Detective Fiction

Debts of Dishonor

Name: Debts of Dishonor
Author: Jill Paton Walsh
ISBN: 9780312355364

by Paton Walsh, Jill

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Overview

Imogen Quy—rhymes with why—is the witty, compassionate, and relentlessly inquisitive college nurse at St. Agatha's College, Cambridge University. Unfortunately, St. Agatha's has seen better days: Its financial affairs are in shambles, and the school is teetering on the verge of bankruptcy.

That is, until billionaire financier and St. Agatha's College alum Sir Julius Farran decides to pay his alma mater a visit. Things are looking up for St. Agatha's….but when Sir Julius suddenly dies in questionable circumstances, St. Agatha's is in danger of closing forever. A nurse is a natural receiver of confidences, and Imogen soon learns that Sir Julius had far more enemies than friends. Her curiosity is initially piqued, but soon turns to alarm when Julius's equally unpleasant son-in-law is found murdered. The case takes on particular urgency because Imogen's former flame, Andrew Duncombe, had been working as Sir Julius's right-hand man. Imogen must work what out really happened before Andrew is implicated in the murders—or becomes the next victim.

In her first case in more than a decade, Imogen Quy calls upon her clear thinking and insight into human nature to seek not only truth but justice. Readers will delight in the return of this "exemplary amateur sleuth" (Publishers Weekly) from a brilliant novelist in the best tradition of Dorothy L. Sayers and Josephine Tey.

About the Author, Jill Paton Walsh

Jill Paton Walsh, who lives in Cambridge, England, is a highly acclaimed novelist whose works range from award-winning children's fiction to the Booker Prize finalist Knowledge of Angels. She is also the co-author of two bestselling Lord Peter Wimsey novels, Thrones, Dominations and A Presumption of Death; as well as two Imogen Quy mysteries, the latter of which, A Piece of Justice, was shortlisted for the Crime Writers' Association Gold Dagger Award. In 1996 she received the CBE for services to literature, and was elected a fellow of the Royal Society of Literature.

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Editorials

Publishers Weekly

Set at St. Agatha's, a fictional Cambridge University college, Paton Walsh's bland academic cozy will appeal most to readers enamored of the culture of British higher education and conversant in its vocabulary. Others may find that the task of navigating unfamiliar surroundings presents too little payoff. Like many amateur sleuths before her, college nurse Imogen Quy strides blithely into dangerous situations, in this case attempting to learn whether Sir Julius Farran, a wealthy businessman and college benefactor, fell to his death accidentally or was pushed. Her investigation, fueled by information her students tell her in confidence, proceeds through multilayered adulteries and financial shenanigans that rival Enron and put the college at risk of bankruptcy. Like the two earlier Imogen Quy mysteries (The Wyndham Case and A Piece of Justice), this story is entirely plot driven and, except for one genuine surprise, that plot is largely unengaging. Paton Walsh, a prolific author of children's books, is best known in the mystery field for her posthumous collaborations with Dorothy Sayers. (Apr.) Copyright 2006 Reed Business Information.

Kirkus Reviews

A potential Cambridge benefactor falls short. Saint Agatha's, one of Cambridge's least well-endowed colleges, is hopeful that the new bursar will put things right and that old boy Sir Julius Farran, the Takeover King, will donate a bundle to them. The problem? The bursar has gone walkabout; Sir Julius has slunk out of a drying-out establishment and plunged off a cliff called Hell's Elbow; and his son-in-law Max has been fatally stabbed. This is no way to run a business or a college, and the Farran Group and Saint Agatha's are in trouble. So is Andrew Duncombe, an economist with ties to both Saint A's and Sir Julius, and former beau of college nurse Imogen Quy (A Piece of Justice, 1995, etc.). Plucky Imogen uncovers many might-have-dunits, including the vengeful son of a man bamboozled by Sir Julius; a college don writing an expose of Sir Julius; and pretty Fiona, who first dallied with Sir Julius, then with Max, then with Andrew, and now has her sights on Lord Robinswood, chairman of the Farran Board of Directors. One of Imogen's hunches will take her to Paris, where the plot takes a major twist, then back to Cambridge, where she must wrestle with her conscience before parceling out justice. A tad too much financial wheeling and dealing to qualify as a true British cozy, but definitely geared toward the genteel reader.