Many of us learned to love mysteries thanks to the English country house murder. It's a classic-or a cliche: the big, often isolated, house, the resident aristocrats, their servants and assorted guests. It's a formula that has been abused, but that doesn't mean it should be discarded. The fact that you had a piece of stale cake last week doesn't mean you'll never enjoy dessert again. So I couldn't help a frisson of excitement when I saw this title, a contemporary re-creation of a 1930s story.
We are at Alderly, the historic home of the Earl of Burford, his wife, Lavinia, and daughter Gerry. The occasion is the death of an elderly relative, who will be buried in the family plot. As a result, a sundry collection of relatives gather at Alderly for the reading of the will and- gasp! -- an unpleasant woman ends up dead.
There are plenty of suspects, as several people had reason to dislike the victim. Gerry, the very essence of modern young woman, cannot resist giving the long-suffering Chief Inspector Wilkins a hand in the detecting department.
