Source: Purchased
Description: Berebury, England, did not have an easy go of it during the Second World War. This quaint Victorian town was destroyed when the Nazis dropped bomb after bomb on its perfect gardens and neat hedges. After three decades of disarray, the town council has finally begun reconstructing what’s left. All throughout Berebury, the sounds of hammers and saws drone on. But on this particular day, the noise stops.
In the crater of a bomb site, a skeleton has been found. While its presence there isn’t unusual—hundreds died in bombing raids throughout England—the manner in which the pregnant girl met her end is sinister enough that Detective Inspector C. D. Sloan and his assistant, Detective Constable Crosby, are called to the scene. The cause of death, it seems, was not the blast, but a bullet to the spine.
Inspector Sloan is the best there is when it comes to cracking the most complex cases. But can he piece together a murder that’s been buried for more than a quarter century?
Genre: Mystery - Cozy
Why I Picked This Book: I've been trying to read through more Golden Age myseries and Catherine Aird is becoming one of my favorite authors.
My Impression: I really enjoyed this classic cozy mystery and it was a pretty quick read. A new doctor has started his practice in Berebury after the death of his predecessor. At the same time a last ditch attempt at archeaology is happening acorss the street at a World War II bomb site. It's last ditch because the site is about to be cleared to make room for a new development. But all that progress screeches to a halt when a body is discovered in the basement of the blast site and the death was not because of the bomb.
DI Sloan is on the case with his rather eager assistant DC Crosby. Crosby is enthusiastic but young and not the most aware which makes for frustration for Sloan and some humor for the reader. Who was the body and who put it there? Sloan is on the hunt for the answers with the pressure ramping up as secrets from the past show up in the present. I enjoyed the complications of having to figure out who went missing during wartime and reading everyone's memories of the time of the bombing.
The ending did feel a little rushed and while I understood how the solution came to be when it was explained it felt a bit out of left field. Overall, I enjoyed this book and I love the primary investigator's personality. I'm looking forward to reading more from this author - espeically if it's a DI Sloan book.
Would I Read More of this Series/Author? Absolutely! This was a very interesting and entertaining mystery.
Would I Recommend this Book? If you enjoy Agatha Christie or any of the other Golden Age mystery authors Aird is a must try.
Would I Recommend this Book? If you enjoy Agatha Christie or any of the other Golden Age mystery authors Aird is a must try.
Some of the main characters i the book I am currently reading (September by Rosamunde Pilcher) have the surname of Aird. They are in Scotland and I am loving the atmosphere. Nice review on this book, Katherine. I will look into the library for it.
ReplyDeleteNever heard of this author. Wonder what year the book was printed. Same time as Agatha Christie? Nice review.
ReplyDeleteI've read and enjoyed several Golden Age mysteries this year, but I've never read one by Aird. I'll have to see if my library has any of her books.
ReplyDeleteI haven't read any classics but they do sound so good.
ReplyDeleteGreat to have another classic cozy mystery author to read, I am so impressed by your wide range of reading and knowledge of this era.
ReplyDeleteThis sounds so good. Maybe I will check it out. Thank you.
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