tasmanian_bibliophile's review
3.0
‘Sarah Kent, who had found the body, sat shaking...’
On Victoria’s Bellarine Peninsula, in the small town of Queenscliffe, is the historic Royal Hotel. It is currently undergoing renovations so is only accommodating a few guests. Rumour has it that the hotel is haunted. Perhaps that is not surprising, given that the building previously served as both a mental asylum and a morgue. And the rumour mill will certainly be active after a hotel guest is found murdered in the basement.
The victim, Gerard Hardy, is an academic. He was hoping to make contact with the town’s most famous (albeit long dead) literary resident: Henry Handel Wilson (the pseudonym of Ethel Florence Lindesay Richardson). He had a book she signed, and he thought that Mrs Marr, a local medium might be able to help.
The local police, Chris Blackie, and Anthea Merritt attempt to solve the crime but their efforts are brushed aside by DI Masterton of Geelong’s CIU. Masterton is sure that he has all the answers.
What follows is a solid mystery, with some likely suspects, a few twists and a couple of red herrings to keep the reader guessing. I have not (yet) read the first two books in Ms Johnston’s Sea-Change Mysteries, but I hope to do so soon.
Jennifer Cameron-Smith
On Victoria’s Bellarine Peninsula, in the small town of Queenscliffe, is the historic Royal Hotel. It is currently undergoing renovations so is only accommodating a few guests. Rumour has it that the hotel is haunted. Perhaps that is not surprising, given that the building previously served as both a mental asylum and a morgue. And the rumour mill will certainly be active after a hotel guest is found murdered in the basement.
The victim, Gerard Hardy, is an academic. He was hoping to make contact with the town’s most famous (albeit long dead) literary resident: Henry Handel Wilson (the pseudonym of Ethel Florence Lindesay Richardson). He had a book she signed, and he thought that Mrs Marr, a local medium might be able to help.
The local police, Chris Blackie, and Anthea Merritt attempt to solve the crime but their efforts are brushed aside by DI Masterton of Geelong’s CIU. Masterton is sure that he has all the answers.
What follows is a solid mystery, with some likely suspects, a few twists and a couple of red herrings to keep the reader guessing. I have not (yet) read the first two books in Ms Johnston’s Sea-Change Mysteries, but I hope to do so soon.
Jennifer Cameron-Smith
More...