A Deception at Thornecrest: An Amory Ames Mystery
Mrs. Ames, the wife of Milo Ames, receives a visitor who also claims to be Mrs. Ames, wife of Milo Ames. This particular confusion is quickly resolved by the unexpected arrival of Milo’s hitherto unknown half-brother, Darien, whom it turns out had seduced the second Mrs. Ames but not actually married her. The real Mrs. Ames lives in Thornecrest House in the village of Allingcross in 1930s Kent. She is in the last stages of pregnancy but nonetheless determines to keep a close eye on Darien, especially when she learns he is now romantically involved with Marena, a local girl, and the former sweetheart of Bertie, a stable-boy. Murder doesn’t rear its ugly head until page one hundred when Bertie is found dead. Mrs. Ames, despite her husband’s remonstrations, turns investigator. She narrows the field to seven suspects including Darien, Marena, and the second Mrs. Ames, and, through a series of social calls, elicits tidbits of information and gradually pares down the wide range of motive-opportunity combinations. The action in A Deception at Thornecrest is sparse, the emphasis being on Mrs. Ames’ observations and suspicions. Even so, this leisurely paced way of telling the story still manages to produce some exciting twists at the end.
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Star Count | 3.5/5 |
Format | Hard |
Page Count | 280 pages |
Publisher | Minotaur |
Publish Date | 2020-09-08 |
ISBN | 9781250159793 |
Bookshop.org | Buy this Book |
Issue | November 2020 |
Category | Mystery, Crime, Thriller |
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