Fairly nonsensical but par for the course for DePoy, who writes characters from child protective workers (Cold Florida,...
Pressed into investigation in service of the queen, playwright Christopher Marlowe must learn the truth about a plot to destroy the nation.
Marlowe may have found the best distraction ever from poor reviews of his disastrous new opening: a mission from Queen Elizabeth. Fearing for the life of her Dutch ally William the Silent and worried about what potential threats against him may mean for her, she seeks England’s best investigator in Marlowe. She sends her request via Dr. Rodrigo Lopez, that “Portuguese Jew [and] remorseless assassin” who also happens to be Marlowe’s childhood tutor. Without thinking to question his monarch, the patriotic Marlowe goes on his mission, paired with Leonora Beak, a capable young woman who may be his match in combat and wit. The two verbally tussle throughout their mission, arguing about everything from the best way to interact with Travelers to who gets to ride at the front of the horse. Finally, in Delft, Leonora and Marlowe wonder whether they’re too late to save William the Silent, yet both seem aware their adventure is only beginning. What greater scheme is the plot a part of? On returning to London, Marlowe tries to use his cunning and his connections to figure out who the mastermind is. He’s disquieted by the feeling that even past allies may take sides against him when it comes to choosing between allegiance to Elizabeth or to Mary. A more minor mystery that catches his attention, this one more personal, threatens to derail his apparently preordained path to saving the country and the true queen.
Fairly nonsensical but par for the course for DePoy, who writes characters from child protective workers (Cold Florida, 2016) to Christopher Marlowe as fast-talking action heroes.Pub Date: Feb. 21, 2017
ISBN: 978-1-250-05843-0
Page Count: 320
Publisher: Minotaur
Review Posted Online: Dec. 6, 2016
Kirkus Reviews Issue: Dec. 15, 2016
An anodyne visit with Tricia and her friends and enemies hung on a thin mystery.
Too much free time leads a New Hampshire bookseller into yet another case of murder.
Now that Tricia Miles has Pixie Poe and Mr. Everett practically running her bookstore, Haven’t Got a Clue, she finds herself at loose ends. Her wealthy sister, Angelica, who in the guise of Nigela Ricita has invested heavily in making Stoneham a bookish tourist attraction, is entering the amateur competition for the Great Booktown Bake-Off. So Tricia, who’s recently taken up baking as a hobby, decides to join her and spends a lot of time looking for the perfect cupcake recipe. A visit to another bookstore leaves Tricia witnessing a nasty argument between owner Joyce Widman and next-door neighbor Vera Olson over the trimming of tree branches that hang over Joyce’s yard—also overheard by new town police officer Cindy Pearson. After Tricia accepts Joyce’s offer of some produce from her garden, they find Vera skewered by a pitchfork, and when Police Chief Grant Baker arrives, Joyce is his obvious suspect. Ever since Tricia moved to Stoneham, the homicide rate has skyrocketed (Poisoned Pages, 2018, etc.), and her history with Baker is fraught. She’s also become suspicious about the activities at Pets-A-Plenty, the animal shelter where Vera was a dedicated volunteer. Tricia’s offered her expertise to the board, but president Toby Kingston has been less than welcoming. With nothing but baking on her calendar, Tricia has plenty of time to investigate both the murder and her vague suspicions about the shelter. Plenty of small-town friendships and rivalries emerge in her quest for the truth.
An anodyne visit with Tricia and her friends and enemies hung on a thin mystery.Pub Date: Aug. 13, 2019
ISBN: 978-1-9848-0272-9
Page Count: 320
Publisher: Berkley
Review Posted Online: May 26, 2019
Kirkus Reviews Issue: June 15, 2019
A murder is committed in a stalled transcontinental train in the Balkans, and every passenger has a watertight alibi. But Hercule Poirot finds a way.
**Note: This classic Agatha Christie mystery was originally published in England as Murder on the Orient Express, but in the United States as Murder in the Calais Coach. Kirkus reviewed the book in 1934 under the original US title, but we changed the title in our database to the now recognizable title Murder on the Orient Express. This is the only name now known for the book. The reason the US publisher, Dodd Mead, did not use the UK title in 1934 was to avoid confusion with the 1932 Graham Greene novel, Orient Express.
Pub Date: Feb. 28, 1934
ISBN: 978-0062073495
Page Count: -
Publisher: Dodd, Mead
Review Posted Online: Sept. 20, 2011
Kirkus Reviews Issue: Feb. 1, 1934
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