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Review: The butler did not do it, but several other standard plot motifs are cleverly used to tell a very convincing tale in this twelfth in the series. Joe Sandilands of Scotland Yard is pulled into the investigation from several directions, each emotional and uncomfortable. When Joe arrives at the country estate he is surprised by its beauty and the fact that the house is surrounded by a moat complete with drawbridge.. This drawbridge is indeed drawn up every evening, making this the equivalent of a locked room mystery, except that Joe Sandilands discovers two young women have died, not just one. The primary investigation is into the "death by misadventure" of Lady Lavinia Truelove. Lady Truelove had apparently tried to tame an unruly stallion named Lucifer in the early morning hours before the rest of the members of her household had woken. The stallion is responsible for Lady Truelove's death, but it seems that someone had used the stallion as a weapon. Joe Sandilands is personally drawn into this mysterious affair through his relationship with Dorcas Joliffe. Joliffe is the young woman Sandilands hopes to marry one day, but she appears to be in love with the widower James Truelove.
Complicating matters further, the local police Superintendent Adam Hunnyton has a very personal interest in finding the murderer of his young love Phoebe, who died at the estate twenty-five years earlier. Hunnyton coincidently is James Truelove's older, illegitimate, half brother, fully acknowledged by his father, and living near the estate.
This mystery is full of twists, unexpected plot turns, conflicts involving clashes of family, loyalty, class, love, and money, all in a very well-drawn picture of country life circa 1930. This book is a nice visit to an era gone by, with a wonderful puzzle to entertain the reader while visiting.
§Megan Sweeney is an art teacher at the Tuxedo Park School, an independent school in upstate New York. She eats, sleeps, reads, knits, and occasionally makes her own artwork in the nearby town of Monroe, New York where she lives.
Reviewed by Megan Sweeney, December 2014
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Contact: Yvonne Klein (ymk@reviewingtheevidence.com)
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