Competently done, but largely forgettable.
Tolkien’s second novel (The Final Witness, 2002), set in 1959 England, mixes an old-school murder mystery with courtroom melodrama.
Professor Cade was well known for his knowledge of illuminated manuscripts, not for his warm demeanor and people skills. He was estranged from Stephen, his only biological son. Someone pierced his lung with a rifle bullet during a trip several years ago, and one can assume it probably wasn’t because his personality was too winning. Entertainment at the evening meal at his manor house usually consisted of Sergeant Ritter, who served under the professor in France during the waning days of World War II and then as a housekeeper at the manor, mercilessly berating Cade’s adopted son Silas. His assistant, Sasha, secretly hated the professor’s guts due to the underhanded tactics Cade used to secure tenure, ruining her father in the process. Yet, despite being surrounded by people who despised him, when Professor Cade was shot through the head one night in his study the evidence against Stephen was so overwhelming, Inspector Trave, the man in charge of the investigation, had no choice but to lock him up almost immediately. Stephen was duly charged and tried, but as the trial dragged on, Trave began to have his doubts about Stephen’s guilt. In any event, he began to wish he’d spent some time looking into certain unpleasant events involving Professor—then Colonel—Cade that happened in a church in northern France at the end of the war, something to do with a mysterious codex and an ancient, jewel-encrusted cross. Although ostensibly set in the late 1950s, Tolkien’s book never captures the era. Apart from the plot’s dependence on events that took place at the end of WWII, there is nothing to anchor it to the time.
Competently done, but largely forgettable.Pub Date: April 13, 2010
ISBN: 978-0-312-53907-8
Page Count: 336
Publisher: Minotaur
Review Posted Online: Jan. 12, 2011
Kirkus Reviews Issue: Feb. 15, 2010
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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