A classic setting,an enchanting English village with well defined residents and of course murder! Luckily Mordecai Tremaine is visiting some friends in this village and as an amateur sleuth he is more than willing to lend a helping hand to inspector Boyce. It is a nice classic detective story but perhaps a bit long winded (and some clues were not very hard to miss!!)
10 years ago, sergeant Gary’s six year old son disappeared at a fun fair. Needless to say that this tragedy had a deep impact on Solomon Gray and his family. Now he is investigating the suicide/murder of a sixteen year old boy and the murder of a priest(who was well known to his wife).The thing is, I just couldn’t connect with Solomon Gray. He is aggressive, keeps vital information to himself, lies,is arrogant, self centered…He is just thoroughly unpleasant(in any normal police station he would have been put on indeterminate leave a long time ago). That said,his character is extremely well elaborated while the other characters are cardboard figures, pastiches perhaps. One has the impression that the story is not so important, that it comes second to the development of the character of Solomon Gray…
7 years after the death of Mr.Hyde and the mysterious disappearance of Dr.Jekyll,the doctor reappears in London and lays claim on all of Dr.Jekyll ‘s assets. Mr.Utterson, chief beneficiary of the doctor’s estate, knows that this Dr.Jekyll is a fraud. He,and only he, read the confession of Dr.Jekyll. Unfortunately, he kept everything to himself so not to sully the good doctor’s name. The impostor (is he?)wriggles his way back into society. His esteemed friends are all convinced that he is the real Dr.Jekyll. Only Mr.Utterson remains more than sceptical. And then accidents, deathly accidents, start to happen. Mr.Utterson is more than ever determined to unmask this fiend. But will he succeed…?
This is a very well written (short)novel,it keeps the reader’s attention, there is an increasing tension and the return of Dr.Jekyll is not to be dismissed lightly.
Athens,461 BC. A young man comes to Athens only to find that his uncle has died under mysterious circumstances. Pretty soon it is clear that murder is the keyword and the hunt for the culprit(s) starts in earnest. Athens is in turmoil, two factions,the radicals,with Pericles as a leading figure(who believe in a distribution of power among the entire population, except slaves(!)…)and the aristocrats,heads of military families and so on..(who believe that only a very few, and very well connected, are entitled to lead,to take decisions…)are at daggers drawn. History,of course,tells us which faction did eventuality win and consequently led to Athens Golden Age and to something called democracy.
The historical aspect of the story is very well researched. But,because it is such a dominant part of the story,the mystery story tends to be put aside. After a while one is no longer sure there is a mystery at all and it becomes a tad long winded. A firmer editing might have been a good idea.
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