Showing posts with label Golden Age of detective fiction. Show all posts
Showing posts with label Golden Age of detective fiction. Show all posts

Monday, September 16, 2019

British Library Crime Classic...

Thirteen Guests by J. Jefferson Farjeon, first published in 1936, is a country house murder mystery. Lord Aveling has invited a dozen guests to Bragley Court to enjoy a weekend of hunting. His guest list includes an artist, a gossip columnist, a stage actress, a pretty young widow, and a mystery novelist. But he ends up with an unexpected thirteenth guest when John Foss gets injured at the local train station and is brought to Bragley Court to recuperate. Luckily, John's not superstitious--besides, any "bad luck would come to the thirteenth guest who passes in through the door." And that isn't him.

Bad luck does come to Bragley Court when a portrait of Lord Aveling's daughter is vandalized, a family dog is killed, and a stranger's body is found at a nearby quarry. Then, one of the thirteen guests ends up dead, and Lord Aveling calls Detective Inspector Kendall to come and investigate the murders--a job made harder by the many secrets every guest seems to be concealing. (Even the butler has something to hide!)

This is another entertaining mystery from the Golden Age of detective fiction. I had fun trying to figure out what secrets each character was keeping, and who among them had a motive to commit murder. I also liked the snarky friendship between Pratt, the artist, and Bultin, the gossip columnist; John's attraction to Nadine, the pretty young widow, made for a nice side story. And throughout the novel there were witty bits of dialogue and eye-rolling moments between the various characters that totally made me smile. This is a good one.

Happy Reading!