MURDER AT STANDING STONE MANOR

A detecting couple’s move to new digs doesn’t prevent them from being involved in yet another murder.

Mystery writer and private detective Donald Langham and his equally talented wife, Maria Dupré, have left London for the peace and quiet of Yew Tree Cottage. Accepting a dinner invitation gives them the opportunity to meet many of their new neighbors, and a diverse and interesting bunch they are. A cryptic note from professor Edwin Robertshaw soon entangles them in blackmail and murder. Maria takes a liking to Robertshaw’s niece, Nancy, who’s been living with him since the deaths of her parents and caring for his ailing wife, Xandra—but not so much to Robertshaw, whose selfishness and lack of empathy have alienated his neighbors. Robertshaw, who’s being blackmailed, asks Donald for help, but the clever sleuth is stymied when the payment is retrieved by a dog who jumps in a car and escapes. When Robertshaw is found shot at the foot of his beloved standing stone, the neighbor with whom he’s having a land dispute is arrested, although there are several other candidates, including his first wife, who’s resumed their relationship, his supercilious son, who worries about inheriting his estate, and Nancy’s boyfriend, whose background story is a lie. The couple wrestle with a thorny mystery but one that’s not beyond their skills.

Character-driven and filled with red herrings, a most enjoyable classic British read.