Mad About the Boy?
A
Jack Haldean Mystery
Dolores
Gordon-Smith
Soho Constable (Hardcover)
ISBN-10: 1-56947-511-3 (1569475113)
ISBN-13: 978-1-56947-511-9 (9781569475119)
Publication Date: July 2008
List Price: $24.95
Synopsis (from
the publisher): It’s the height of summer 1923 and
Isabelle’s parents are celebrating their Silver Wedding with
a ball at their country house, Hesperus, in Sussex. Isabelle has a
problem: two men, the glamorous, earnest Malcolm and the quiet,
troubled Arthur are in love with her, but worry is soon replaced by
tragedy. One of the guests apparently commits suicide at the ball.
Jack Haldean thinks it’s murder, but everything is thrown
into chaos when a group of Russian Revolutionaries become involved in
the affair.
In a case involving deception, greed, jealousy, kidnap, torture and
more murder, Jack faces an agonizing choice on his journey to the truth
– a journey which will change Isabelle’s life
forever.
Review:
Mystery writer and former Royal Flying Corps pilot Jack Haldean
investigates the supposed suicide of a young man at a festive event in Mad About the Boy?,
the second mystery in this series by Dolores Gordon-Smith.
In 1923 Haldean, together with other family members and friends, are
invited to his aunt and uncle’s summer estate for a week-end
of celebration in honor of their Silver Anniversary. During the evening
ball when everyone is enjoying the festivities tragedy occurs. A young
man, the secretary of one of the attendees, apparently commits suicide.
Or did he? The police who examine the scene rule suicide. But Haldean
finds it very mysterious, indeed, that a young man, seemingly very
happy, would take his own life during a celebration ball. The following
day, the dead man’s boss, a reputable banker involved in
lending money to foreign countries, is found stabbed to death in his
locked room, clearly not suicide. This raises more questions for not
only Haldean, but also the local police. Though all the rooms had
locks, they were old and loose. As Haldean sees it, this is
a case of the unlocked locked door. When everyone in the
household is questioned, secrets are brought to the surface that begin
to explain the tragedies of the weekend.
Mad About the Boy?
is a generally enjoyable, even capricious, mystery being frequently
amusing but also remarkably confusing. The country house aspects are
well done with period detail and the grand panaroma of the English
countryside. But the relationships between the guests aren't well
developed, or maybe they're just not all that interesting, leaving the
reader with a somewhat murky view of who did what to whom, when, and
why. Though the book is clearly a whodunit, it's probably best not to
read it as such but rather as a historical cozy populated with an eclectic cast
of characters.
Special thanks to guest reviewer Betty of The Betz Review for contributing her review of Mad About the Boy? and to Soho Press for providing an ARC for this review.
Review Copyright © 2008 — Hidden Staircase Mystery Books — All Rights Reserved.
Mysteries in this series ...
A Fete Worse
than Death
Carroll & Graf (Hardcover), June 2007
ISBN-10: 0-7867-1985-0 (0786719850)
ISBN-13: 978-0-7867-1985-3 (9780786719853)
Mad About the
Boy?
Soho Constable (Hardcover), July 2008
ISBN-10: 1-56947-511-3 (1569475113)
ISBN-13: 978-1-56947-511-9 (9781569475119)
Omnimystery keywords for Mad About the Boy?
...
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