Halloween Bingo 2023
Since starting to read Agatha Christie's works, I've become interested in books that mention her in some way. I picked this book up used and hoped that it wouldn't be a big disappointment. I'm happy to report that Dame Agatha does not occur as a character, although our main character does try to channel Poirot and Miss Marple. It may be a cozy mystery, but there isn't the usual focus on a romantic plotline or on humdrum household details. However, there are plenty of delicious meals detailed and the benefits of having family members who skirt the law. Not your usual thing in the cozies.
Jordan Bingham has uncles in the “antiques” business, but she's going to university and staying (mostly) on the straight and narrow. She has been hired by a well known book collector to track down a reputed unknown Agatha Christie play, purportedly written during Christie's famous 11 day disappearance. The job comes with room and board, and after Jordan has moved in, she discovers that she had a predecessor who was killed in New York. Maybe murdered. People tangentially involved in Jordan's research start getting hurt and she realizes that there's more going on than meets the eye.
Victoria Abbott is obviously a Christie fan and is also familiar with Rex Stout, Dorothy Sayers, and other writers of crime fiction. This book is very much an homage to the genre. She's a decent writer, only veering off track once briefly (when I guess she figured that she had to summarize things for the reader, which was completely unnecessary). Like Christie, she encourages the reader to think they're onto something, then pulls that rug out from under them. Peeking ahead, I see that there are four more books in the series, with book two concentrating on one of my favourites, Dorothy Sayers. Needless to say, I'll be tracking it down.
I read this to match the Murder and Mayhem by the Book square on my bingo card (which I achieved by doing some hocus pocus with a Wild Card to replace Creepy Carnivals).
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