A Swiftly Tilting Planet (mini-review)

 A Swiftly Tilting Planet (1978) by Madeleine L'Engle

This is the third book in the Time Quintet series. And life as we know it is in danger again. This time Charles Wallace Murry is pretty much on his own against the powers of evil. He has help from an unicorn named Gaudior, an ancient rune from Calvin's mother, and the support of his sister Meg, through kything (telepathy), but it is up to him to do what needs to be done. The Echthroi (fallen angels) are still determined to bring about destruction and have placed the Earth on the brink of nuclear holocaust at the hands of the mad dictator Madog Branzillo. Charles Wallace and Gaudior make a journey through time to find a place of Might-Have-Been to change it to what Must Be if the world is to be saved. 

My memories of the entire series by L'Engle are very fond--though I must admit I had far less solid memories of this one. I think perhaps with good reason. This is not nearly the adventure story that the previous two were. Honestly, not much happens. Charles Wallace goes back in time and "lives Within" various people in the past to try and figure out what has been changed. But there's no sense of adventure to the experiences he has. It's like someone telling a story within a story. All telling and no action. Even the dangerous episodes that he and Gaudiour go through don't seem all that real or problematic. And there's no satisfying explanation of what happened and what exactly Charles Wallace did to fix things. The sacrifice that comes at the end--which ought to be significant--happens almost off-stage and loses any real narrative power. Overall, a disappointing return to the third installment in this series. ★★ and 1/2.

First line: The big kitchen of the Murry's house was bright and warm, curtains drawn against the dark outside, against the rain driving past the house from the northeast.

Last line: In this fateful hour, it was herself she placed beneath us and the powers of darkness.

With One Stone

 With One Stone (1961) by Frances & Richard Lockridge

Captain M. L. Heimrich is on his way home from his honeymoon when he learns that the wife of a couple he and Susan saw in Palm Beach has diedback home in Van Brunt. She was found in a huddled heap at the deep end of the drained swimming pool and it looks like she stumbled and fell to her death. But then Sergeant Forniss and his men find the jagged, bloody rock discarded in the undergrowth. Heimrich is interested in the news reports, but is quite sure that Charley (Sergeant Forniss) can handle it in his absence. But then James Bedlow, millionaire and owner of the New York Chronicle newspaper, joins his wife Ann in death and the powers that be hurry Heimrich home to take charge. Ann's death was meant to look like accident; James' death was meant to look like suicide. Both are murder.

There's evidence in the guest house/pool cabin of an intruder. Did Ann stumble across someone on her last walk? But then her half-brother gets involved in the plot and maybe he did her in because he needed his inheritance. But why kill her husband? Then the half-brother gets killed--so, yeah, the murderer's not him. Maybe it's the weird gardener who sleeps in the toolshed. Or maybe one of the daughters needed their inheritance? But no, James Bedlow was a very generous father and nobody was in money troubles. But...Norm Curtis, who runs Bedlow's newspaper, is an old flame of Ann's. Maybe he killed her because she wouldn't run off with him and then killed James because he knew? And...actually, there's way too many maybes and not enough evidence. But Heimrich and Forniss pick up tidbits here and there in conversation and start tracking down leads. It isn't long before they spot discrepancies in stories and a motive that a jury will buy. 

Maybe I was just really on the ball with this one, but as soon as our villain walked on scene, I knew they were it. And--trying not to throw in spoilers--it seemed to me that the Lockridges were shining a little spotlight on the star performer. They made rather a point of a certain thing and I thought they were being much too obvious about it. That's the negative points for me. On the plus side, it was very nice to see Forniss and Crowley have a chance to shine. Forniss was really doing very well before his Captain was recalled to New York and definitely wasn't taken in by the attempts to hide murder behind accident and suicide. 

A pleasant day's read and a pretty good plot--and if the spotlight isn't shining quite as obviously for you as it was for me then it's possible that the red herrings might lead you astray. ★★★

First line: There is a time to do things thoughtfully, with a kind of tenderness, because they can never be done again.

Last lines: People are simply not to be trusted. They desert dogs.

