Best for:
Fans of Agatha Christie-style mysteries.
In a nutshell:
Will is hosting a murder mystery party on New Year’s Eve, and a few town folk are attending. In the background looms a fight over the use of a lighthouse that was the scene of a tragedy.
Worth quoting:
N/A
Why I chose it:
I thoroughly enjoyed his book Death in the Arctic. And while it didn’t figure into my choice, I saw that the blurb on the front was by Ragnar Jónasson, one of my favorite authors.
Review:
I read this book in one day, and it had me hooked from the start.
Like his previous book that I read, the murder doesn’t happen until maybe 1/4 of the way through the book, and that’s fine. We get back story, but not all of it. History comes out over the course of the night.
The Hamlet Hall is a manor house turned hotel in a very tiny town on the southern coast of England, and the owner Ian is trying to revive it during the off season. At Will’s suggestion, he agrees to host a murder mystery party on New Year’s Eve. Will is a young man who is still dealing with a trauma he experienced as a small child, and he is looking to use the evening to figure some things out.
Meanwhile, the attendees include Gwen and her husband – she wanted to use the lighthouse for a memorial but was outbid by a former townie, who is turning it into a fancy home. Nigel is also there – he took the contract for that work, so most of the town hates him and his wife, And Martha and Edgar are there – they own a shop in town that has been robbed, and they think Nigel’s workers are at fault. There are also three actors to help the show along, including one not from town.
The book takes place basically over the course of one night, which is one of my favorite kinds of stories. I was sort of able to figure out part of what had really happened, but there are enough surprises and twists that it didn’t spoil any thing for me.