his book made me want to take a cup of tea, a scone, and my Kindle and lock myself in a room for a few hours and just read. I discovered Patricia Wentworth about the same time I discovered Agatha Christie and they're both two of my favorite authors. It was a special treat to discover a new-to-me mystery by a favorite author.

The evil rich guy who finally gets murdered is a plot that Wentworth used a pretty good bit but somehow she always makes it feel fresh and different. This one is no exception. Lucas Dale is the worst kind of evil - a wolf in sheep's clothing who stops at nothing to get what he wants. After he manipulates the beautiful and beloved Susan Lenox into an engagement he's found shot to death with Susan's former fiance, Bill Carrick, at the scene. He's the obvious suspect but in the land of Patricia Wentworth nothing is as it seems. The mystery twists and turns with lots of leads and suspects and more than a few motives. I adore Lamb and Abbot's relationship. Frank Abbot is kind of the new generation of Scotland Yard - from a fine family with an aristocratic education - and is a good detective but can be quick to judgement and frequently has a pithy remark and the older, higher ranking, and more solid Lamb has to slap him down which is a joy to watch. Lamb reminds me a little bit of Agatha Christie's Superintendent Battle. He's easy to underestimate which is an incredibly dangerous to do. He's an amazing detective but at the same time can be very sympathetic and kind.

However, I'm used to seeing both Lamb and Abbot with Miss Maude Silver (Wentworth's version of Miss Marple) and she brings out a little more personality from both men. I thoroughly enjoyed seeing Lamb and Abbot on their own but I'm not sure I would have enjoyed this one quite as much if it wasn't for meeting them Miss Silver first.

This is a very well done entertaining mystery with likable characters and a solution I bet most readers won't figure out until the final reveal. If you're a fan of Agatha Christie or other classic mystery writers you must give Patricia Wentworth a try!

I have read several of Patricia Wentworth's Miss Silver mysteries and was curious to see what she would do with different characters. Lucas Dale is the new owner of King's Bourne. He is rich, arrogant, and determined to marry Susan even though she is engaged to someone else. There are stolen pearls, a bit of blackmail, and then Dale is found murdered in his study. Susan's fiance threatened to kill him just minutes before. Is he guilty? Inspector Lamb and Sergeant Abbott fit all the pieces together. I liked this quite a bit and will be looking for more books featuring this detecting duo.