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Deaths = 3 (two hit on head; one shot)

A Wind in the Door

 A Wind in the Door (1973) by Madeleine L'Engle

Meg Murry and Calvin O'Keefe are off on another fantastic journey. This time to save Charles Wallace and the universe. Charles Wallace is very sick--that is, his mitochondria are very sick. And Charles Wallace is one of those people in history who is so important that their existence has wide-ranging effects. If Charles Wallace dies so too will much of what is. To save Meg's brother, they will need to team up with Proginoskes, a cherubim who looks like a drive of dragons; Blajeny, a cosmic Teacher; Sporos, a farandola (a fictional part of the mitochondria); and...of all people, the despised Mr. Jenkins, school principal.

Most of the responsibility will rest on Meg--who is, in the grand scheme of things, a Namer. She has the power to give people and things the understanding of their real name. As Proginoskes tells her, once people really know who they are, they don't have any reason to hate. Hate and war give power to the Echthroi (likened to fallen angels) who are driven to un-Name everything and destroy all of creation. Meg is given three tests--through which she learns how to name, how to love--even those we don't really like, and how to overcome power of un-Naming. She draws strength from her friend Calvin and from Mr. Jenkins--who learns to value his own worth enough to make sacrifices for the children. 

I can remember reading this series as a child and loving the mysteriousness, adventure, and wonder. It is very easy to lose yourself in L'Engle's world and not worry whether everything makes sense or not. She has a very sure way of combining science with religious themes that makes them all tie together very nicely and gives reader very interesting battles between good and evil that capture the imagination as well as entertain. It was great fun to revisit the world of the Murrys again and lose myself in fantasy as I did when I was young. ★★★★

First line: "There are dragons in the twins' vegetable garden."

[P]"Who makes you least confused"  [M]"Calvin." There was no hesitation here. "When I'm with Calvin, I don't mind being me."  [P]"You mean he makes you more you, don't you?"  [M]"I guess you could put it that way." (Proginoskes, Meg; p. 80)

I think your mythology would call them fallen angels. War and hate are their business, and one of their chief weapons is un-Naming--making people not know who they are. If someone knows who he is, really knows, then he doesn't need to hate. (Proginoskes; p. 97)

We don't have to know everything at once. We just do one thing at a time, as it is given us to do. (Proginoskes; p. 99)

Love isn't how you feel. It's what you do. (Proginoskes; p.116)

Let us make believe that it is daytime. You can, you know. Believing takes practice.... (Blajeny; p. 131)

Last lines: Calvin's eyes met hers for a long moment and held her gaze, not kything, not speaking, simply being. Then she went up to Charles Wallace.

Accent on Murder

 Accent on Murder (1958) by Frances & Richard Lockridge

This Lockridge offering features one of their series detectives, Captain Heimrich of the New York State Police, but it also spotlights Walter Brinkley, emeritus professor of English whose hobby is the distinction of pronunciation within the United States.  Dr. Brinkley is rather a dear little man--described by his younger neighbors as a "woolly lamb"--a pink, round little man who seems to bounce wherever he goes. The book is worth the read just for the final scenes where he rushes off in a concussed state to take care of "a thing of vital importance which he should have done hours ago."  But I get ahead of myself.

When Dr. Brinkley's neighbor Paul Craig comes back to Westchester County with his new bride, the good doctor decides that he should give a cocktail party to welcome them home.  He has no idea that his sociable gesture will mix the ingredients for a rather nasty series of murders as well as cocktails.  Among his guests is Caroline Wilkins, former Navy "brat" and current wife of an often absent naval officer.  A naval officer who arrives just in time for this particular party. Also present are her lovely young cousin and beau, the Misses Monroe, and other long-time residents of Westchester County like Mrs. Belsen, the Sands, the Thayers and the like.  And Captain Heimrich.  

