new series I will be wanting to read more.
Reviewer's
Note: Charlotte
Richmond Series
|