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Friday, 19 June 2015

'Murder at the Brightwell' by Ashley Weaver



Published by Allison & Busby,
21 May 2015.  
ISBN 978-0-7490-1741-5 (PB)


An exciting mystery is in the style familiar from the 1930s novels of the mistresses of the genre - Agatha Christie, Margery Allingham and Dorothy Sayers.  The period detail is absolutely convincing and very appealing.  Indeed, one could describe it as stylised so beautifully is it done.  The clothes, the cigarette smoking, the swimming from the hotel's beach and the evening dinners followed by dancing, all smack of that particular time - the 1930s.  The enjoyment of British seaside hotels is interesting in our era where we take package holidays to exotic climes. 

Here we have Amory Ames visiting the hotel with a group of people with whom she has little in common.  She has agreed to help her erstwhile fiancé, Gil to persuade his sister that her choice of future husband is unwise.  Amory is surprised that her charming and good looking but unreliable husband has followed to the seaside.  A murder of one of the group obviously causes some horror and Amory finds herself concerned to help to solve the crime, rather to the consternation of the police detective!

This is a satisfying read with an appealing heroine and I am pleased to see that other books in the series are being mentioned.
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Reviewer: Jennifer S. Palmer
This is Ashley Weaver's first crime novel.

Ashley Weaver is the Technical Services Coordinator for the Allen Parish Libraries in Louisiana. Weaver has worked in libraries since she was 14; she was a page and then a clerk before obtaining her MLIS from Louisiana State University. She lives in Oakdale, Louisiana.





Jennifer Palmer Throughout my reading life crime fiction has been a constant interest; I really enjoyed my 15 years as an expatriate in the Far East, the Netherlands & the USA but occasionally the solace of closing my door to the outside world and sitting reading was highly therapeutic. I now lecture to adults on historical topics including Famous Historical Mysteries.



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