Later that week, Caroline is dead--shot while sun-bathing in a secluded place--although not quite so secluded as she and her cousin thought.  Only a few days earlier Dorcas, her cousin, had an elderly man rant at her about the sinful nature of her au naturel sun-worshipping. Dorcas blames herself for not remembering to warn Caroline about the addled voyeur.  But Heimrich is not convinced that the elderly man is the culprit. He and Sergeant Forniss begin searching in Caroline's past and discover a former husband who just happens to be in the area and who just happens to have connections to a big scandal magazine.  But before they can decipher the meaning of these new facts, the ex-husband is dead...again from a shotgun blast and Captain Heimrich is nearly run down in the dark by the villain speeding away fromt he scene of the crime.
 
Meanwhile, Dr. Brinkley is quite sure that he noticed something that Heimrich ought to know.  When he finally remembers what it is, the captain and his lieutenant prove to be difficult to track down.  The villain of the piece has also remembered....and is ready to kill one more time to keep the professor from contacting the police. Fortunately, the killer's aim is off (perhaps we're getting a bit rattled by this point) and Brinkley receives buckshot in the bottom and a concussion rather than elimination.

This is my second reading of Accent on Murder since blogging began, but the first where it counts for much in the way of challenges. And it features an unusual grand finale. Professor Brinkley, bandage on head like a turban, herding the murderer to Captain Heimrich at the point of a gun. And Brinkley doesn't even know he's got the murderer...just that he's got someone who's been telling lies and needs to fess up to the police. It really is quite delicious (even though quite improbable). And I have to admit that I'm rating this one so highly this time for the pure entertainment value rather than for the mystery. Professor Brinkley is one of my favorite intermittently recurring character in the Lockridge books (in part because of my fondness for an academic bent to my mysteries).

Despite having forgotten all the details (that's what happens with a post-50, sieve-like memory), I immediately spotted the important clue and the culprit. But the plot and the characters made another reading well worthwhile and I thoroughly enjoyed myself. ★★★★

First line: Walter Brinkley, professor emeritus of English Literature at Dyckman University, typed to the bottom of page three hundred and fifty-two of "A Note on American Regional Accents" and decided that it devolved upon him to give a small party for Paul Craig and the new Mrs. Craig.

Last line: He said that, if sometime Heimrich would bring her to it, he would give another party.

************

Deaths= 3 (two shot; one blown up)

April Pick of the Month

 When I decided to renew my Pick of the Month Awards, I was amazed to find that it had been three years since I put together a monthly list of books read, stats, ratings, and overall My Reader's Block P.O.M. Award winner. So far, I'm sticking to the plan--though I'm a bit late this time. In the past, I had participated in Kerrie's Pick of the Month meme which focused on mysteries, but it doesn't look like she's got that up and running this year. My plan is to focus on mysteries (since that's the bulk of what I read), but if there are non-mysteries worthy of a P.O.M. award then I will hand out two awards. So...let's see what I've been up to in April.

Total Books Read: 21
Total Pages: 5,106
Average Rating: 3.5 stars  
Top Rating: 4 stars 
Percentage by Female Authors: 61%

Percentage by Male Authors: 38%

Percentage by both Female & Male Authors: 1%
Percentage by US Authors: 57%
Percentage by non-US/non-British Authors:  0%
Percentage Mystery: 86% 

Percentage Fiction: 90%
Percentage written 2000+: 14%
Percentage of Rereads: 4%
Percentage Read for Challenges: 100% {It's easy to have every book count for a challenge when you sign up for as many as I do.}    
Number of Challenges fulfilled so far: 11 (42%)

Mysteries/Mystery-Related Reads

Death of a Busybody by George Bellairs (4 stars)

Murdock's Acid Test by George Harmon Coxe (3.5 stars)

The Ivory Snuff Box by Arnold Fredericks (3 stars)

What Darkness Brings by C. S. Harris (4 stars)

Why Kings Confess by C. S. Harris (4 stars)

Gently in the Sun by Alan Hunter (3 stars)

The African Poison Murders by Elspeth Huxley (2.5 stars)

Fire in the Thatch by E. C. R. Lorac (4 stars)

An Ad for Murder by John Penn (3.5 stars)

One Murdered: Two Dead by Milton Propper (3.5 stars)

The Egyptian Cross Mystery by Ellery Queen (4 stars)

Mr. Smith's Hat by Helen Reilly (3.75 stars)

