The haunted detective is as thorough as usual, though he’s dealing with faster-moving events than in some of his previous...
A pleasure expedition in Cornwall turns deadly in Inspector Rutledge’s 18th case.
In the Cornish town of Padstow, Victoria Grenville is entertaining her neighbor Elaine St. Ives and two visitors from London for an autumn weekend. A row on the River Camel seems like a lark until they see Victoria’s would-be suitor, Harry Saunders, in trouble in his own boat. What appears to be a well-intentioned rescue attempt, with the four women helped by young farmer Bradford Trevose, goes awry when Harry is hit with the oar, and Trevose accuses the young women of attempted murder. When the first detective on the case dies of heart failure, Grenville, the local magistrate, calls in Scotland Yard, which sends Inspector Ian Rutledge. Rutledge is shocked to learn that one of the accused houseguests is Kate Gordon, his ex-fiancee’s cousin. Much as he admires Kate for her sense and courage under pressure, Rutledge has to be impartial, especially with Harry lying in a coma and his parents clamoring for justice. The only motives Rutledge can imagine are class resentment on Harry’s side and bitterness about the victim’s easy berth during World War I from the Grenville and St. Ives families, who suffered terrible losses. Even Rutledge’s invisible familiar—the voice of a fallen wartime comrade—is mostly silent. Then Mrs. Grenville tells Rutledge about a past tragedy that could explain why Trevose blames the young women for Harry’s coma and ultimately his death. Without real evidence or the missing notes from the first detective, Rutledge’s investigation is as nebulous as the rumors of a local spirit. Then a second assault takes Rutledge in a new direction and into serious danger.
The haunted detective is as thorough as usual, though he’s dealing with faster-moving events than in some of his previous adventures (A Fine Summer’s Day, 2015, etc.). There’s no peace for the man and only a teaser of romantic feelings he scarcely admits.Pub Date: Feb. 16, 2016
ISBN: 978-0-06-238618-2
Page Count: 352
Publisher: Morrow/HarperCollins
Review Posted Online: Dec. 7, 2015
Kirkus Reviews Issue: Dec. 15, 2015
An anodyne visit with Tricia and her friends and enemies hung on a thin mystery.
Too much free time leads a New Hampshire bookseller into yet another case of murder.
Now that Tricia Miles has Pixie Poe and Mr. Everett practically running her bookstore, Haven’t Got a Clue, she finds herself at loose ends. Her wealthy sister, Angelica, who in the guise of Nigela Ricita has invested heavily in making Stoneham a bookish tourist attraction, is entering the amateur competition for the Great Booktown Bake-Off. So Tricia, who’s recently taken up baking as a hobby, decides to join her and spends a lot of time looking for the perfect cupcake recipe. A visit to another bookstore leaves Tricia witnessing a nasty argument between owner Joyce Widman and next-door neighbor Vera Olson over the trimming of tree branches that hang over Joyce’s yard—also overheard by new town police officer Cindy Pearson. After Tricia accepts Joyce’s offer of some produce from her garden, they find Vera skewered by a pitchfork, and when Police Chief Grant Baker arrives, Joyce is his obvious suspect. Ever since Tricia moved to Stoneham, the homicide rate has skyrocketed (Poisoned Pages, 2018, etc.), and her history with Baker is fraught. She’s also become suspicious about the activities at Pets-A-Plenty, the animal shelter where Vera was a dedicated volunteer. Tricia’s offered her expertise to the board, but president Toby Kingston has been less than welcoming. With nothing but baking on her calendar, Tricia has plenty of time to investigate both the murder and her vague suspicions about the shelter. Plenty of small-town friendships and rivalries emerge in her quest for the truth.
An anodyne visit with Tricia and her friends and enemies hung on a thin mystery.Pub Date: Aug. 13, 2019
ISBN: 978-1-9848-0272-9
Page Count: 320
Publisher: Berkley
Review Posted Online: May 26, 2019
Kirkus Reviews Issue: June 15, 2019
A murder is committed in a stalled transcontinental train in the Balkans, and every passenger has a watertight alibi. But Hercule Poirot finds a way.
**Note: This classic Agatha Christie mystery was originally published in England as Murder on the Orient Express, but in the United States as Murder in the Calais Coach. Kirkus reviewed the book in 1934 under the original US title, but we changed the title in our database to the now recognizable title Murder on the Orient Express. This is the only name now known for the book. The reason the US publisher, Dodd Mead, did not use the UK title in 1934 was to avoid confusion with the 1932 Graham Greene novel, Orient Express.
Pub Date: Feb. 28, 1934
ISBN: 978-0062073495
Page Count: -
Publisher: Dodd, Mead
Review Posted Online: Sept. 20, 2011
Kirkus Reviews Issue: Feb. 1, 1934
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