“A classic whodunit with a twist, ” is the way I would describe this book. I absolutely loved the first book in this series, The Magpie Murders, which introduced the main character, Susan Ryeland the editor for the Atticus Pund series of mysteries by Alan Conway. This is a wonderful follow-up, with all the surprises and twist you could want!

After solving the Magpie Murders, Susan retired and moved to a small island in Greece with her boyfriend, Andreas, where they run a small hotel. It should have been blissful, but after just a few months, Susan is tired of all the ways things do not work on a small island.  The hot water always runs out, sinks clog, the staff is always getting sick or needs time off, and there is never enough time to just enjoy the sunsets. She is even beginning to miss cold, drafty London!

That is when the Mr. and Mrs. Trehearne arrived with the strangest story. It turns out that a murder took place in the hotel the Trehearnes own on the Suffolk coast called Farlingaye Hall. It occurred on the day their younger daughter Cecily, was married and eventually a Romanian immigrant who worked at the hotel was arrested and found guilty. The case seemed to be over and the Trehearnes and their family moved on, until just recently when Cecily read one of the Atticus Pund mysteries based on the murder at their hotel and told her parents and others that she was now convinced that the man who was convicted was innocent and then she disappeared.

Although the police are trying to find their missing daughter, the Trehearnes came all the way to Greece looking for Susan, hoping that as an editor who knew Alan Conway, she would have some new insights and could help them find their daughter. Intrigued and a bit relieved that she now has an excuse to go back to England, Susan takes the case, along with a sizable fee which will help with the upkeep of the hotel!

At first Susan thinks the case is pretty straightforward, but the more she investigates the stranger it seems. There are more than enough suspects, for both the murder and Cecily’s disappearance- the glamorous husband, the testy nanny, the jealous and angry sister, the dimwitted clerk, the ex wife of Alan Conway who was at the wedding and is now living nearby in the village as well as several staff people who are not what they seem to be, and finally the hostile couple who were related to the victim. Will Susan be able to solve this mystery before time runs out?

Horowitz is really quite adept writing in different styes. He is the author of the Alex Rider series for young people, as well as two Sherlock Holmes continuation novels which were authorized by the estate of Sir Conan Doyle, several books based on the character of James Bond, and this series which is reminiscent of Agatha Christie. I know you will find these books as interesting as I do!

Brenda’s Rating: **** (4 Out of 5 Stars)

Recommend this book to: Sharon and Marian 

Book Study Worthy? Yes

Read in e-library format.