The Lazarus Tree by Robert Richardson (2.75 stars)

The Documents in the Case by Dorothy L. Sayers & Robert Eustace (3 stars)

Murder Goes to College by Kurt Steel (3 stars)

Who Killed Stella Pomeroy? by Sir Basil Thomson (4 stars)

Smooth Justice by Michael Underwood (3.5 stars)

Murder in the Bookshop by Carolyn Wells (2.5 stars)

Well, there were no five-star winners last month, but April did see a bumper crop of four stars. C. S. Harris claimed two with her excellent historical mystery series featuring Sebastian St. Cyr. George Bellairs, E.C.R. Lorac, Ellery Queen--all familiar names to Golden Age Detection fans also picked up four stars. The surprise winner in the bunch was Sir Basil Thomson's Who Killed Stella Pomeroy? 

 I'd not read anything by Thomson before and I only wound up with this one because it was included in a Lot of vintage books that the hubby got me for Christmas in 2018. It was unexpectedly delightful Thomson was head of the Metropolitan Police during WWI, so the investigation had an authentic ring to it but the writing was neither dull nor overburdened with procedure. In fact--if I hadn't had the prospect of work looming before me the next morning, I might have stayed up until the wee hours to finish it. The plot was quite sound and the sufficiently mysterious to satisfy any detective fiction fan. And so...it should come as no surprise that Thomson is walking off with the P.O.M. honors for April.

Women Heroes of World War II

 Women Heroes of World War II: 26 Stories of Espionage, Sabotage, Resistance, & Rescue (2011) by Kathryn J. Atwood

A young adult history book which gives a good solid look at 26 of the many thousands of women who aided the war and resistance efforts throughout World War II. The snapshot stories feature a vast array of women, from everyday teenagers in occupied countries who could not tolerate what Germany was doing to their neighbors to well-known figures like Corrie Ten Boom to famous entertainers like Josephine Baker and Marlene Dietrich. These women risked their lives to help Jews escape the grip of Nazis, to act as couriers for resistance and espionage groups, to smuggle downed Allied servicemen out of enemy territory, and even to manage and direct resistance forces themselves. Some women saved a handful of lives and some saved hundreds, but they all contributed all they could with what skills and resources they had. 

This is a very good introduction to the work of women in the war and it should provide a good starting place for those who want to learn more. The short synopses of the background and actions of these heroic women encourages those with an interest in history to find out more. Each woman's story ends with a notation of resources where one could read more detailed accounts of their involvement in the war effort. ★★★★

Murder by the Book

 Murder by the Book (1963) by Frances & Richard Lockridge

In this last entry in the Mr. and Mrs. North series, Pam & Jerry are on vacation in Key West and naturally Pam stumbles across a dead body. She gets up early one Sunday morning to go fishing for a pair of pelicans that are too lazy (and spoiled by tourists like Pam) to fish for themselves. And there on the end of the pier is the body of Dr. Edmund Piersal, dead from a stab wound.

Pam, of course, feels personally involved. Not only did she discover the body, but she and Jerry had just played tennis with Piersal the day before. Piersal is also from New York where he is well-known as a former Deputy Medical Examiner, but who in Florida would want to kill a doctor whom Pam sums up as "a nice man. A really nice man"? Apparently, a few people. There's the slightly mysterious (in Pam's mind) nature of Dr. Piersal's attendance on a fellow hotel guest who has also died--purportedly of heart disease. But where's the motive for murder in that? There's the daughter of a woman who accused Piersal of malpractice in her husband's death, took him to court, and then was publicly humiliated by the judge in the case. Revenge on her mother's behalf? Not to mention the woman herself who was also in Key West at the relevant time. There's also a couple of small-time con men--one of whom was convicted of an earlier crime and the doctor provided key evidence in the conviction. 

Deputy Sheriff Jefferson doesn't know what to make of the Norths--between Pam's non sequiturs and the fancy theories the two spin about the murder, they have his head spinning. If his counterpart, Bill Weigand of the NYPD hadn't assured him of their bona fides, he'd be tempted to think they were leading him astray on purpose. But he'll soon find that Weigand was right, they're very helpful and "when they're around, things seem to turn up. Useful things." After a couple of false starts, while Pam tries to pin down an elusive point that keeps floating in and out of her active mind, Jefferson and the Norths finally get their man.

