A complicated contemporary puzzler pays homage to tradition.
Classic elements of a cozy British murder mystery reappear in an updated and timely royal romp.
McGeorge jumps headfirst into an alternate-history mystery hinging on a different line of succession within the Windsor dynasty in which Edward VIII had not abdicated the throne for Wallis Simpson. Elderly King Eric, the fictional heir to that Edwardian line, is preparing for what should be a cozy Christmas at Balmoral Castle and is also preparing to share his plans for his own retirement and, apparently, the designation of a successor under new rules of succession. Gathered around King Eric for the holiday are his tipsy wife, semidisgraced brother, middle-aged twin daughters and one son-in-law (a commoner!), adolescent grandsons, a security officer, and his devoted longtime Bajan chef and confidant, Jonathan Alleyne. As luck would have it, a severe blizzard strikes Balmoral and the small group is stranded and isolated in what turns out to be a very large “locked room” when the king drops dead after a traditional British Christmas dinner, just as he is about to reveal his plans for the future. Oh, and everyone’s cellphones are locked away to minimize the risk of disclosing the family’s whereabouts! When it appears the sovereign was poisoned by someone within the group, Jon reluctantly takes charge of an ad hoc investigation until help can be summoned after the blizzard. That endeavor might actually be easier than managing the band of rival royals, most of whom hold secrets from and grudges toward each other. Revered classic mystery tropes, including power failure and communication breakdowns with the outside world, come into play alongside more modern concerns such as establishing who is leaking information to the writers of The Monarch (think The Crown) television series the family is quasi-obsessed with.
A complicated contemporary puzzler pays homage to tradition.Pub Date: Oct. 25, 2022
ISBN: 978-0-593-54413-6
Page Count: 384
Publisher: Putnam
Review Posted Online: Aug. 30, 2022
Kirkus Reviews Issue: Sept. 15, 2022
BOOK REVIEW
A fresh and clever whodunit with an engaging twist.
A 16-year-old savant uses his Groundhog Day gift to solve his grandfather’s murder.
Nishizawa’s compulsively readable puzzle opens with the discovery of the victim, patriarch Reijiro Fuchigami, sprawled on a futon in the attic of his elegant mansion, where his family has gathered for a consequential announcement about his estate. The weapon seems to be a copper vase lying nearby. Given this setup, the novel might have proceeded as a traditional whodunit but for two delightful features. The first is the ebullient narration of Fuchigami’s youngest grandson, Hisataro, thrust into the role of an investigator with more dedication than finesse. The second is Nishizawa’s clever premise: The 16-year-old Hisataro has lived ever since birth with a condition that occasionally has him falling into a time loop that he calls "the Trap," replaying the same 24 hours of his life exactly nine times before moving on. And, of course, the murder takes place on the first day of one of these loops. Can he solve the murder before the cycle is played out? His initial strategies—never leaving his grandfather’s side, focusing on specific suspects, hiding in order to observe them all—fall frustratingly short. Hisataro’s comical anxiety rises with every failed attempt to identify the culprit. It’s only when he steps back and examines all the evidence that he discovers the solution. First published in 1995, this is the first of Nishizawa’s novels to be translated into English. As for Hisataro, he ultimately concludes that his condition is not a burden but a gift: “Time’s spiral never ends.”
A fresh and clever whodunit with an engaging twist.Pub Date: July 29, 2025
ISBN: 9781805335436
Page Count: 288
Publisher: Pushkin Vertigo
Review Posted Online: July 4, 2025
Kirkus Reviews Issue: Aug. 1, 2025
A top-class cozy infused with dry wit and charming characters who draw you in and leave you wanting more, please.
Four residents of Coopers Chase, a British retirement village, compete with the police to solve a murder in this debut novel.
The Thursday Murder Club started out with a group of septuagenarians working on old murder cases culled from the files of club founder Elizabeth Best’s friend Penny Gray, a former police officer who's now comatose in the village's nursing home. Elizabeth used to have an unspecified job, possibly as a spy, that has left her with a large network of helpful sources. Joyce Meadowcroft is a former nurse who chronicles their deeds. Psychiatrist Ibrahim Arif and well-known political firebrand Ron Ritchie complete the group. They charm Police Constable Donna De Freitas, who, visiting to give a talk on safety at Coopers Chase, finds the residents sharp as tacks. Built with drug money on the grounds of a convent, Coopers Chase is a high-end development conceived by loathsome Ian Ventham and maintained by dangerous crook Tony Curran, who’s about to be fired and replaced with wary but willing Bogdan Jankowski. Ventham has big plans for the future—as soon as he’s removed the nuns' bodies from the cemetery. When Curran is murdered, DCI Chris Hudson gets the case, but Elizabeth uses her influence to get the ambitious De Freitas included, giving the Thursday Club a police source. What follows is a fascinating primer in detection as British TV personality Osman allows the members to use their diverse skills to solve a series of interconnected crimes.
A top-class cozy infused with dry wit and charming characters who draw you in and leave you wanting more, please.Pub Date: Sept. 22, 2020
ISBN: 978-1-98-488096-3
Page Count: 368
Publisher: Pamela Dorman/Viking
Review Posted Online: June 30, 2020
Kirkus Reviews Issue: July 15, 2020
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