Hardcastle's Quartet

September 8, 2014
Entertaining byplay between the leads enlivens Ison’s 12th historical showcasing Det. Insp. Ernest Hardcastle and Det. Sgt. Charles Marriott of the Whitehall Division of the Metropolitan Police (after 2013’s Hardcastle’s Traitors). One day in June 1918, a constable happens on the corpse of Georgina Cheney, who apparently fell or jumped from a window of her house in Westminster. Dr. Bernard Spilsbury, an expert in forensic pathology,
determines that the woman was strangled shortly after a sexual encounter. The
detectives learn that Mrs. Cheney had a reputation for cheating on her husband,
a navy commander stationed far enough away to rule him out as a suspect. As they look into the identities—and alibis—of the victim’s lovers, the pair find evidence that she may have been blackmailing someone. Meanwhile, the head of the CID asks them to probe two other murders that he believes are related to the Cheney case. The detecting is strictly by the numbers, but the crisp writing and witty dialogue are a plus.

September 15, 2014
When Georgina Cheney's body is discovered, it initially appears that she accidentally fell from a second-story window. Divisional Detective Inspector Ernie Hardcastle and Detective Sergeant Charles Marriott quickly determine, however, that Georgina, known as a good time girl, was murdered. Could the killer have been one of the young men who visited Georgina while her husband was away, serving in WWI? Similar murders follow, complicating matters in this cleverly plotted mystery, awash with appealing historical details. Another surefire winner for fans of the irascible Hardcastle and the long-suffering Marriott.(Reprinted with permission of Booklist, copyright 2014, American Library Association.)