It's a shame that this is the last of the North books, but it is a pleasant swan song for them. Lounging on the beach, playing a bit of tennis, solving one last murder. I find these books to very soothing and very much comfort reads. The puzzles aren't terribly tricky (I spotted the villain early on), but this one does have a nice variation on the "dying message" trope. Only the doctor didn't know it was a dying message when he wrote it. It's interesting watching Jefferson try to keep up with Pam--Bill Weigand and the NY police force have had a chance to get used to how her mind "jumps"--but Jefferson isn't quite sure how to follow her hops and skips.

As always, an enjoyable, comfy read and a lovely way to spend an afternoon. ★★★★

First line: Gerald North woke up and said, "But pelicans are birds."

"You always," Pam said, "want people to be rational. Mostly they aren't." (p. 86)

This Mrs. North was hard enough to understand when she was there, when you could hear her. (p. 97)

Last line: The Norths got clobbered.

*************

Deaths = 3 (one stabbed; one poisoned; one natural)

The Venetian Blonde

 The Venetian Blonde (1963) by A. S. (Sid) Fleischman

Skelly is a man on the run. He's spent his career as a high stakes card sharp, but his last round on the East Coast put him on the hit list of a Boston money man by the name of Braque. Skelly's magic fingers let him down and he's in debt to Braque to the tune of $125,000. Hands that were steady as a surgeon's now shake anytime he's got cards in his hands and someone across the table.

Of course, he didn't just have $125,000 laying around, so he took it on the lam before one of Braque's hired guns could take the debt out of his life's blood. His escape route took him over the border to Mexico and back and now he's down to his last forty bucks and hiding out in Venice, California. He's looking for a friend by the name of Rinny Jim--a man who owes him $500, which should be enough to tide him over for a bit. There's no sign of Rinny, but Skelly runs into the man's wife Evangeline. She's running a con of her own, playing medium and promising to bring back the nephew of a very rich woman to the tune of a million dollars. She needs help and thinks Skelly looks like a likely partner. Skelly's not too keen on this type of con--but his cut would get him out of trouble with Braque and still leave a tidy sum for Skelly. He calls himself Dr. Appleby and they're all set to make the grab on the old lady's pocketbook.

But...there's this blonde that keeps following Skelly around. What's that about? And then people keep winding up dead. Fortunately, it's not Skelly and the hitmen haven't found him yet. But he's getting kind of nervous about the number of people who are dying...just who is getting conned on this job anyway?

This novel by Fleischman seems to be a bit more popular out on the internet...but I have to say it just didn't grab me in quite the same way as Look Behind You, Lady.  I absolutely bought Bruce hooking up with Donna at the end of that book. I just don't get the blonde in the bathing suit in this one. To my mind she's totally unnecessary to the story and yet we have Fleischman naming putting her in the title. It's a big distraction trying to figure out why she's so important--other than to walk off into the sunset with Skelly at the end of the book. The story also seemed to be a lot more brutal despite the fact that we had people blown up with grenades in LBY,L (after all, that was all part of the spy/opium business). Here, the character that does most of the killing is just a psychopath who seems to get a kick out of murder and that's way more chilling. Not my standard cup of tea. 

I did appreciate Skelly's character. He may be a card sharp, but he's an honest card sharp. And he has a code of ethics (peculiar, granted) that he won't break. He manages to keep his code intact through the end of the book...just. ★★ and 1/2.

First line: A young blonde with wet hair sat in her bathing suit at the bar.

Last line: The tide was coming in and we kept walking.

*****************

Deaths = 5 (one hit on head; one stabbed; one heart attack; one drowned; one shot)

This is the second novel published in a dual-novel edition with Look Behind You, Lady (reviewed separately).

The Sands of Windee

 The Sands of Windee (1931) by Arthur W. Upfield

Please note that this review may use terms or descriptions taken from the work itself for those of mixed heritage. No disparagement or disrespect is intended.

