Review: The Case Has Altered
from Library Journal, October 1, 1997
Poor Dorcas, dead in a ditch in the fens. And she's not the only one.
Vera Dunn, the manipulative ex-wife of Max Owen, master of the
local estate, Fengate (where Dorcas was a servant), is also dead.
Enter Grimes stalward Richard Jury, who's not officially on the case
but who gets involved anyway because Lady Kenningston, a woman
he cherishes, has been accused of doing in Dunn, with whom she
has been seen quarreling. Jury gets pal Melrose Plant to pose as an
antiques dealer so that he can snoop around Fengate, then goes off
to do some investigating on his own. Naturally, there are puzzles,
e.g., why was Dorcas out on the fens that night? Why didn't Lady
Kenningston come clean on her relation with nasty Verna? The result
is a delicious ebb and flow of tension--first, we get a trial for Lady
Kennington, then more twists and turns as the real killer is finally,
surprisingly revealed. In the process, there's beautifully rendered
atmosphere and perhaps a bit too much of Melrose's litigious aunt.
Vintage Grimes; for all collections.
COPYRIGHT 1997 Cahners Business Information
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