Another dive into the past to solve crimes among the Amish that explores the group's tense relationship to the modern world.
A formerly Amish police chief revisits earlier times to solve a brutal murder.
On hearing that Rachael Schwartz has been found viciously beaten to death in a Painters Mill motel, Police Chief Kate Burkholder remembers her as an adventurous child she used to babysit and a rowdy teen unsuited for Amish life. Rachael had recently written a book on the Amish that added new enemies to the ones she’d made with her wild ways, but it’s still hard to imagine who could hate her enough to batter her to death. Kate visits Rachael’s childhood friend Loretta, who still kept in touch with her and whose horse-crazy daughter reminds Kate of Rachael. Even though Loretta always seemed too shy to make a good friend for Rachael, their youthful bond still endures, and Loretta’s reluctant to talk about Rachael and their shared past. Kate enlists the Ohio Bureau of Criminal Investigation for help in processing the scene and checking out all the leads. Rachael had done well for herself but seemed to be living above her means and certainly hadn’t mellowed with age. Kate, who’s fallen from Amish grace herself, identifies with Rachael in a visceral way that makes the case special for her. Acknowledging that someone from her present life may be the killer, she still believes the answer lies in the past, and her hunch is borne out when shocking secrets come to light that roil the community and put her own life in danger.
Another dive into the past to solve crimes among the Amish that explores the group's tense relationship to the modern world.Pub Date: July 6, 2021
ISBN: 978-1-2501-4292-4
Page Count: 320
Publisher: Minotaur
Review Posted Online: July 13, 2021
Kirkus Reviews Issue: Aug. 1, 2021
Breezy, entertaining characters and a cheeky premise fall prey to too much explanation and an unlikely climax.
An aspiring mystery writer sets out to solve her great-aunt’s murder and inherit an estate.
Twenty-five-year-old Annie Adams has never met her great-aunt Frances, who prefers her small village to busy London. But when a mysterious letter arrives instructing Annie to come to Castle Knoll in Dorset to meet Frances and discuss her role as sole beneficiary of her great-aunt’s estate, Annie can’t resist. Unfortunately, she arrives to find Frances’ worst fears have come true: The elderly woman—who’s been haunted for decades by a fortuneteller’s prediction that this will happen—has been murdered, and her will dictates that she will leave her entire estate to Annie, but only if Annie solves her killing. It’s a cheeky if not exactly believable premise, especially since the local police don’t seem terribly opposed to it. Annie herself is an engaging presence, if a little too blind to the fact that she could be on the killer’s to-do list. Her roll call of suspects is pleasingly long, including but not limited to the local vicar, a one-time paramour of her great-aunt’s; a gardener who grows a lot more than flowers; shady developers and suspicious friends from Frances’ past; and Saxon, Annie’s crafty rival, who inherits the estate himself if he manages to solve the case first. Annie pieces together clues through readings of Frances’ journal, but the story eventually runs aground on the twin rocks of too much explanation and a flimsy climax. Cute dialogue gives way to lengthy exposition, and by the time Frances’ killer is revealed you may well be ready to leave Annie, Dorset, and Castle Knoll behind for the firmer ground of reality. Fans of cozy mysteries are likely to be more forgiving, but if you cast a skeptical eye toward amateur sleuths, this novel won’t change your mind about them.
Breezy, entertaining characters and a cheeky premise fall prey to too much explanation and an unlikely climax.Pub Date: March 26, 2024
ISBN: 9780593474013
Page Count: 368
Publisher: Dutton
Review Posted Online: Feb. 3, 2024
Kirkus Reviews Issue: March 1, 2024
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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