A review by deeclancy
A Day in the Death of Dorothea Cassidy by Ann Cleeves
4.0
My only issue with this book is that at just under 200 pages, it's pretty slim, and I'm always sorry when an Ann Cleeves book ends. I'd give it five stars were it not for this. This is the first time I've met Inspector Ramsey. The books, early Ann Cleeves gems from the 1990s, are really difficult to come by in Irish bookshops and apparently are now collector's items. I just happened to pick this one up by chance. It's the third in the Ramsey series, and now that I'm quite fond of him, there is motivation to try to get hold of the other five.
Dorothea Cassidy is a beautiful, charismatic, unconventional vicar's wife who thinks she knows what's best for everyone. Her deep principles are admired by some people, but get on the nerves of others. When the local vicar elopes and brings her home to his village as his new wife, there is obviously a mixed reaction in the village. Is she a meddler or a force for good? Who would hate her enough to murder her?
This has the air of a good, old-fashioned, middle-England murder mystery, but with the added bonus of the Ann Cleeves brand of fine-tuned understanding of the inner workings of small communities of humans operating in close proximity. While much shorter than some of her later books, it's still a thoroughly satisfying and well-crafted volume.
Dorothea Cassidy is a beautiful, charismatic, unconventional vicar's wife who thinks she knows what's best for everyone. Her deep principles are admired by some people, but get on the nerves of others. When the local vicar elopes and brings her home to his village as his new wife, there is obviously a mixed reaction in the village. Is she a meddler or a force for good? Who would hate her enough to murder her?
This has the air of a good, old-fashioned, middle-England murder mystery, but with the added bonus of the Ann Cleeves brand of fine-tuned understanding of the inner workings of small communities of humans operating in close proximity. While much shorter than some of her later books, it's still a thoroughly satisfying and well-crafted volume.