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 of the book for this review.
Review Copyright © 2008 — Hidden Staircase Mystery Books — All Rights Reserved
Have you read Mad About the Boy?? How would you rate it?
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)
As
If By Magic
Soho Constable (Hardcover), August 2009
ISBN-10: 1-56947-588-1 (1569475881)
ISBN-13: 978-1-56947-588-1 (9781569475881)
Omnimystery
keywords for Mad About the Boy?
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Location(s) referenced: England.
