Murder on the Moor

 Murder on the Moor (2011) by C. S. Challinor

Barrister Rex Graves has been talked into a house party at the renovated hunting lodge he plans to share with his current lady, Helen d'Arcy. He just wanted a nice quiet weekend, but she thinks it would be great to have a housewarming. They invite Rex's friend Alistair Frazer, who has just come off a disappointing trial loss--he thought for sure they had nailed the villain behind a series of child murders, but the man was found not guilty; Cuthbert and Estelle Farquharson, a local laird and lady who had donated generously to a charity run by Rex's mum; the Allerdice family--Hamish, Shona, Donnie, and Flora, who run the local hotel; and a tag-along guest of the Allerdices, Rob Roy, a freelance journalist in search of Nessie's cousin who is rumored to live in the hotel's loch. Rex isn't too thrilled with his guests. Cuthbert is a trigger-happy huntsman who isn't pleased when Rex tells him he doesn't allow hunting on his property. The men make free with his liquor cabinet without so much as a by-your-leave, Rob Roy wants to start rumors about another Nessie cousin in Rex's loch (giving Rex disturbing visions of creature-hunting tourists tramping all around the lake), and Shona seems awfully furtive about something. It's shaping up to be a swell weekend...and then his slightly off-balance ex-girlfriend, Moira Wilcox, crashes the party. It's raining cats and dogs and the road is washing out, so he can't exactly send her packing. It's really going to be a swell weekend.

So, yeah. After a long evening spent with people he wished were anywhere else but at his hunting lodge, Rex heads to bed. The next morning isn't much better. The rain won't quit, the road is definitely not fit for vehicles, the landline goes out, and the working cell phones either have dead batteries and no charger or go missing altogether. The television works just fine and there's news of another young girl who's been murdered. Alastair is beating himself up over losing the case against the man he's certain is the killer. Oh...and did I mention that Moira winds up dead? Last seen, she was heading for the shared bathroom for a soak. When disgruntled fellow guests complain about the locked door and the need for the facilities in the morning, Rex grabs a ladder and climbs up to see if Moira has had an accident....there's nobody there and there's water all over the floor. A quick search of the lodge reveals that Moira is nowhere to be found. Then Rob and Cuthbert come rowing up to shore with Moira in the boat. She had been found drowned....And Rex is pretty sure it's not an accident or suicide. That most likely means that a killer slept under his roof last night....but why would they have killed Moira? She didn't know anyone else in the party. Or did she?

Fourth book in the Rex Graves series. Props for atmosphere--it gives the isolated country house feel. Though how isolated are you if the hotel/village is within reasonable walking distance? But the rainstorm and the feeling of isolation (no matter how real) does make for a tense, desolate situation. Having a mad child killer on the loose also adds bonus tension. I enjoy Rex's character very much and I absolutely sympathize with his feelings about unwanted house guests--especially when you're going to add murder to the mix. Atmosphere and characters get a high rating. The mystery plot--is adequate. But I have to say that I knew as soon as she showed up that Moira wasn't going to make it long, though I didn't know why. I also spotted the killer fairly quickly. A bit more mystery and actual possibilities of other suspects (there really isn't much in the way of motives for any of them) would have increased the rating. But it is a good, solid cozy mystery with a closed circle mystery vibe. ★★★

First line: "It's a pig in a poke," the first McCallum decreed, shaking his head dubiously at the cast-iron radiator in the guest bedroom of Rex's converted hunting lodge.

Last line: Inside, embedded in navy moire silk, sparkled a diamond ring, its setting in the shape of a heart.
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Deaths =  3 (two strangled; one drowned)