cbr16bingo scandal
I was very much predisposed to like this sort of book. I am a sucker for those mid-century (or earlier) tales of well-to-do families packing up to head out to Cape Cod for the summer; women, children, and the occasional servant, while father stays on in the City, and only comes out for the weekend. The house is, of course, some eccentric pile of lumber that has been in the family for generations and is known, needless to say, as the Summer Cottage. Life is idyllic, consisting of swimming and boating and summer meals outdoors and tennis, with the occasional rainy day to allow one to find a cosy nook in which to read the afternoon away. Is it just me?
But. Two sisters are in joint custody of the property. One, Nick, has arrived with her husband and their adolescent daughter, Daisy. Daisy’s preoccupation this summer is, as ever, winning the local tennis championship. The other sister, Helena, has arrived from Los Angeles with her son Ed. Helena had aspirations to be an actress, but that never panned out, and her husband is involved in dubious goings-on and refuses to make the trip out. And even though these characters drink a lot (mid-century, y’all, and it really was a thing), Helena really does seem to be overdoing it. And then there is Ed. Now Daisy has grown up with this guy, so as far as she is concerned, he is that dorky cousin of hers, and there are some indicators that he is on the spectrum, as if that’s any excuse, but hey, he’s family. But then a young servant gets rather horrifically murdered in the woods behind their cottage, and there you go.
What aggravated me about this book, was that there were constant little mentions of hair color and eye shape that seemed to insinuate connections that never panned out. Why you keep bringing this up if it isn’t going to go anywhere? (Would have made a better book. just sayin). So eventually, someone makes some connections, and Ed is farmed out. These folks don’t do jail time.
Well, pah. Could have been a lot better than it ended up being, IMHO.