Still waters run deep. That’s the theme of this classic English country-house mystery. The village of Hazel Green is as peaceful on the surface as a woodland pond. But over the years, a series of disappearances create disturbing ripples: A lonely housemaid vanishes from her parents’ cottage. A priceless ring vanishes from an heiress’ party. …
Two victims. Two detectives. One body. That’s the basic premise of the book, and I’ll be walking on very thin ice to tell you more. The story is so tightly constructed that nearly everything in it connects to a clue, and once you figure out the plot twist, you’ll never be able to forget …
As you may recall, Mottley’s longstanding friendship with Chief Inspector Forthright reached a breaking point in Mr Mottley Gets His Man: “I’ll grant you see things, Mottley – things we might never pick up on. I let you muck in on this case because I thought you might be useful. Mucking, indeed! Look what you’ve done, …
#SneakPeek: Mr Mottley & the Plushbottom Conundrum – Old Friends Read More »
Merry Christmas! I hope everyone had a warm, safe, and fun holiday celebration. And I hope those who don’t celebrate Christmas were more amused than annoyed by those of us who do. I wasn’t sure whether I’d get to read and review a holiday mystery this month, because my hands were always full with work, …
Contemporary cozy author Rachael Rawlings recently asked me to contribute to a profile post, along with several other women writers. The theme was starting a fiction career after age forty. I shared with her my own career change and in particular, the woman who made me consider it possible: New Zealand’s Queen of Crime, Ngaio …
Mottley & Baker’s second adventure, Mister Mottley and the Dying Fall is set in October of 1932, six months after Book 1. My stories always have a lot of humor in them, but since his one was set just before Halloween, I wanted to bring in an element of spookiness, danger, a moody atmosphere and …
…or rather, Tey for four. I’ve been on an author binge this summer, and I don’t regret a single minute of it. After reading Nicola Upson’s marvellous mindbender An Expert in Murder, I went out collecting original Josephine Teys, to refresh my memory on her effortless, masterful style. My first find was her 1950 novel, To Love and …
Death of a Ghost by Margery Allingham My rating: 5 of 5 stars This golden-age classic is the literary equivalent of Babe Ruth calling his shot in the 1932 World Series. She points out her target, squares up to the plate, and hits a soaring home run. With only a handful of mysteries under my …
The Golden Age writers toyed with various sets of rules of “fair play.” The oath of the famous “Detection Club,” which boasted Christie and Sayers in its membership, was: Do you promise that your detectives shall well and truly detect the crimes presented to them using those wits which it may please you to bestow …