Author:Ross Montgomery
The year is 1910 and Halley’s Comet is in the sky. At a stately home on World’s End, a tidal island off the Cornish coast, the Viscount is convinced this heralds a series of natural disasters and has accordingly ordered the house to be completely sealed from the outside world, with all his extended family, guests and servants inside. Alas, his elaborate precautions prove to be in vain as he is found murdered in his study the next morning. It falls to a newly appointed butler, fresh out of Borstal for a crime he didn’t commit, and an irascible 80 year old foul mouthed family matriarch, to investigate, alongside an incompetent detective from Scotland Yard who is more hindrance than help. This is a classic ‘locked room’ mystery, but the plot, which at times resembles a giant game of Cluedo, is liberally infused with humour, which sometimes borders on farce, as this undynamic duo dig into the family’s secret past in a race against time before the killer can strike again. This is an unusual but irresistible novel, a gleeful adventure with some unique characters and a sprinkle of wickedness, which will appeal to lovers of the whodunit genre, especially those who want to sample something a bit different.
Length of Read:Medium
Might appeal to people who enjoyed…
Thrillers with an unusual twist, whodunits, black humour, Downton Abbey and the like.
One thing you’ve learned
This is the debut adult novel by this award winning children’s author, and is the first instalment in a series of novels to feature the continuing adventures of the two principal characters.
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