Murder in the Afternoon

December 16, 2013
In the prologue of Brody’s engaging third Kate Shackleton mystery set in post-WWI England (after 2013’s A Medal for Murder), Harriet Armstrong and her younger brother, Austin, find the body of their stone mason father, Ethan, lying in a hut by the quarry where he works. Harriet goes to a nearby farm for help, but the body is gone by the time she returns. Ethan’s wife, Mary Jane, later asks Kate, who is a private detective, to investigate; she also gives Kate news of her family that changes her life. Was Ethan really dead, or did he merely disappear? Kate and her assistant, Jim Sykes, uncover one puzzle after another in their search for the stone mason, who made enemies as a labor agitator, drawing the unwelcome attention of national authorities. The bucolic setting of the village of Great Applewick and the period atmosphere add authentic touches to this finely drawn traditional mystery with multiple storylines. Agent: Judith Murdoch, Judith Murdoch Literary Agency (U.K.).

January 1, 2014
The death of a radical stonemason changes the life of a sleuth forever. Kate Shackleton is a World War I widow who still hasn't given up hope that her MIA husband is alive. Adopted as a baby by a high-ranking police officer and his aristocratic wife, she's never had any interest in her birth family. When a woman pounds on her door in the middle of the night and announces that she's Kate's sister, Mary Jane Armstrong, Kate takes up the case of her missing husband. It seems that Mary Jane had a quarrel with her husband, Ethan, when he went off on Saturday to work on a special sundial for the local lady of the manor's birthday. Her daughter Harriet and her son Austin sneaked off to the quarry while Mary Jane was shopping only to discover their father's body. Once the police go to investigate, however, they find no body and conclude that Harriet made it up and Ethan has deserted his family. Kate soon learns some things about her long-lost sister that make her a possible candidate if Ethan was murdered. Mary Jane, who had worked for the wealthy mine owner who'd commissioned the sundial, admits that the large sum of money in her secret bank account came from Col. Ledger, who had taken "artistic" pictures of her and his stunning wife when she worked for them. Ethan's radical connections bring Kate's lover, Scotland Yard Chief Inspector Marcus Charles, in on the case. But the discovery of Ethan's body under a pile of rocks in the quarry puts Marcus at odds with Kate since he suspects Mary Jane. Brody's third in the series (A Medal for Murder, 2013, etc.) is a perfect fit for lovers of classic British mysteries who'd like to watch a clever, introspective, delightful heroine solve a tricky puzzle.

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Starred review from February 1, 2014

One Saturday afternoon, stonemason Ethan Armstrong is murdered. Oddly, his ten-year-old daughter, Harriet, was the only one to see his corpse in his workshop. When the authorities arrive later, the body has disappeared. Harriet's observations are not taken seriously, except by her mother, Mary Jane, who asks PI Kate Shackleton to investigate. Over the period of a week, Kate gradually untwists a number of village secrets, including some of her own. While Ethan's political leanings (he was a leftist union organizer) made him many enemies, it may be that other long-held secrets led to his death. VERDICT This meaty historical set in post-World War I England succeeds as a satisfying traditional mystery and as a fascinating historical novel tackling women's roles in the early 1920s. Brody's series, now at three (after A Medal for Murder), merits serious attention. While leisurely paced, it never lags, instead inviting quiet time on the couch with a cuppa. Partners well with Jacqueline Winspear and Kerry Greenwood.

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