Death in the Stocks by Georgette Heyer

All of a sudden, my library added all twelve of Georgette Heyer's mysteries to its ebook collection. I started my own collection of the paperback editions with their delightful covers a few years ago and currently have six. I have read several of them and was happy to be able to download one I didn't have - Death in the Stocks. 

This is the first in a series of mysteries, set in the 1930s, starring Superintendent Hannasyde from New Scotland Yard. He has his work cut out for him. The suspects don't appear to want to help prove their innocence, but rather add to the confusion by coming up with their own motives and guilty parties or fudging on their own alibis. 

After the dead body of Arnold Vereker is found imprisoned in the stocks on Ashleigh Green with a knife in his back, suspects abound. There is Kenneth who stands to inherit his half-brother's fortune. Kenneth's fiancée, Violet, is a bit of a gold-digger so she certainly had motive. Or perhaps the murderer is Kenneth's sister Antonia who was in the village the night of the murder and had a bone to pick with Arnold. Another suspect is Antonia's fiancé Rudolph Mesurier who was chief accountant for the dead man's firm and was caught 'borrowing' funds. 

But then again, one can't discount Arnold's brother Roger who was presumed dead but shows up just in time to collect his inheritance thereby shoving aside Kenneth who was first in line for the loot. 

After a second murder (I love a second murder - it sweetens the pot!), the truth comes out and the case ends up being solved by Giles Carrington, solicitor for the dead man. Giles is in love with Antonia so he has a vested interest in keeping her out of jail and helping to find the real murderer.

One really can't go wrong with Georgette Heyer mysteries. The stories are deftly plotted, the characters are amusing, and the conversations sparkle. Plus, the book covers are gorgeous.

Perfect bedtime reading.

The Night She Died and How to Murder a Millionaire

I hunkered down recently and read the first books in two new-to-me mystery series. They have served as my bedtime reading.

The Night She Died by Dorothy Simpson

Here we first meet Detective Inspector Luke Thanet. The crime to solve? Julie Holmes, still wearing her tweed overcoat, is found stabbed in the hallway of her home on quiet Gladstone Road. Her husband claims he found her dead when he returned home from class. Can he be trusted? Or perhaps the killer was one of the other men in Julie's life? A former boyfriend from London? Her boss? Or was it someone from her childhood? 

I liked Inspector Thanet. He has a wife and two children and in this outing, at least, has a tendency to overthink things and jump to conclusions. But then he is mature enough to acknowledge his own shortcomings. A promising start.

This was published in 1981 and Ms. Simpson has 14 more mysteries featuring Luke Thanet the last of which came out in 1999.

How to Murder a Millionaire by Nancy Martin

This one is just pure fun. Nora Blackbird is from old Philadelphia money. Unfortunately the money is all gone, but she and her sisters Libby and Emma still mingle with high society. Nora has taken a job as society columnist for a Philadelphia paper. She attends a cocktail party hosted by the paper's owner, millionaire art collector and family friend Rory Pendergrast, and discovers his dead body. That will put the end to any party!  

Nora's sleuthing uncovers all sorts of secrets and I had a delightful time amateur-detecting with her. Looking forward to reading more about the Blackbird sisters and their high society high jinks.

What's new on your bedside table?

Magpie Murders by Anthony Horowitz

With Magpie Murders you get two mysteries for the price of one. 

The first mystery is Magpie Murders itself, the final book in a successful series written by Alan Conway. The deaths in that story take place in the village of Saxby-on-Avon in 1955. The second mystery is the current day murder? accident? suicide? investigated by Susan Ryeland, Conway's editor. 

When Ms. Ryeland reads the as yet unpublished manuscript of Conway's book featuring his popular detective Atticus Lünd, she discovers the final chapters are missing. Alas! Who then, she speculates, is the murderer?

Before that question can be answered, a real dead body turns up and Ms. Ryeland is lured by her own curiosity and love of murder mysteries to investigate that death. There are clues to be found everywhere from the quintessential British village where the current day death took place to the fictional characters in Magpie Murders itself.

This was a fascinating read with many compelling characters - two books' worth - and references to Agatha Christie and other Golden Age mysteries, along with a healthy dose of word puzzles.  
I had not read anything about the book, so it all was a surprise and I hope I haven't spoiled too much for you if you decide to read it. It's a good old-fashioned puzzler with plenty of twists and turns. At 500 pages, it's a terrific book to get lost in.

I was amazed that Mr. Horowitz, who has had a hand in writing the television mysteries Foyle's War and Midsomer Murders, could keep track of all the people, places, and plot points. I kept picturing him in his office with walls covered in pink and yellow Post-it notes scribbled with character names and time lines. However he did it, it worked.