When Inspector Napoleon "Bony" Bonaparte sees a photograph with the car abandoned by Luke Marks in the sands near Windee Station in New South Wales, he immediately knows that murder has been done. The local authorities believe that Marks wandered away from his vehicle, got caught in one of two recent sand storms, died, and then was covered over by sand in the second storm. But Bony defies his commanding officer (not the for the first time) and insists on going to work on a case he deems worthy of his investigative intelligence. This, he believes, is the near-perfect murder. The body is gone. Without a body, how can anyone prove murder? He shows the local investigating office, Sergeant Morris, the clue in the photograph--an aboriginal sign that indicates "Beware of Spirits! A white man was killed here."

He goes undercover as an itinerant worker, gaining employment breaking horses at Windee Station, owned by the fiery but fair Jeffrey Stanton, Sr. The job is such that he is free to ride the horses where he pleases when training them and he just happens to be pleased to ride in the area where Marks disappeared. At first it appears that other than the clue Bony noticed in the photograph, there are no other clues to be found. But the detective spends many afternoons patiently covering the area in an ever-widening circle until he is rewarded with faint signs of a struggle, a small metal disk, a single cut sapphire, and one nail from a boot. He also learns which of the local tribe members saw what happened on that fateful night, but the man is killed in an inter-tribal conflict before Bony can gain his confidence and question him. From the small pieces of evidence, he begins to build a satisfactory case save for one thing--motive. Once he has that, he'll have his case complete. But will he be happy to have solved the case?

Bony is very Poirot-like in his calm assurance in his intelligence and his status as "Australia's greatest detective." He has some justification for his assurance--to date he has never failed to solve a case. He is also much like "Papa Poirot" in his great compassion for certain types who come into his cases. It is his compassion for one of those involved in the Windee case which will create the greatest dilemma within his greatest case--having solved the near-perfect murder, will he feel able to reveal the solution? 

I always enjoy these mysteries starring the unorthodox, half-caste detective. He is a charming, intelligent character whose personality overcomes his slightly outsize vanity. His ability to track in an apparently barren wasteland seems almost magical, but Upfield based this on real life--a man by the name of Tracker Leon who worked for the Queensland Police. It is interesting to watch him pick up the barest traces and weave those fragile threads into a whole cloth rendering of a mystery. I did not completely work out the solution before Bony revealed it, but I did make a good showing while on the trail of the "greatest detective in Australia." ★★★★

First line: Detective-Inspector Napoleon Bonaparte, of the Queensland police, was walking along a bush track on his way to Windee Station.

Last line: "Thank God, he's a policeman and not a scoundrel!"

*****************

Deaths = 2 (one shot; one snake bite)

Look Behind You, Lady

 Look Behind You, Lady (1952) by A. S. Fleischman

The setting: the Hotel China Seas in Macao (an autonomous Portuguese colony until 1999 near Hong Kong). Donna Van Deerlin is looking for a hero in this corrupt gambling territory and thinks she's found one in Bruce Flemish. Bruce is a magician and the headliner for the hotel's night club entertainment...and he definitely doesn't feel like a hero--especially for a dame in a mandarin collar and bangs like that. But then his boss, Senhor Gonsalves tries to talk him into pulling a fast one on Donna's escort that evening and, almost against his will, he feels himself drawn to taking her side in whatever is going on. There's talk of spies and espionage, secret codes, mysterious drawings, and an opium ring. The deeper Bruce gets, the more he thinks he's being played for a sucker. But who's playing and what's the tune? If he's not careful, it's going to be "Amazing Grace" and it'll be played at Bruce Flemish's funeral.

In this novel A. S. (Sid) Fleischman writes an action-packed, fast-moving hardboiled thriller with an atypical hero. It's not often you see a magician talking and acting like a Humphrey Bogart private eye. Bruce tries to convince us that he's not the action hero type, and in fact starts to run off on a few occasions, but he winds up doing the right things at the right times in the end (obviously, that's what being the hero is all about). This is a fun little read even if the plot is a little hard to follow--Bruce isn't sure what's going on and neither are we. But that's okay. The convoluted plot doesn't detract from the enjoyment and this isn't the type of story that would lend itself to proper clues and investigation anyway. ★★★ and 3/4.

