Tony Hetheridge, retired Scotland Yard detective and aka Lord Anthony Hetheridge, is recovering from knee replacement surgery and watching over his infant son. His wife, Kate, is back at her job as a detective inspector, after her pregnancy leave. Both Hethridges will soon be awash in new crimes.
Kate and her team are called to the home of a seemingly well-to-do woman, whose body has been discovered by the cleaning lady. The death appears to be of natural causes; the dead woman was in her 70s, there no sign of violence on the body, and the house itself shows no signs of a break-in or theft. But something doesn’t sit right with Kate, and the autopsy will show that it is murder.
Tony is visited by a friend who asks him to investigate a strange series of coincidences involving a three-woman singing group. One was kidnapped and murdered; another was attacked by what appeared to be a mugger; and one is convinced she’s being stalked. Plus their manager had been killed in an explosion on their tour bus. Tony takes on the case, even though he’s confined to home during his recovery and physical therapy.
The two cases will, inevitably, come together; it turns out that the connecting link is, of all things, a young woman’s finishing school. It may be the last of its kind, but it seems to be full of politics, intrigue, and now possibly even murder.
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| Emma Jameson |
London Blue is the eighth installment of the Lord and Lady Hetheridge crime series by British author Emma Jameson, and it’s a welcome addition. It’s been three years since the last novel, Untrue Blue, giving rise to speculation that Jameson might have ended the series. That, fortunately, has turned out not to be the case, and she’s said in a mystery newsletter that she’s working on Hetheridge No. 9. It’s a solid series, with one of the key features being how Jameson plays off the upper-class Tony against the working class (London East End) Kate. And she includes a worrisome side story about Kate’s colleague and Tony’s former subordinate Paul Bhar, who has a new baby girl who might have developmental disabilities.
In addition to the Hetheridge series, Jameson has a second series of novels featuring the amateur detective Dr. Benjamin Bones. The series begins in Cornwall during World War II, and it has a companion series called “The Magic of Cornwall.”
London Blue is a class Hetheridge story – cases that merge, suspects and witnesses who all seem to avoid telling the truth or omitting key details, and the ongoing clash of classes. And Jameson adds exactly the right amount of humor to relieve the tension.
Related:
Something Blue by Emma Jameson.
Blue Christmas by Emma Jameson.
Some Monday Readings
“Whoever looks upon them as an irregular mob…” – Phill Greenwalt at Emerging Revolutionary War Era.
Felixstowe Martello Towers, Bawdsey Radar and Sutton Hoo – A London Inheritance.
A mission of guilt: On the West’s latest self-flagellation – The New Criterion.
Things Worth Remembering: One Easter Night in Europe - Rod Dreher at The Free Press.
The Patriot Martyrs of April 19, 1775 - Mark Maloy at Emerging Revolutionary War Era.
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