A Deception at Thornecrest

July 1, 2020
A dashing detective duo in 1930s England is in for some unpleasant surprises. Amory Ames has had her share of rocky times in her marriage to Milo, but never before has a young woman turned up claiming to be his wife. Milo is naturally annoyed that his heavily pregnant wife has to deal with this false accusation against him, but all is explained when the next shock arrives on their doorstep in the form of Darien Ames, the illegitimate half brother he never knew existed. Darien, a dead ringer who shares Milo's looks and some of his wilder proclivities, used Milo's name while seducing then declining to marry Imogen Prescott, who's stayed in town to confront him. Darien has evidently moved on to Marena Hodges, who, unable to get along with her own mother, has become almost a daughter to the local vicar and his wife. Marena's discarded beau, Bertie Phipps, punches Darien after a war of words, and when he's found dead in a field, Darien is arrested for his murder. At first it looks as if Bertie, a splendid horseman, was thrown and hit his head, but an autopsy shows he was murdered. Milo insists that Amory leave the investigation to the authorities, but the inveterate sleuth, determined to clear Darien, continues to ask probing questions and uncovers many hidden secrets that may be motives for murder. A splendid resurrection of a formula popular in the 1930s combining romance and glamour with a tricky case of murder.

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July 6, 2020
Set in 1934, Weaver’s sprightly seventh outing for Amory Ames (after 2019’s A Dangerous Engagement) finds the heavily pregnant Amory at Thornecrest, the Ames family’s country home in Kent. One morning, while Amory is applying herself to her correspondence, the butler announces an unexpected visitor: a young woman claiming to be the wife of her husband, Milo, who’s away on business. The woman introduces herself as Imogen Prescott, and says she married Milo three months earlier. Amory maintains her aristocratic sangfroid, and assures Imogen that everything will be explained once Milo returns home. No sooner does Milo do so than another unexpected visitor turns up on their doorstep, and it becomes clear how Imogen was deceived. A murder amid the annual village Springtide Festival complicates matters further. The lively give-and-take between Amory and Milo makes up for the minimal sleuthing. Those who enjoy escaping into make-believe English villages in the company of pleasant vicars, mildly eccentric aristocrats, and wily village folk will be satisfied. Agent: Ann Collette, Rees Literary.