Published by Allison &
Busby,
18 May 2017.
ISBN 978-0-7490-2131-3
18 May 2017.
ISBN 978-0-7490-2131-3
A tongue in cheek murder mystery set in 1960.
Bartholomew Hackle is shooting a movie in the Suffolk town of Southwold.
The film is called The Languid Labyrinth and proves to be so labyrinthine
as to be meaningless! The Languid Labyrinth is set in two times and many
characters make gnomic comments that are irrelevant.
The
point is that an assemblage of interesting characters gathers in Southwold -
Hackle, the director, cameraman, Fred accompanied by his enormous dog, Pixie
(whose name belies the reality), Felix Smythe, a flower shop owner who has been
asked to play a role in the film, Cedric Dillworthy, a professor who has just
published his book, Cappadocian Capers, Lady Fawcett, whose daughter is
possibly engaged to Bartholomew, and her friend Rosie Gilchrist. Several
of them had unfortunate memories of Southwold - a previous book deals with
this.
The
murder of a female member of the cast leads Rosie, Lady Fawcett, Felix and
Cedric into a labyrinth of their own. Why was the girl killed and where?
The local police, Chief Inspector Nathan and Detective Sergeant Jennings
struggle to find the evidence and solve the crime. The visitors see them
as inimical and prefer not to tell them about anything. The
junior policeman is an Agatha Christie fan and likes words like
'opaque' and 'phlegmatic' so his ruminations on the crime prove
interesting! Further mayhem follows to the bemusement of Nathan and
Jennings.
An
amusing read, indeed!
------
Reviewer: Jennifer S. Palmer
Suzette
Hill has several previous mysteries involving Rosie Gilchrist and some
of the characters of this book. She has also written a series featuring
the Reverend Francis Oughterard, and a follow-up series featuring his sister
Primrose Oughterard.
Suzette Hill was born in Eastbourne, Sussex, in 1941; but has lived in
many locations - the Midlands,
Nottingham, Newcastle-upon-Tyne, Berkshire - and finally in retirement to
Ledbury in Hereforshire. Although being an English graduate of two universities
and having taught ‘Eng. Lit.’ all her professional life, she never did ever
contemplate doing any creative writing herself. It was only when she was
sixty-four and well retired, that out of idle curiosity she thought she might
try her hand at a short story - just to see what writing fiction felt like. And
to her ongoing surprise the Bones series is the result! Publishers Constable & Robinson. A
Little Murder is the first in a new series featuring Rosy Gilchrist. Followed The Venetian Venture & A Southwold
Mystery The Primrose Pursuit the first book featuring Primrose Oughterard,
a sequel to the earlier ‘Bones’ series..
http://www.suzetteahill.co.uk/
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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