A dead body in a case of armor, a once-wealthy earl with lots to hide, a sprawling estate stacked with witnesses . . . it’s another head-scratcher of a case for Detective Inspector C. D. Sloan in this intriguing mystery by CWA Diamond Dagger winner Catherine Aird
It is the early 1970s, and times are tough in the upper reaches of British society. To survive the changing times, the Earl of Ornum has done the previously unthinkable and opened his estate to wandering tourists. One day, a hyperactive little boy and his family are roaming Ornum House delightedly. The curious tyke sees a full suit of armor and lifts the visor . . . only to see a face staring out at him.
As Detective Inspector C. D. Sloan soon finds, the man in the suit of armor is dead—and there’s a slew of suspects waiting to be interviewed. Was it the ditzy duchess? The disappointing nephew? One of the servants? The earl himself? It’s up to Sloan and his wisecracking sidekick, Detective Constable Crosby, to find out before the murderer strikes again.
Description:
A dead body in a case of armor, a once-wealthy earl with lots to hide, a sprawling estate stacked with witnesses . . . it’s another head-scratcher of a case for Detective Inspector C. D. Sloan in this intriguing mystery by CWA Diamond Dagger winner Catherine Aird
It is the early 1970s, and times are tough in the upper reaches of British society. To survive the changing times, the Earl of Ornum has done the previously unthinkable and opened his estate to wandering tourists. One day, a hyperactive little boy and his family are roaming Ornum House delightedly. The curious tyke sees a full suit of armor and lifts the visor . . . only to see a face staring out at him.
As Detective Inspector C. D. Sloan soon finds, the man in the suit of armor is dead—and there’s a slew of suspects waiting to be interviewed. Was it the ditzy duchess? The disappointing nephew? One of the servants? The earl himself? It’s up to Sloan and his wisecracking sidekick, Detective Constable Crosby, to find out before the murderer strikes again.
From AudioFile
A tourist discovers a body in a suit of armor on display at an English country estate. Suspicion centers on the owning family whose archetypical members are superbly portrayed by Robin Bailey. His takeoff on the two aged aunts is just delicious. Distinction is made, as it is in British society, between the aristocrats and ordinary folk like Detective Sloan, a continuing Aird sleuth. One senses that both writer and reader are having fun with this one. Bailey has read other of Aird's "cosy" mysteries, but has died, so this is the end. J.B.G. © AudioFile 2001, Portland, Maine-- Copyright © AudioFile, Portland, Maine