Murder of the Bride
Buried Under Books Review:
Rex Graves is back, this time visiting his fiancée, Helen d’Arcy, so they can attend the wedding in Aston-on-Trent of one of her former students. Polly Newcombe is very pregnant and her groom, Timmy Thorpe looks a bit peaked, but is it just the dreary day leading Rex to think the success of this marriage is doubtful? Perhaps not, as the reception at the bride’s family country home in Derbyshire soon turns from a pleasant celebration to a scene of mayhem when Polly collapses, looking more than a little green. Leaving the reception and heading to Aston-on-Trent, Rex learns a great deal more about the secrets of the Newcombe and Thorpe families. Is jealousy behind the attacks? Greed? Infidelity? Overbearing mothers? Rex and the local police have an overabundance of clues and evidence, and getting to the solution to the case will require much thought and cooperation. This latest case for Rex Graves is every bit as charming and entertaining as those in earlier books and readers will not be disappointed. The setting, an English country home, is as much a character as the people, and many of those characters are a delight, especially Police Constable Perrin (and the cast of characters provided by the author is very much appreciated).