More atmospheric than mysterious, with a mournful tinge but a happy finale—a mild, pleasant Gothic romance of the old school.
Prolific Oldfield (The Birthday Present, 2010, etc.) spins yet another tale of England, this one just before World War I in the town of Henley-on-Thames.
Marianne Lefevre is a new governess. After losing both her parents, she’s found herself in the employ of a dour Victorian matriarch, Georgina Matlowe. Mrs. Matlowe’s daughter-in-law, Leonora, disappeared years ago, followed shortly by her son Neil, leaving their twin daughters in her charge. Though eight-year-old Emmie and Edie are charming, their home has a haunted feel: Mrs. Matlowe passes her days in her son’s abandoned bedroom, and the girls say they’ve seen a mysterious man by the disused boathouse. The man, Marianne learns, is not a ghost but a private investigator, hired by Leonora’s American brother to discover her whereabouts. Private Investigator Donald Watson’s inquiries lead him to Ivy Busby, the aged nanny to both Leonora and her twins. Ivy’s recollections turn the investigation back to the boathouse. Why, so soon after Leonora’s disappearance, was the rockery in front of it replaced with rose bushes? What dark secrets are buried in the boathouse, and what aid can fair Marianne offer Mr. Watson?
More atmospheric than mysterious, with a mournful tinge but a happy finale—a mild, pleasant Gothic romance of the old school.Pub Date: Oct. 1, 2010
ISBN: 978-0-7278-6914-2
Page Count: 208
Publisher: Severn House
Review Posted Online: Aug. 12, 2010
Kirkus Reviews Issue: Sept. 1, 2010
More of a western than a mystery, like most of Joe’s adventures, and all the better for the open physical clashes that...
Wyoming Game and Fish Warden Joe Pickett (Free Fire, 2007, etc.), once again at the governor’s behest, stalks the wraithlike figure who’s targeting elk hunters for death.
Frank Urman was taken down by a single rifle shot, field-dressed, beheaded and hung upside-down to bleed out. (You won’t believe where his head eventually turns up.) The poker chip found near his body confirms that he’s the third victim of the Wolverine, a killer whose animus against hunters is evidently being whipped up by anti-hunting activist Klamath Moore. The potential effects on the state’s hunting revenues are so calamitous that Governor Spencer Rulon pulls out all the stops, and Pickett is forced to work directly with Wyoming Game and Fish Director Randy Pope, the boss who fired him from his regular job in Saddlestring District. Three more victims will die in rapid succession before Joe is given a more congenial colleague: Nate Romanowski, the outlaw falconer who pledged to protect Joe’s family before he was taken into federal custody. As usual in this acclaimed series, the mystery is slight and its solution eminently guessable long before it’s confirmed by testimony from an unlikely source. But the people and scenes and enduring conflicts that lead up to that solution will stick with you for a long time.
More of a western than a mystery, like most of Joe’s adventures, and all the better for the open physical clashes that periodically release the tension between the scheming adversaries.Pub Date: May 20, 2008
ISBN: 978-0-399-15488-1
Page Count: 320
Publisher: Putnam
Review Posted Online: May 19, 2010
Kirkus Reviews Issue: March 15, 2008
This ran in the S.E.P. and resulted in more demands for the story in book form than ever recorded. Well, here it is and it is a honey. Imagine ten people, not knowing each other, not knowing why they were invited on a certain island house-party, not knowing their hosts. Then imagine them dead, one by one, until none remained alive, nor any clue to the murderer. Grand suspense, a unique trick, expertly handled.
Pub Date: Feb. 21, 1939
ISBN: 0062073478
Page Count: 272
Publisher: Dodd, Mead
Review Posted Online: Sept. 20, 2011
Kirkus Reviews Issue: Feb. 1, 1939
SEEN & HEARD
© Copyright 2025 Kirkus Media LLC. All Rights Reserved.
Follow
Popular in this Genre
We can’t wait for you to join Kirkus!
It’s free and takes less than 10 seconds!
Already have an account? Log in.
OR
Sign in with GoogleTrouble signing in? Retrieve credentials.
Welcome Back!
OR
Sign in with GoogleTrouble signing in? Retrieve credentials.
