| Recently
retired headmistress, Harriet Quigley is back for a
second adventure, following her first one Murder
Fortissimo (also reviewed on this site). Living
in rural Hampshire near her family suits her well, and
her recently widowed cousin Sam is coming to live next
door to her. But trouble is afoot, as distant
relation, Edith, is now home from the States to run
the family farm only to find her aged grandfather languishing
with a broken collarbone. He says a car tried
to run him down, but is he going senile? There
are some interesting people around the village and it
looks as if something sinister might be going on…
There
is plenty here to appeal to fans of the Midsomer
Murders; colorful villagers, an ancient legend,
a ghost, Winchester cathedral, assorted clergymen and
a farmhouse akin to a small stately home. It is
a gentler tale than the first one without the social
satire or war crimes and it lacks momentum at times. In
places the sleuthing takes a back seat and the story
focuses heavily instead on the relationships between
the various characters, without actually becoming a
romance. But once it gets into its stride
and we know who is who it becomes rather engaging, something
of a Famous Five adventure for grownups
with murders. Guessing whodunit is not hard but
there is always something going on; it will be interesting
to see how the series continues.
|
