‘Lessons in Exposing a Deadly Alias’ by Charlie Cochrane

Independently published,
4 December 2023.
ISBN: 978-1-62649981-2 (PB)

This story is set in the autumn of 1912, at a time when the lives of the two Cambridge Fellows, Orlando Coppersmith and Jonty Stewart, are at their happiest. They are rejoicing in their love for each other and in living together in Forsythia Cottage, and they enjoy their new fame as amateur detectives with the exciting investigations this brings their way. Their only on-going worry is that their relationship may become public knowledge, which would inevitably result in disgrace, prosecution and imprisonment and they have to be cautious that only those they can trust are aware of the truth.

One of Jonty and Orlando’s closest friends at St. Bride’s College is Dr Panesar, a brilliant but unconventional fellow academic, whose experiments have sometimes threatened to blow up the college. The Fellows are surprised when Panesar sends them a surreptitious note asking to consult them. Before they hear Panesar’s story, Jonty and Orlando expect it to involve some aspect of national security because they are two of a select number of people who know that their colleague has a secret life working for the government. However, when he does speak to them, he outlines a personal problem which has caused him deep distress and embarrassment. He explains that a woman is threatening to sue him for breach of promise. The most bizarre part of this threat is that when Panesar, an accomplished pilot, encountered this person, she claims she was a woman masquerading as a man in order to learn to fly. She claims that Panesar had discovered the truth about her identity and made his interest in her clear. Panesar wants any investigation into the matter to be discreet because he has a chivalrous desire not to damage the woman’s reputation, especially as he believes she must be mentally unbalanced.

The woman also makes the even more horrifying claim that Panesar had been responsible for an aeroplane crash that resulted in the death of a young novice pilot. This death strikes home to the academic body of St. Brides because the young man had been one of their students. Eric Morrison had died on his first solo flight and had crashed in front of his parents and sister. Jonty and Orlando have absolute faith in Panesar’s integrity and are convinced that he would never have knowingly betrayed a woman’s affections. They are even more certain that he would not have deliberately caused a young man’s death and they agree to investigate. To assist them they enlist the help of Jonty’s parents, Mr and Mrs Stewart, who have a remarkably wide variety of contacts in all walks of life, and his sister, Lavinia, and her husband, Ralph.

The sleuths embark on one of their most complex cases, where there are numerous differing accounts about the character of the dead man and the identity of the woman who made the accusations, plus a multitude of misleading clues, double identities and witnesses that are keeping secrets even though they might be expected to co-operate. In an attempt to discover the truth, Lavinia even explores the possibility of taking flying lessons. As they draw nearer the truth the investigators discover a dark deception, which leads them to question how far a person will go to help those they love and whether they are willing to sacrifice innocent bystanders in this cause.

Lessons in Exposing a Deadly Alias is the latest novel in the long-running series featuring the Cambridge Fellows. It is a lively story set at a time before the ravages of the First World War. It describes a community of warm and engaging characters, headed by Jonty and Orlando. It is an enjoyable read which I recommend.
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Reviewer: Carol Westron

Charlie Cochrane couldn't be trusted to do any of her jobs of choice—like managing a rugby team— so she writes. Her favourite genre is gay fiction, predominantly historical romances/mysteries.  A member of the Romantic Novelists’ Association, and International Thriller Writers Inc, Charlie's Cambridge Fellows Series, set in Edwardian England, was instrumental in her being named Author of the Year 2009 by the review site Speak Its Name.

http://www.charliecochrane.co.uk

Carol Westron is a successful author and a Creative Writing teacher.  Her crime novels are set both in contemporary and Victorian times.  Her first book The Terminal Velocity of Cats was published in 2013. Since then, she has since written 6 further mysteries. Carol recently gave an interview to Mystery People. To read the interview click on the link below. 

https://promotingcrime.blogspot.co.uk/2017/11/carol-westron.html www.carolwestron.com
http://carolwestron.blogspot.co.uk/

To read a review of Carol latest book click on the title
Death and the Dancing Snowman