Murder at the Brightwell

August 25, 2014
Fans of plucky female amateur sleuths will welcome Amory Ames, the heroine of Weaver’s pleasing debut set in 1932 England. Amory’s rake of a husband, Milo, a man she “loves and hates in equal proportions,” has just returned from Monte Carlo, where he was reported to have spent time with other women. Meanwhile, Gil Trent, the man Amory was engaged to before Milo swept her off her feet five years earlier, invites her to join him and others in a large party planning to stay a week at the Brightwell Hotel in Kent. There Gil hopes Amory will help persuade his 23-year-old sister to stop seeing a man he deems unsuitable. Amory accepts, but she soon turns detective after a fellow hotel guest turns up dead and another is suspected of foul play. Despite the routine sleuthing and predictable love triangle, the affable Amory could carry a series, though plausibly involving her in future murder cases will require some imagination. Agent: Ann Collette, Rees Literary Agency.

February 23, 2015
Voice actress Fulford-Brown turns in a lackluster reading of Weaver’s Edgar Award–nominated debut mystery, set in 1932 England. The story revolves around Amory Ames, a wealthy young woman who becomes a plucky amateur sleuth when she learns that her former fiancé is a suspect in a murder investigation. Weaver’s tremendously strong plot, fresh style, and skillfully crafted writing fades in Fulford-Brown’s presentation of it, which is dirge-like and frequently belies the text. The excellent production value is lost on her fatigued read, with its frequently off-putting intonation, pronunciation, and cadence. A Minotaur hardcover.