American Jillian White thought pretty village WEYCOMBE was
peaceful, especially living in a gated enclave with her
wealthy -- and titled -- husband. But a local estate agent is
found dead and storm clouds gather over the sleeping
countryside setting.
G.M. Malliet's first mystery won the 2008 Agatha Award for
Best First Novel and she has been nominated for other
several awards for her police procedurals. In this case,
our crime investigator is an amateur sleuth, whose American
eyes cast a cold light on the police work as she watches
over the body of her book club friend, Anna Monroe. Jillian
walks every day as she tries to get her act together and
write, and she recognised Anna's shoes in the undergrowth.
This looks like an accident, or in the worst case, a
mugging gone bad, or a sexual opportunist. Told unusually
in first person, the better to convey Jillian's thoughts
and culture clash, the tale follows her as she asks
questions of her neighbours.
Jillian comes across as lonely, rootless and frustrated
with life. She's lost her job, haunts the gym and drinks
wine, resenting the dishwasher chores and by extension her
husband. I don't see that anything is stopping her from
writing, so I didn't take to her that well. Investigating
the shocking death of a woman she knows, is just livening
up her week, and a potential source of income or ego boost.
Well, the potential involvement of a local MP with the dead
woman might help that along nicely.
I can't say much more without giving the clues away so I'll
just say that WEYCOMBE is an interesting crime tale for
anyone who liked the ironic tone of Gone Girl or enjoys
culture clash and active, involved mysteries. As our main
character muses, you don't expect Agatha Christie country
to actually produce murders.
To those on the outside, Weycombe is perfect. For those on the inside, the cost of perfection is deadly.
Living in the gated, wealthy village of Weycombe with her titled English husband is a fantasy come true for American Jillian White. But the murder of a local estate agent mars the so-pretty surface of her life and home. Worried about a killer on the loose, Jill tries to piece together clues hidden in the many versions of truth she hears from her suspicious neighbors. As Jill plunges deep into the investigation, her own suspicions grow into a warped web of lies and treachery.
From award-winning author G.M. Malliet comes a gripping psychological tale of murder and deception in which few can be trusted and nothing is as perfect as it seems.
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