Hayley Burke loves her job as curator of The First Edition Society’s library, a marvelous collection of Golden Age mystery books compiled by the late Lady Fowling who was herself a mystery author. Hayley has convinced Mrs. Woolgar and the Board to open the collection to the public one afternoon a week as a way of drawing new member and letting the collection be enjoyed.
At the first opening, a young man named John Aubrey shows
up, claiming to be Lady Fowling’s grandson, which is quite a shock given that
Lady Fowling didn’t have any children—at least not that anyone in the Society
knows about. She was widowed early, and
her closest known relative is her nephew, the odious Charles Henry Dill who is
always hoping to somehow get his greedy hands on Lady Fowling’s fortune.
While Hayley tries to unravel the mystery of Aubrey, she
also has to deal with having Charles Henry Dill as an assistant and keep him
from making off with the family silver. When Charles Henry learns there is a
potential new heir, he reacts violently in front of a lot of people. This makes him a prime suspect when someone
turns up dead. . . .
This was my first foray into the First Edition Society
mysteries. I think I had picked up one
earlier but been put off by overbearing and/or obnoxious secondary characters
and didn’t read far. I know they are a
cozy staple, but characters who are mean just to be mean and to vex Our Heroine
annoy me.
This time around, though, I was intrigued enough by all the
talk of female Golden Age mystery/suspense authors that I kept going and I am
glad I did. I confess I hadn’t read
Daphne Du Maurier’s Frenchman’s Creek which plays a prominent role in
the book but that was no deterrent. I
just loved the fact that there is an effort to introduce a new generation to these
authors. Interestingly enough, Hayley is
not an expert on them either. She’s
learning along with the reader.
More good news in that the “mean” characters show signs of
softening and growth in this book, giving me high hopes for the next one. The mystery is well done, with some nice
twists and turns along with a satisfying resolution.
Books in the series are:
The Bodies in the Library
Murder is a Must
The Librarian Always Rings Twice
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