The peaceful estate of Wichenford Court, in deepest Worcestershire, is convulsed by a bizarre murder which mirrors a murder committed on exactly the same spot in 1791. Inspector Wickfield undertakes an investigation in which the killer’s tracks are covered so successfully that the case is in danger of remaining unsolved.
Looking for sophisticated and stylish entertainment to stimulate jaded brain-cells? LOOK NO FURTHER! Falconer has shown yet again that he can produce a top-rate whodunnit in the finest British traditions: urbane, cultured and witty.
The peaceful estate of Wichenford Court, in deepest Worcestershire, is convulsed by a bizarre murder which, it is discovered, mirrors in 1959 a murder committed on exactly the same spot in 1791. Inspector Wickfield and his new assistant, Sergeant Holbrook, undertake a baffling investigation in which the killer’s tracks are covered so successfully that the case is in danger of remaining unsolved The Buckenham family, who have farmed the estate for centuries, the estate workers, and the gracious and monied Lady Hick-Stevens in the wings, provide the detectives with a spectrum of characters who might all, for one reason or another, have murder in mind.
A suicide before the First World War, a university career cut short by drink and debt, a missed business opportunity, family antagonisms, a threat to jobs on the estate, all give the inspector and his sergeant food for thought – not to mention a headache – until the inspector rumbles the one tiny mistake that leads to the unmasking of the killer. A triumph of literary sophistication!
Julius Falconer completed six enjoyable years of university studies abroad (particularly slow, our Julius) before working as a translator back in the UK. Thinking that he could earn more as a teacher, to fund his lavish life-style, he took a PGCE at Leeds University and duly turned to teaching. He slaved away at the chalk-face for twenty-six long years in both Cornwall and Scotland before retiring to grow cabbages in Yorkshire, where he still lives. His wife of thirty-three years unfortunately died suddenly in 2000. He has one daughter, married. In 2009, looking to fill his new-found leisure profitably(?), he started to write detective novels and is still happily scribbling away seventeen books later. His interests include music, reading, walking, gardening and genealogy. Julius Falconer is a member of the Crime Writers’ Association. As well as some booklets and several dozen papers in professional journals, he is the author of eighteen murder mysteries featuring the diffident and cultured Inspector Wickfield. Because some of the stories are set in Worcestershire, he has featured in the Worcester News, on BBC Radio Hereford and Worcester and in the online Newsletter for the Worcestershire tourist board.
Reviews
There are no reviews yet.