Inheritance Tracks

June 3, 2019
In Aird’s quaintly archaic 26th Sloan and Crosby mystery (after 2016’s Learning Curve), five individuals of varying ages and backgrounds gather at a solicitors’ office in Berebury, England, where they learn that they are the heirs—along with one other individual, Daniel Elland, who has proven impossible to locate—of Algernon George Culver Mayton, who generations ago invented Mayton’s Marvellous Mixture. This dubious patent medicine has earned a vast fortune, which, upon either finding the missing Elland or—after a seven-year wait—having him declared legally dead, will be divided among the remaining legatees. While the search continues for Elland, one of the five, Susan Port, dies in unusual circumstances. Det. Insp. C.D. Sloan and his bumptious colleague, Detective Constable Crosby, investigate. Why and how was Port murdered? Are the other heirs at risk? Where is Daniel Elland? This is a jolly little brainteaser, with a full complement of eccentric characters and plausible, if zany, suspects and motives. Fans of traditional puzzle mysteries will have fun. Agent: Clare Alexander, Aitken Alexander Assoc. (U.K.).

July 1, 2019
When four strangers are summoned to the offices of solicitors Puckle, Puckle, and Nunnery in rural Britain, they do not know why they are there. They soon learn that they are distantly related to one another and are heirs to the fortune of Algernon George Culver Mayton, an erstwhile purveyor of an elixir called Mayton's Marvellous Mixture. There is, however, a missing heir, and the estate cannot be settled until he is found. The lawyers won't reveal how much money is involved, but it appears to be a large sum. Detective Inspector Sloan and Detective Constable Crosby enter the case when one of the heirs turns up dead, supposedly from food poisoning. Was it accidental, or was he murdered? The investigation uncovers a complex web of relationships and dysfunctional families and features the usual comic interplay between the long-suffering Sloan and his dim-witted partner, Crosby. British-procedural fans will enjoy this romp in the country.(Reprinted with permission of Booklist, copyright 2019, American Library Association.)