DEAD TO RITES

by Sylvia Angus ‧ RELEASE DATE: Oct. 30, 1978

A very pale but not unpleasant imitation of an Agatha Christie: mild comedy, archaeological background (Mayan ruins), strict Christie-formula plotting, and a busybody sleuth called Mrs. Wagstaff, a fearless widow with massive bosom and a salty side--really more like Margaret Rutherford than Christie's wispy Miss Marple. Mrs. Wagstaff's Mexico bus tour is interrupted when the tour's resident Lolita is found drowned in a pool where the Mayans used to throw sacrificial virgins. Obvious suspect: the middle-aged husband who was being teased along by the girl. But he turns up laid across a Mayan statue with his heart cut out. A mad Mayan killer? Of course not, and the real culprit is chased up and down a pyramid by the gutsy Mrs. W. Not nearly enough twists, but only Angus' cutesy references to her own previous books are downright off-putting. Otherwise--tolerably light and airy.

Pub Date: Oct. 30, 1978

ISBN: N/A

Page Count: -

Publisher: Crown

Review Posted Online: N/A

Kirkus Reviews Issue: Oct. 1, 1978

Categories: FICTION