I'm all a-buzz. I've now finished this Irish village mystery from the 1950s and can start on my Birth Year Challenge books. Fortunately, I can count those for my other reading challenges, so all is good. I thoroughly enjoyed this one, even though it is a bit beyond my usual Golden Age period mysteries. Sheila Pim has a breezy, yet confiding way of writing and she draws the reader right into the story from the very beginning. She manages to teach the reader a lot about bee-keeping and a little about mining and minerals and not induce slumber with the lectures. She is also adept at the suspect sleight of hand and made me trade the real culprit for another suspect in the last chapters. I was so convinced that my new choice was right and totally ignored the important clue that Pim had dangled in front of us early on. Three stars out of five.I also gathered a few new quotes for my collection--including this one; oh-so-appropriate for mystery lovers:
"Shall I talk to the inspector for you? Could we give you an alibi or anything? What are friends for, if not to stand by in a crisis?"
Oh, and I'm taking Richard's suggestion and starting with Graham Greene's Travels with My Aunt. We'll see if his predictions are true.
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