REQUIEM FOR A DOVE

by Marjorie Eccles ‧ RELEASE DATE: Nov. 1, 1990

Third in the small English village series featuring ruminative Detective Chief Inspector Gil Mayo (Death of a Good Woman, Cast a Cold Eye), who now must solve the murder of somewhat reclusive, somewhat eccentric getting-up-in-years Marion Dove, found strangled just below the locks. Marion, part of the largish family associated with the Dove Glass Factory, had recently mentioned to some relatives that she was changing her will. Cui bono? Mayo's investigation unsettles Marion's sister and brother-in-law, who seem to be sheltering a secret; rather agitates her solicitor and uncovers a Canadian grandson--the child of Marion's illegitimate daughter (set out for adoption)--now ensconced nearby. Was Marion determined her grandson would join the family firm, no matter what the others wished? Was the boy a conniver, a panderer, or worse? Who was the boy's grandfather, and would someone have killed to keep this a secret? Gently but persistently niggling away, Mayo sorts through the bluffs and the lies for a denouement that is both pathetic and heartbreaking. The best-realized of the three Mayo novels, with deeper emotional twinges. Mayo himself is becoming more interesting as he becomes more introspective. There is still, however, a tendency toward the soap-opera mawkish.

Pub Date: Nov. 1, 1990

ISBN: N/A

Page Count: -

Publisher: Doubleday

Review Posted Online: N/A

Kirkus Reviews Issue: Oct. 15, 1990

Categories: FICTION