The culprit is forgettable; the murder method, ingenious but wildly implausible; and the parade of real-life cameos, from...
Screenwriter Scott’s debut novel welcomes an Oxford don home from World War II with the spectacle of a colleague disliked by him and everyone else dead beneath his best friend’s lodgings.
You’d think you couldn’t get much further from the ravages of war than Barnard College at Oxford, where Duncan Forrester has returned in 1946 as junior research fellow in archaeology. But some things haven’t changed, like Forrester’s infatuation with Margaret Clark, the beautiful librarian married to his old friend Gordon. Enmities can run equally deep even when they’re not fueled by national divisions, as Forrester realizes when Gordon tells him that Margaret’s taken up with shallow, ambitious David Lyall, who holds the Priestley Latin Fellowship. And despite the smaller scale, the college proves home to its own violent outburst when David is found stabbed to death beneath Gordon’s window, through which he seems to have been ejected with force. DI Alec Barber, of the Oxford Constabulary, wastes no time arresting Gordon, and Forrester, his logical counterarguments having no more effect than his emotional testimonials on behalf of his friend, realizes that the only way he can save Gordon is to prove who really did kill his rival. The trail of clues leads surprisingly from Barnard to Germany and Norway, where Forrester seeks the truth of David’s wartime service as a commando who was betrayed to the Nazis and more information about his claims to have discovered a unique Old Norse manuscript. These trips provide more scenery and romance than enlightenment; it’s not till Forrester is back in Oxford that a casual observation directs him to the truth.
The culprit is forgettable; the murder method, ingenious but wildly implausible; and the parade of real-life cameos, from J.R.R. Tolkien to Ian Fleming, increasingly tiresome. Even so, Forrester is excellent company, and fans will surely want to read his further adventures.Pub Date: April 19, 2016
ISBN: 978-1-78329-780-1
Page Count: 336
Publisher: Titan Books
Review Posted Online: Jan. 30, 2016
Kirkus Reviews Issue: Feb. 15, 2016
The parts with Nero Wolfe, the only character Goldsborough brings to life, are almost worth waiting for.
In Archie Goodwin's 15th adventure since the death of his creator, Rex Stout, his gossipy Aunt Edna Wainwright lures him from 34th Street to his carefully unnamed hometown in Ohio to investigate the death of a well-hated bank president.
Tom Blankenship, the local police chief, thinks there’s no case since Logan Mulgrew shot himself. But Archie’s mother, Marjorie Goodwin, and Aunt Edna know lots of people with reason to have killed him. Mulgrew drove rival banker Charles Purcell out of business, forcing Purcell to get work as an auto mechanic, and foreclosed on dairy farmer Harold Mapes’ spread. Lester Newman is convinced that Mulgrew murdered his ailing wife, Lester’s sister, so that he could romance her nurse, Carrie Yeager. And Donna Newman, Lester’s granddaughter, might have had an eye on her great-uncle’s substantial estate. Nor is Archie limited to mulling over his relatives’ gossip, for Trumpet reporter Verna Kay Padgett, whose apartment window was shot out the night her column raised questions about the alleged suicide, is perfectly willing to publish a floridly actionable summary of the leading suspects that delights her editor, shocks Archie, and infuriates everyone else. The one person missing is Archie’s boss, Nero Wolfe (Death of an Art Collector, 2019, etc.), and fans will breathe a sigh of relief when he appears at Marjorie’s door, debriefs Archie, notices a telltale clue, prepares dinner for everyone, sleeps on his discovery, and arranges a meeting of all parties in Marjorie’s living room in which he names the killer.
The parts with Nero Wolfe, the only character Goldsborough brings to life, are almost worth waiting for.Pub Date: May 19, 2020
ISBN: 978-1-5040-5988-6
Page Count: 248
Publisher: Mysterious Press
Review Posted Online: March 1, 2020
Kirkus Reviews Issue: March 15, 2020
You can’t help but chuckle over all the disasters, but in the end the heroine catches her prey.
An Arizona accountant with a penchant for solving murders lands a fishy case.
Sophie "Phee" Kimball might lead a dull life if it weren’t for her mother, Harriet Plunkett, and Harriet’s neurotic Chiweenie, Streetman. As it is, Harriet lives near her daughter in Sun City West and has a wide circle of zany friends who’ve helped Phee solve several mysteries (Molded 4 Murder, 2019, etc.) while she’s been working for Williams Investigations along with her boyfriend, Marshall, a former police officer. While Phee’s visiting Harriet one day, Streetman dashes over to the neighbors’ barbecue grill and unearths a dead body under a tarp. As usual, the overwhelmed local police ask Williams Investigations to help—er, consult. Harriet’s main concern is getting costumes made for the reluctant Streetman, whom she’s entered in a series of contests starting with Halloween and progressing through Thanksgiving, Christmas/Hannukah, and St. Patrick’s Day. One of her friends is an accomplished seamstress who goes all out making gorgeous costumes that will beat an obnoxious lady who looks down on mutts. The dead man is identified as Cameron Tully, a seafood distributor, who was poisoned by the locally ubiquitous sago pine. At the first dog contest, Elaine Meschow has to be rushed to the hospital after she gets a dose of the same thing. The owner of a gourmet dog food company, Elaine is lucky enough to recover. After Streetman takes second place, Harriet’s team redoubles its efforts for the next contest while Phee and Marshall, who are moving into a new place together, continue to hunt for clues. A restaurant holdup and a scheme to use empty houses for hookups for high school kids add to the confusion.
You can’t help but chuckle over all the disasters, but in the end the heroine catches her prey.Pub Date: Feb. 25, 2020
ISBN: 978-1-4967-2455-7
Page Count: 320
Publisher: Kensington
Review Posted Online: Nov. 24, 2019
Kirkus Reviews Issue: Dec. 15, 2019
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