Detective Fiction, Cozy Mysteries & Amateur Sleuths, Police Stories
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Overview
Ambitious Scotland Yard detective Sergeant Jack Gibbons hears about his latest case---the death of a middle-aged widower in Chipping Chedding, a small town in the English Cotswolds---and can’t believe his good luck. His best friend, wealthy man-about-town Phillip Bethancourt, just so happens to be in Chipping Chedding already, accompanying his model girlfriend on a fashion shoot on a country estate. Since Phillip has helped Jack on numerous occasions, indulging his interest in a good mystery by aiding Jack in his investigations, it’s natural for him to help them figure out what happened to Charlie Bingham.
Though at first Bingham’s death appears to have been accident, tracing his movements on the evening of his death proves to be more difficult for Jack and Phillip than they expected, and they begin to suspect foul play. It seems Bingham was going to visit his girlfriend—but no one in the village, from the vicar to Charlie’s chess partner (and Phillip’s distant cousin) to Charlie’s neighbors, knows who she is. And when it turns out that Bingham was in fact a very wealthy businessman who hid his enormous wealth from everyone around him, suspects begin to pop up, including his estranged daughter, who was in London on the evening in question, and an unhappy business partner who has no alibi.
Cassandra Chan shows her mastery of the traditional English mystery in this second charming novel to feature the investigative duo of Gibbons and Bethancourt, a modern-day Peter Wimsey.
Editorials
Publishers Weekly
Chan's second contemporary homage to Dorothy Sayers (after 2005's The Young Widow) lacks the subtle characterization and meticulous plotting of the Lord Peter Wimsey saga, though cozy fans should enjoy the charming Cotswolds setting, in particular the congenial local pub where much of the action takes place. Scotland Yard detective Jack Gibbons and his well-to-do friend, Phillip Bethancourt, go to Chipping Chedding to investigate the death of one of the village's most popular residents, Charlie Bingham. While a possibly accidental mix of sleeping pills and whiskey did Charlie in, his body having been moved to the fireside where it was found raises suspicions. A surfeit of sleuths, including one of Jack's police superiors and Phillip's bumbling host, muddles the evidence gathering. Amid the red herrings, the author provides enough fair-play clues for the discerning reader to discover the culprit. (Nov.) Copyright 2006 Reed Business Information.Kirkus Reviews
Depressed ever since Annette Berowne dumped him (The Young Widow, 2005), Detective Sergeant Jack Gibbons relies on a juicy murder case to cheer himself up. Wealthy Philip Bethancourt's girlfriend Marla is doing a photo shoot in a small Cotswolds village, where they're staying with a family friend. The death of villager Charlie Bingham proves to be just the tonic for Philip's pal Jack. At first, the cause appears to be a heart attack, but forensics shows that Charlie had taken Seconal and that his body had been moved. The suspects include a mysterious lady friend and Charlie's daughter Eve. Few realized that Charlie, who led a quiet life in a small cottage, was very wealthy. He had spent years abroad, seeing little of his daughter and business partner, who may not have been thrilled to see him return. Charlie's secret girlfriend is the famous actress Joan Bonnar, whose adult twin children, neither happy about the time Joan spends at her Cotswold home, were raised by the housekeeper. After Joan's body is discovered in a lake, Jack chases down clues while Philip chats up the locals. The vicar's beautiful, unorthodox wife is nearly the final victim before the murders are solved. Gibbons and Bethancourt's second adventure is another enjoyably lighthearted look at murder among the upper classes.From the Publisher
Praise for The Young Widow
"Chan's sprightly debut, a contemporary homage to Dorothy L. Sayers's classic Lord Peter Wimsey mysteries, introduces an appealing pair of sleuths. . . . English mystery devotees should look forward to their further adventures."
—-Publishers Weekly
"The author tells a tale that is part crime story, part family drama, part buddy flick, and part love story, a combination that makes for enjoyable family reading."
—-School Library Journal
Book Details
Published
October 30, 2007
Publisher
St. Martin's Press
Pages
352
Format
Hardcover
ISBN
9781429934664