Fourth in a series and another in which I could not get the cover copied for this post.
Marius has been invited by a Torquay book society to give an address to its members. He is looking forward to the event and makes a family trip of it along with Lady Isabella, who is part time detective with Marius.
At Torquay when the address finished, and when the audience questions started, Marius realises that the members are hostile and antagonistic and not like any book loving public he has met before. Openly critical of the methods used in his detective novels, they seem to want to humiliate him as much as possible. Marius begins to wonder why he was invited in the first place.
The patron Mrs Thistlewaite seems to control the entire society, which includes the hotel manager and even the local constable. When her body is discovered seemingly drowned, Marius and Isabella starts their enquiry along with their Inspector friend to search for the truth, because there are secrets galore and half truths abound. There are many suspects and many who are evasive and some who are downright crooked.
The setting of Torquay is picturesque and Marius himself is clever as a detective along with Isabella but hopeless as a wannabe partner! You really want him to have a bit of spunk and not be so gentlemanly but this was a very orthodox England.
Sent by Storm Publishing for an unbiased review, courtesy of Netgalley.
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