First line: She said, "May I sit down?"

Last line: We got married.

*************

Deaths = 5 (one stabbed; one auto crash; one shot; two blown up [grenades])

This is the first novel published in a dual-novel edition with The Venetian Blonde (will be reviewed separately).

Fire in the Thatch

 Fire in the Thatch (1946) by E. C. R. Lorac (Edith Caroline Rivett)

Nicholas Vaughan has been invalided out just as World War II is drawing to a close. The explosion of a jammed naval gun scarred him and ruined his eyesight. Once he has recuperated, he comes to Mallory Fitzjohn in Devon. He's looking to rent a place where he can do a bit of farming, raise some geese, and perhaps do a bit of renovating--if the owner is agreeable. 

Colonel St. Cyres is definitely agreeable. His Little Thatch cottage has just come open and he's been looking for a tenant who loves the land as much as he does. His disagreeable daughter-in-law (staying with him and his daughter at Thatch Manor while his son is being held as a prisoner of war) wants him to lease it to a "dear friend" of hers "with pots of money" and the colonel doesn't much want the cottage to go as a rich man's plaything. Luckily Vaughan's request to look the the place over with a view to rental arrived just before June's plea. Once he meets the ex-navy man, he's certain he's found his tenant. Vaughan, in turn, loves the place and decides to take it on a ten-year lease. He wants a free hand to make it into a home and a paying proposition as he has plans to marry "before long." 

After several months of tenancy and a lot of hard work, Little Thatch is shaping up to be all that Vaughan would like it to be. Then tragedy strikes one night when the cottage goes up in flames and Vaughn's body is found in the ruins. The coroner's court finds it to be an accidental death, but Vaughan former commander won't have it. He goes straight to Scotland Yard and demands further investigation because he knows that Vaughan would never have been as careless with wiring or with paraffin as the coroner's verdict makes out. His argument carries enough weight that the Yard sends Inspector MacDonald to discover if there's any truth to Wilton's claims.

It doesn't take MacDonald long to discover that Wilton is right. There's every indication that Vaughan was as careful and methodical in his wiring of the cottage and his handling of flammables as his former commander said. And there are other little details in the witnesses' statements that draw MacDonald's attention. The difficulty is to find a motive--there was a great deal of interest in Little Thatch prior to Vaughan's taking up residency. But would someone really kill the tenant and burn the cottage to ground in revenge for being done out of it? The Scotland Yard man decides he needs to answer three questions before he'll find the motive and the killer. Where did Vaughan go the night he died? Why did a man born and bred in the north of England decide to settle down to farm in Devon? And, Why does no one know who the woman is he plans to marry (not even his sister)?

Once again Lorac has grabbed my interest with her characters. Colonel St. Cyres and his daughter Anne are delightful. I wouldn't mind renting a cottage from the Colonel myself--though I don't know that I love the land enough for him to want me as tenant. All of the suspects are well-drawn and given ample space on the page to reveal themselves to us. She also paints a compelling picture of the Devon countryside. I've never been there, but I almost feel as though I have. Within the story, she gives a good look at England as the war comes to an end and town folk begin trying to make inroads into the countryside...looking for places to put up hotels and to be able to get away from London with their friends. The mores and morals of the city folk and their country counter parts are worlds apart and Lorac underlines this with her narrative. 

At the beginning, the plot seems fairly straightforward but as MacDonald interviews the witnesses and gathers the evidence, we find a more intricate story developing. There's a matter of timing, coded messages, the three questions to answer, and an alibi or two to break. And a second "accidental" death thrown in as a bonus. MacDonald with his painstaking attention to detail and investigative skills is more than up to the task. Very enjoyable. ★★★★

First line: Colonel St. Cyres stepped out of the French window on to the terrace and drew in a deep breath of frosty air, conscious of the exhilaration of a glorious December morning.

Last line: "Yes, and Vaughan would have said so, too," agreed MacDonald.

**************

Deaths = 3 (one hit on head; one car accident; one shot)

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