BOOK OF THE WEEK
Downton Abbey meets Gosford Park and Knives Out in this entertaining, locked-room historical cozy that marks best-selling British children’s author Montgomery’s (I am Rebel) successful foray into adult fiction. On May 18, 1910, Stephen Pike, fresh out of a Borstal Institution (a juvenile detention center), arrives at Tithe Hall on the Cornish tidal island of World’s End, where he has secured a job as an under-butler. But all is chaos at the manor as Lord Conrad Stockingham-Welt prepares to seal all the windows, doors, and keyholes of Tithe Hall from the dangerous gases that he believes the approaching Halley’s Comet will bring. Assigned to care for Conrad’s octogenarian aunt, Stephen spends the evening outside observing the comet with the scientifically inclined but foul-tempered and foul-mouthed Miss Decima Stockingham. Fortunately, she proves to be Stephen’s alibi when the hall’s rooms are unsealed the next morning and her nephew is found dead in his study, shot through the eye with a crossbow. Determined to identify the murderer with methodical rigor, Decima enlists Stephen’s assistance in investigating possible suspects among the family, guests, and staff. Was it cousin Edwin Welt, MP, who expects to inherit the estate? Or another cousin, Lettice Welt, rumored to have had a hand in the untimely demise (from gastric flu) of her husband, daughter, and son-in-law? Or could it even be the butler, Mr. Stokes, with his own secrets? The eccentric, hilarious Decima and the naive Stephen, who grows in self-confidence, make a delightful sleuthing pair as they track clues and cross names off their list of suspects. Cozy historical fans will anticipate the dynamic duo’s next adventure.
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