Fans of Lord Peter Wimsey should be warned that it’s a long way from McDuffie’s Balliol to Wimsey’s. But Muirteach is a...
A trip to medieval Oxford is no pleasure for a Scottish sleuth.
Muirteach MacPhee (The Faerie Hills, 2011, etc.) can only obey when the Lord of the Isles orders him and his wife, Mariota, to serve as chaperones for his rowdy son Donald, who is to enroll in Balliol College in 1374. Like many more recent students, Donald, 13, is more interested in drinking and carousing with his fellows than in his studies. But Mariota is thrilled by the opportunity to advance her prowess as a healer by attending medical lectures. Because women are not invited to these events, she disguises herself as a boy against Muirteach’s wishes. Meanwhile, Muirteach has been roped into helping Undersheriff Grymbaud investigate the disappearance of a lovely tavern maid and the brutal murder of one of the Oxford masters. Although a college servant is arrested for the murder, Muirteach is not convinced of his guilt, and the arrest causes ill-feeling between town and gown that leads to riots. After a second master is killed, Muirteach wonders whether a number of cryptic parchments Donald bought from the local bookseller might have something to do with the murders. When Mariota vanishes, a desperate Muirteach redoubles his efforts to find the killer.
Fans of Lord Peter Wimsey should be warned that it’s a long way from McDuffie’s Balliol to Wimsey’s. But Muirteach is a worthy forerunner of Dorothy L. Sayers’ sleuth, and the historical aspects add interest to a competent mystery.Pub Date: Sept. 18, 2013
ISBN: 978-1-4328-2720-5
Page Count: 264
Publisher: Five Star
Review Posted Online: Oct. 8, 2017
Kirkus Reviews Issue: Aug. 1, 2013
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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