Wycliffe & the Guild of Nine

 Wycliffe & the Guild of Nine (2000) by W. J. Burley

Francine Lemarque is the newest member of the Guild of Nine, an artist's colony housed in the disused mining buildings on moor west of St. Ives. The small community is owned by Archer and his wife Lina who have differing ideas about how things work. Archer put the guild together based on astrology and numerology. The number nine is extremely important to him and so it's important to have nine members at all times (at the moment, they're one short). Lina wants to get the Guild turning a better profit and is hoping to expand their artistic offerings.

This is where Francine comes in. Francine is the recent recipient of a large legacy and is thinking seriously of investing in the Guild. But rather than just hand over the cash, she's been asking a lot of questions. Some of them very awkward. And before she can get answers and make a decision, she is found dead--the victim of a blocked vent on a heater. 

When Chief Superintendent Wycliffe learns the victim's identity, he's surprised. He knew Francine from an early case. She had shot and killed her natural father--a man who wasn't even close to being beloved by much of anyone. He'd always wondered what became of her upon her release. Now he wonders if the earlier case has any bearing on her death--or is it truly connected to her questions about the Guild. He and his team find both connections to the past and some present-day secrets that members of the Guild would just as soon not have had known. More deaths follow and Wycliffe finally finds the thread that leads him to the killer.

An enjoyable entry (and the last!) in the Wycliffe series. It had been a while since I read any of these mysteries and it was good to visit with Wycliffe again. He's a good solid copper who relies on his wits to solve the mysteries--well, his wits and his excellent team. There are several members who are specialists (in following the money, making connections between apparently disconnected items, putting witnesses at their ease, etc.) and they all work together to get to the solution. This mystery has several well-placed red herrings which may or may not distract the reader. I have to say that I spotted the killer, but only because I managed to latch onto one of the clues and wouldn't let anything put me off. ★★★

First line: Archer's Guild of Nine was a craft colony on the site of a disused mine on the seaward slope of the moor, west of St. Ives.

Last line: "Odd, your attitude to that girl, considering that in her short life she caused so many people so much grief."
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Deaths = 8 (one shot; one gassed; three natural; two strangled; one hit by car)