DEATH OF A MOFFY

by Kenneth O'Hara ‧ RELEASE DATE: Dec. 1, 1987

Hard-drinking, little-liked Robert Helmer owns, among other business interests, Blybury, an English country hotel. It's here that he and competent secretary Caroline Skene are staying when Helmer gets a call from the kidnappers of his spoiled daughter Jennifer. Obeying orders not to call the cops, Caroline brings in London acquaintance Alex Kennic, a private investigator, mostly for moral support, since Helmer has practically collapsed. Meanwhile, the reader knows that Jennifer's ""kidnapping"" is, to her, just another dirty weekend--this time with Roger Thursby, one of four rather fey young people who blame Helmet for the suicide two years before of his son Muffy, much-loved leader of their group. Thursby is to keep Jennifer occupied in a borrowed weekend cottage while the rest collect ransom from Dad before Jennifer returns, all unknowing, to the hotel. But their naive plans quickly turn to catastrophe when Caroline's efforts to help go way beyond duty's call. Chirpily competent in the writing, with a plot that relies heavily on coincidence and contrivance, the best of this story deals with the nuts and bolts of running a small hotel--an enterprise described with assurance and wit. Featherweight but entertaining.

Pub Date: Dec. 1, 1987

ISBN: N/A

Page Count: -

Publisher: Doubleday

Review Posted Online: N/A

Kirkus Reviews Issue: Nov. 15, 1987

Categories: FICTION