DEATH IN THE STOCKS

Author: Georgette Heyer ISBN: 9781402217975 10/2009 MYSTERY Publisher: SOURCEBOOKS

A bobby on his night rounds discovers a corpse in evening dress locked in the stocks on the village green. Inspector Hannasyde is called in, but sorting out the suspects proves a challenge. Anyone in the eccentric, exceedingly uncooperative Vereker family had the motive and means to kill Andrew Vereker, who seemed to have been universally disliked. One cousin allies himself with the inspector, while the victim's half-brother and sister, each of whom suspects the other, markedly try to set him off the scent. To readers' delight, the killer is so cunning (not to mention the author), that the mystery remains until the very end…

RRAH's THOUGHTS AND PONDERINGS:

Georgette Heyer’s hysterical mystery DEATH IN THE STOCKS is one for the keeper shelf. While I adore Ms. Heyer’s romances, I get just as much pleasure reading her mysteries. This one is, hands down, one of her best.

From the very first page the reader is pulled into a web of intrigue and deceit that only a truly intricate mind could fabricate. Embezzlement and engagements mix effortlessly with champagne and red herrings so faultlessly that I honestly had no idea who the murderer actually was!

The little details are some of the best parts of this story. The Constable who goes over to tell a man he cannot sleep outside, only to discover that his “sleeper” is actually covered in blood made me grin, his response to touching his first dead man so similar to what I imagine my own might be. The period details, especially the ones relating to costumes, enchanted me. Apparently a woman wasn’t completely turned out until she wore a picture hat and carried a sunshade! I was completely captivated, and fell into this mystery quicker than I ever expected to.

As my red eyes and excessive yawns will show, DEATH IN THE STOCKS is a page-turner that will definitely keep readers awake! I loved it, and I believe others will, too.

Kay James