Antonia and Hugh's sixth whodunit (The Curious Incident at Claridges, 2010, etc.) again wraps an intelligent mystery in a...
A messy beheading sends bantering sleuths off on another investigative romp.
Renowned mystery writer Antonia Darcy and her husband Hugh Payne, a retired major, barely know their glamorous neighbor, aging actress Melisande Chevret. All the more reason to accept an invitation to the birthday party that she's throwing for herself at her grand residence, Kinderhook. For Antonia, the party is a study in social awkwardness by the many inappropriate comments of surly teenager Moon, the daughter of Stella Markoff, a Bulgarian emigré. The matronly Stella is working with renowned writer Tancred Vane on a biography of Prince Cyril, the brother of the late King Boris. Other guests include Melisande's mousy sister Winifred, her fiancé James Morland and playwright and raconteur Stanley Lennox. The plot thickens when Morland throws Melisande over for Stella, then darkens considerably when Stella is beheaded in Tancred Vane's home, the Villa Byzantine. Knowing the reputation of the Paynes, Morland visits Hugh (Antonia is away in America) to ask for help, which is readily supplied. When Antonia returns, the sleuthing accelerates, punctuated with droll and often inspired exchanges between the couple. Also in the mix are Morland's athletic sister Julia Henderson and a strange elderly spinster named Miss Hope, who tells fanciful tales of royal Bulgaria and seems a magnet for trouble. A second victim hastens Antonia's path to a solution.
Antonia and Hugh's sixth whodunit (The Curious Incident at Claridges, 2010, etc.) again wraps an intelligent mystery in a warm cloak of delightfully arch dialogue.Pub Date: March 22, 2011
ISBN: 978-1-56947-914-8
Page Count: 224
Publisher: Soho Constable
Review Posted Online: April 4, 2011
Kirkus Reviews Issue: April 1, 2011
BOOK REVIEW
BOOK REVIEW
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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