Reviewed by TJ Ramsay
A seasoned police detective and a dog with a nose for crime. One dead body. Twelve suspects. Sydney, Australia, 1933: Wealthy impresario and amateur Egyptologist Roland Cuthbert Barry is murdered on his 60th birthday, and everyone attending the evening’s celebrations is a suspect.
Detective Senior Sergeant Harold Chesterfield of Sydney Central Police has been sent by Chief Inspector Ron Thompson to Barry Island on the Hawkesbury River and the rambling sandstone house of the wealthy Barry family. Thompson is a longtime friend of Roland Barry, who has confided in him about threatening notes he has received, suggesting he will be held to account for past actions.
Harold Chesterfield discovers a curious cast of characters at Barry a long-suffering wife and an ambitious young mistress; a Russian ballet dancer who isn’t what he seems; Roland’s daughter and her lover, an Egyptian woman; the family doctor with a secret past; Roland’s two troubled sons; and the evening’s entertainment, a psychic medium, who, from the moment she steps foot on Barry Island, declares something terrible will happen.
With Harold is Ben, an English Pointer with a nose for crime; together, Harold and Ben will face their most challenging case..
This is a very enjoyable whodunnit. Very much in the style of Agatha Christie and set in 1933 Australia. It is well paced, fast from the get-go, Martins sets characters quickly and has a great touch with atmosphere and place. The era is evoked well, too with several historical references which had me checking for authenticity and happily proved accurate. There are suspects a-plenty, motives everywhere and a very unpleasant victim. Harold’s Watson is a delightful surprise with a nose for a killer.
Though very Christie, I thought Martins did a great job of avoiding stereotypes and her characters were nicely nuanced. The victim was very one-dimensional but as a baddie he was great. One writing technique I feel was overused and that was the revelation-suddenly-cut-off but I was undecided if this was a deliberate ruse so after the first couple I let them do their job without questioning too much.
Detective Senior Sergeant Harold Chesterfield of Sydney Central Police is a nicely written character and one I would happily read more of. His career advancement sets fair for some more interesting cases so I will be waiting avidly.
Much thanks to KV Martins for a great read..
This review was first published in FlaxFlower reviews, which focuses on in-depth reviews of New Zealand books of all kinds, and is reprinted here with the kind permission of Flaxflower founder and editor Bronwyn Elsmore.
No comments:
Post a Comment