Today I'm delighted to be sharing my thoughts on A Portrait Of Death by Rhen Garland. One of several bloggers to be participating in this Book Tour capably organised by Rachel's Random Resources over the last few days, you can find the links to the other blogs below.
In the quiet English village of Marmis Parva, a weekend house party is organised by a society hostess and all the top names are invited. But this is no ordinary house party.
Two men are savagely murdered during the course of the first evening and a young man, presumed
dead, returns home after two years imprisonment in South Africa bringing with him proof of
treason.
Detective Chief Inspector Elliott Caine’s long
awaited holiday in the Lake District is cancelled as he is brought in to investigate the peculiar nature of the murders. More bodies are discovered and Elliott
has to manoeuvre between high society, government protocols, and the heinous nature of the
crimes if he and his old friend Detective Sergeant Abernathy Thorne, are to catch the sadistic killer,
and the traitor lurking amongst them.
When Caine’s past comes back to haunt him, will his judgement be too clouded to focus on solving
the crime?
Will the Boer spy’s identity be uncovered before they can flee?
How are these murders connected to another in New York?
- Synopsis
With a satisfied nod, Carrie Lynn Cater closed the household accounts book and pushed it back into its nook on the writing desk; everything had been accounted for, including that dratted butcher's bill!
- First Sentence; Prologue
As the sparkling shards of glass struck the unconscious Carrie Lynn, the attacker's face split into a grotesque smile, it slowly walked towards her as it began to giggle.
- Memorable Moment; Page 5
SOURCE ... Received with thanks from Tour Organiser Rachel.
READ FOR A CHALLENGE? ... No.
MY THOUGHTS ... An intriguing murder mystery with paranormal overtones (Oh my goodness! That ending!). Set in the Victorian era; the upstairs-downstairs culture of the seemingly typical country house in which most of the story plays out fascinating in more ways than one.
Gruesome murders; the killer all the more menacing in that they are a shadow, a faceless entity who comes and goes leaving behind not a trace, political intrigue, twists and turns and plenty ... and Oh my goodness! That ending (Have I mentioned before how good the ending is? I have? Oh well, its worth mentioning again.)
Fascinating characters; the detective team wonderfully eccentric (I love that along with some Holmes like logic they lend what I felt was an inspired comical air to the story), quick witted ... A match for any murderer or are they?
There really is so much to recommend A Portrait Of Death and not just to readers of one genre but many.
Gruesome murders; the killer all the more menacing in that they are a shadow, a faceless entity who comes and goes leaving behind not a trace, political intrigue, twists and turns and plenty ... and Oh my goodness! That ending (Have I mentioned before how good the ending is? I have? Oh well, its worth mentioning again.)
Fascinating characters; the detective team wonderfully eccentric (I love that along with some Holmes like logic they lend what I felt was an inspired comical air to the story), quick witted ... A match for any murderer or are they?
There really is so much to recommend A Portrait Of Death and not just to readers of one genre but many.
ABOUT THE AUTHOR ... Rhen Garland lives in Somerset, England with her folk singing, book illustrating husband, approximately 4000 books, an equal number of ancient movies, and a large flock of stuffed sheep.
PARTICIPATING BLOGS ...
9th December
10th December
11th December
12th December
13th December
14th December
15th December
8 comments:
Thanks for this wonderful review, Felicity. It sounds really good! I'm off to check out my options.
Felicity, I'm so glad you enjoyed this book so thoroughly. Excellent review of what sounds like an intriguing mystery!
Felicity,
Thank you for your enthusiastic
and excellent review. I am glad
that you enjoyed this book so very
much and I will add it to my list.
Raven
i love when an author combines genres. gives me a little something extra to fall in love with
sherry @ fundinmental
Sounds like a good one...and I am so with you on Rachel's Random Resources! Stellar group!
Hi Felicity,
Okay already! I think I've got the message that the ending is good :)
You don't need to say any more about it, as I am already hooked, especially as the author lives not far away from me in Somerset and I do like to support 'local' whenever possible!
And this is from someone who doesn't really read that much in the way of supernatural storylines.
I also finally got around to checking out 'Rachel's Random Resources' and I think I might touch base with her soon, although right now I have my work cut out with the publishers and publicists I already work with!
Thanks for the feature and the lovely review :)
Yvonne
xx
This sounds good from the setting to the mystery. I like the paranormal elements. Thanks for sharing!
The book sounds good. It is interesting that they connected it with the Boers. That is not something that I would not have expected. Characters who are presumed dead who then return are usually a fascinating plot device.
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