Patricia Merton is excited about a retreat in her friend Jimmy Yoxall's house in the country where she can enjoy hunting. It's suppose to be a small circle of friends and family that would allow her to unwind and maybe think about her future while doing something she enjoys but also is VERY good at. Don't laugh Pat has the medals to show for her accomplishment in shooting. But when she arrives together with her older brother Bill they are both a bit disappointed to realize the company is going to be larger than they expect with a few people they would gladly do without..
One of the people who wasn't suppose to be there is Miss Fenella Carruth the fiance of her friend Jimmy. Pat actually has nothing against the woman, especially since she shows interest in learning how to shoot. Yet Fen's company doesn't make things MUCH better with Jimmy's sister Anna and her "ill mannered" (or rather pure evil) husband Maurice Haworth and her not so discreet lover Jack Bouvier-Lynes. They are not the only one there.. There is also Victoria Singh a very opinionated vegetarian (the best companion in a hunting gathering..) and Preston Keynes who could be a better shot but not a bad guy really. Including herself, Bill and the older Witton couple (Jimmy and Anna's parents) these are the people to occupy the manor when lies, conspiracies, indiscretions and blackmail concludes in the murder of Maurice Haworth. You would think it would be the best outcome considering no one wanted him around anyway.. But with the terrible weather it's clear the murderer must be among them.
Pat and her new found friend Fen decide to investigate the murder. They have nothing to do and anyhow her betrothal to Jimmy is falling apart with him showing so little regard to her the whole time. He might have other things on his mind. Things Fen (and Pat) couldn't have known but it seems he has made one too many bad decisions and he's not the only one in this house, each for his or her own reasons.
I really enjoyed this one. More than half the book was about Fen and Pat getting closer while Pat tries to be a good friend to both Jimmy and Fen and not disclose anything she shouldn't have and with the truths she learns from Bill it gets even more complicated. Yet there is something between Pat and Fen, something on the one hand almost innocent and on the other so raw and emotional, not in the physical sense (that was quite tame) but on the most basic levels of how both perceive themselves and how other interpret their behavior and mostly how and who they wish they could be. It seems no matter what the answer is, they find it in each other.
HIGHLY RECOMMEND you give this one a go but don't forget to also check out "Think of England". These two interactions only got better!
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Rating:
★★★★★ |
E-Book
Edition |
199
pages
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Read on:
29-30 April 2020
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