The tiny Cornwall town of Great Diddling doesn't have much to its snicker-worthy name — though that's never stopped the residents from making plenty of wild claims to fame to try to drum up some tourism. So when a much-maligned man is killed in an explosion in the library of a local manor, the residents of Great Diddling decide to make the most of it and create a book-and-murder festival to capitalize on their 15 minutes of fame. However, local author Berit Gardner and DCI Ian Ahmed are more concerned with solving the mystery of the odious man's death, though for very different reasons — Inspector Ahmed wants to mete out justice, while Berit simply wants to end her spate of writer's block.
This book plays up the stereotype of murder-filled small English towns with a wink and a nod, while creating eccentric characters and a boatload of possible murder motives that kept me guessing until the very end. I really hope this becomes the start to a series, as I'd love to read more about the residents of Great Diddling!
No comments:
Post a Comment