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Amory Ames broke her engagement to Gil Trent in order to marry Milo Ames, so she was quite surprised when Gil turned up on her doorstep asking her for a favor. His sister is infatuated with a bit of a playboy scoundrel and since Amory's husband is widely known to be exactly the same sort of chap, Gil hopes Amory will be able to convince his sister, Emmeline to break off her relationship before it's too late. Because her husband Milo has only recently returned home from a jaunt to Monte Carlo with quite the trail of rumors of his exploits following him, Amory quickly agrees. Unfortunately, shortly after their arrival at the seaside resort, the Brightwell, Rupert Howe, Emmeline's fiancé is found murdered and Gil is the prime suspect. Since the local constable seems to want to look no further than Gil, Amory quickly begins to investigate hoping uncover the true murderer in order to save Gil.
MURDER AT THE BRIGHTWELL is a nice introduction to Amory Ames. She is smart, funny and trying to make the best of her marriage. The author has made Amory's former fiancé Gil and her husband Milo polar opposites of each other. Even though Gil is the "good guy" it's hard to completely hate the well known playboy husband Milo. The other characters were developed just enough for their roles in the book. While they were adequate for the plot, none really stood out.
The book definitely has the feel of the Golden Age mysteries of Christie and Sayers, but leans a bit more heavily on romance. While this isn't a country house mystery where everyone is snowed in together, it is along the same lines. This group of people is brought together for this holiday giving the police a clear set of suspects to choose from.
The author did an excellent job with descriptions throughout the book, giving readers a clear visual image of the characters and setting. It did seem however that she went a bit overboard on describing what Amory wore especially in the first few chapters.
MURDER AT THE BRIGHTWELL was a pleasant book to read. The main characters were interesting enough to support a series and the plot, though not overly complex, had enough twists in it to keep the reader engaged. I look forward to the return of Amory Ames.
§ Caryn St.Clair resides in University City, Missouri and is a former elementary school media specialist, President of the Parks Commission and a docent at the St.Louis Zoo.
Reviewed by Caryn St Clair, October 2014
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Contact: Yvonne Klein (ymk@reviewingtheevidence.com)
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