The Case of the Unsuitable Suitor

November 27, 2017
Ace’s amiable fourth mystery featuring the four women of the WISE Enquiries Agency (after 2017’s The Case of the Curious Cook) finds Christine Wilson-Smythe on holiday in her native Ireland, where she’s soon drawn into a case involving kidnapping and fraud. Back at the agency’s base—the bucolic Welsh town of Anwen-by-Wye—Carol Hill, Mavis MacDonald, and Annie Parker delve into the background of wealthy Huw Hughes, whose three wives each came to a tragic end. Huw, who’s ready to give the town’s croquet team the benefit of his experience as an international management consultant, seems interested in Annie, to the dismay of the local publican, Tudor Evans, who carries a none-too-secret torch for her. Meanwhile, old Doctor Priddle dies of poisoning after attending a croquet match. Whether Annie and Tudor will find true romance is as urgent a question as who murdered the doddering doctor. Christine’s Irish adventures may be too over-the-top for some readers, but cozy fans will find plenty to like amid all the soap opera. Agent: Priya Doraswamy, Lotus Lane Literary.

May 25, 2015
This underwhelming first in a new cozy series from Ace (The Corpse with the Sapphire Eyes and three other Cait Morgan mysteries) introduces the WISE Enquiries Agency, so named because its four female partners—Carol Hill, Christine Wilson-Smythe, Mavis MacDonald, and Annie Parker—hale from Wales, Ireland, Scotland, and England respectively. Mavis asserts that they are able to bring their own “national, as well as uber-national, sensibilities to bear upon a case,” but such sensibilities have no bearing on the puzzling case of Althea, Dowager Duchess of Chellingworth, who phones her son, Henry Twyst, in the middle of the night, to report a corpse in her dining room. But when Henry arrives at her home in Powys, Wales, he finds no trace of a body or evidence of an intruder. Only when Althea produces a bloodied hat she says was beside the cadaver does he take her claim at all seriously. Readers will hope for more memorable characters and sleuthing in the next installment.

July 1, 2015
When Althea Twyst, Dowager Duchess of Chellingworth, calls her son, Henry, to tell him she's found a dead body in her dining room, he is at first shocked, then skeptical. Rushing to her house, he finds no body, only his mother holding a bloodied blue bobble hat. Worried that his mother is losing it, he calls the local police, who say that without a body, there's no case. Frustrated and not wanting anyone on the estate or in the village to know his mother may be either hallucinatory or senile, Henry calls on the WISE Enquiries Agency for a bit of discreet help. Going undercover, the four WISE women investigators try to discover what's really going on. Who knew they would find a legitimate murder case involving kidnapping, fraud, and forgery? A charming, cleverly plotted, engaging British cozy that's sure to appeal to genre fans.(Reprinted with permission of Booklist, copyright 2015, American Library Association.)

December 15, 2017
The four women of the WISE Enquiries Agency return in a modern-day British whodunit that's as charming as it is entertaining. It's time for the annual Anwen-on-Wye croquet tournament, but this year there's a new player on the Anwen team. Wealthy businessman Huw Hughes, who left the village years ago, has returned to Anwen. He's handsome and debonair, but he's also bossy, which doesn't sit well with the villagers. Worse, he seems to have his eye on Annie, one of the WISE women, who is being courted by the popular local pub owner. Meanwhile, Christine, another of the WISE sleuths, is visiting her family estate in Ireland and becomes involved in sorting out the kidnapping of the estate's housekeeper. Back in Anwen, there's also troublefood poisoning has struck many of those who attended the croquet tournament tea, and there's been a tragic death in the village. Time, then, for the four WISE detectives to put their formidable sleuthing skills to work. Good fun, with memorable characters, an imaginative plot, and a satisfying ending.(Reprinted with permission of Booklist, copyright 2017, American Library Association.)