Dying to Know

May 24, 2010
British author McCarthy's first Lance Elliot mystery to be made available in the U.S., a run-of-the-mill whodunit, features a doctor practicing in Surrey. The police arrest Lance's father, Launceston, a retired physician, for arson after the elder Elliot shoots a fireworks rocket into the shed of his neighbors, Oliver and Doris Lightoller, with whom he has a longstanding feud. After Launceston is released from custody, he claims that Oliver, an antiques dealer, is really a fence. When Lance visits Oliver's store, he finds the man dead in an office chair run through with a sword. The police arrest Launceston again, this time on suspicion of murder. Lance and his girlfriend make inept amateur sleuths as the puzzles pile up. Some readers will groan at the contrivance that gets the pair out of a fix at the climax, while others will wonder why McCarthy (Corpus Delicti) chose to set the book in 1975 since he could have set it in the present with few changes.

June 1, 2010
When the police inform Dr. Lance Elliott that his father has been arrested for attempted arson after firing a live rocket at his neighbor Oliver Lightollers garden shed, the long-suffering Lance isnt all that surprised. He knows his father is eccentric, stubborn, and argumentative. Unfortunately, the plot thickens when Lightoller is found dead, and the senior Elliott becomes the prime suspect. Oddly, his father refuses to defend himself or provide an alibi for Lightollers murder, so Lance and his girlfriend, Max, decide its up to them to prove Dads innocence. Lance and Max find clues in a long-ago jewel robbery; their amateur detecting nearly lands them in jail and leads to an encounter with thugs. A mostly lighthearted caper with wacky antics, quick pacing, genial characters, and a bit of suspense, McCarthys latest will appeal to fans looking for an entertaining and undemanding read.(Reprinted with permission of Booklist, copyright 2010, American Library Association.)