Beautiful
Sheila Delaney spends a fairytale evening at the hunt ball
dancing with the mysterious Mr X. A few months later, Anthony
Bathurst is hired by the Crown Prince of Clorania to deal
with a blackmailer, and is shortly afterwards also investigating
the mysterious death of an anonymous girl who is found dead
in a dentist’s chair. Surely these events cannot be
connected?
This
is the third Brian Flynn mystery to be released in paperback
and ebook format by Dean Street Press. He was one of the less
well known authors from the Golden Age of mysteries, but one
of the better ones, and a long overdue reprint. This is often
held to be his best novel, and although I also very much enjoyed
reading his debut novel, The
Billiard Room Mystery, (also reviewed on this site) this
is a far more polished work. It boasts an extremely complex
and tortuous plot with plenty of surprises and red herrings
galore. I think it will appeal to Agatha Christie fans, as
there is much about it that recalls her work. Gradually the
disparate strands weave together and culminate in quite a
surprise, unless you are a better sleuth than I am and got
there first. I don’t think the urbane and rather conceited
Anthony Bathurst will ever be a great favorite of mine, but
he has calmed down from the first book and mostly comes over
as merely sharp. This is a series that you read for the wonderfully
twisty plots and portrait of Britain between the wars. You
will spend most of the book wondering what the peacock’s
eye is, as well as trying to fathom out who on earth could
be guilty. I look forward to reading all the works of this
author; thank you Dean Street Press (and foreword writer Steve
Barge for insisting on a reprint).
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