"Good installment in this series"
In 1889 at Fourways house in the English village of
Bamford, Cora Oakley informs her spouse William she wants a
separation. Ailing from an extracted tooth, Cora uses
medicine to ease her pain. The next day she is found dead
apparently poisoned. The police arrest William who stands
trial for her murder. In 1999 William's descendants, two elderly sisters
Damaris and Florence, are trying to sell their ancestral
home Fourways. However, a Polish veterinary surgeon
claiming to be William's great-grandson arrives. Jan
demands half the profit from the sale of the house. Not
long afterward, he is found dead from the same poison used
to kill Cora. Superintendent Alan Markby and his
significant other Meredith Mitchell lead the investigation
into whether two senior citizens pulled an arsenic and old
lace operation that requires looking into the century plus
old mystery as well. SHADES OF MURDER, the thirteenth Cotwolds village
mystery, is a wonderful double murder story as Ann Granger
effortlessly moves back and forth between the two
centuries. The story line is cleverly designed, but the
tale, as is the case in most of these novels, belongs to
the lead couple, having moved forward in their relationship
and by doing so freshening up the plot. Harriet Klausner
Reviewed by PNR Group Member
Posted September 13, 2001
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