Assassins at Ospreys - Hardcover

Raichev, R.T.

Hardcover

ISBN 10: 1569475059 ISBN 13: 9781569475058

Publisher: Soho Constable, 2008

Synopsis

Praise for R.T. Raichev:

“Fascinating.”—Lady Antonia Fraser, author of the Jemima Shore series

“Agatha Christie fans will find much to like in this traditional whodunit.”—Publishers Weekly

“Antonia Darcy is a terrific sleuth, and Raichev is a very clever writer, indeed.”—Booklist

“Fans of cozies will love the light touch.”—Kirkus Reviews

Mystery writer Antonia Darcy and her husband, Major Hugh Payne, are persuaded to visit a fan’s home. They become suspicious when the dying master of nearby Ospreys leaves his fortune to her.

R.T. Raichev’s previous novels are The Hunt for Sonya Dufrette and The Death of Corinne.

About this title

About the Author

R.T. Raichev is a researcher and writer who grew up in Bulgaria and wrote a university dissertation on English crime fiction. He is the author of five novels in the Antonia Darcy series and has lived in London since 1989.

Reviews

At the start of Raichev's stylish third novel to feature mystery writer Antonia Darcy and her husband, Maj. Hugh Payne (after 2007's The Death of Corrine), the couple attend a literary festival in Hay-on-Wye. There they reluctantly befriend two unusual women—a femme fatale in a wheelchair, Beatrice Bee Ardleigh, and Bee's austere companion, Ingrid Delmar—whom Hugh dubs Goldilocks and Cerberus. A few months later, Antonia and Hugh accept Bee's invitation to come see her in Oxfordshire, where Bee has just made a controversial marriage and Ingrid has been impersonating Bee on visits to a dying neighbor who plans to leave his home, Ospreys (The secret house of death they used to call it), to the National Trust. The twisty plot thickens with the murder of a shady, Chartreuse-drinking priest at Ospreys. Deft use of literary allusion and well-drawn if unsubtle characterization are among the strengths of this traditional whodunit. (Apr.)
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In a pleasing third outing, crime writer Antonia Darcy and her husband, Major Hugh Payne, attract the attentions of Bee, a rather strange but charming woman, at an author signing. In this smart and clever mystery, Antonia and Hugh are reluctantly drawn into the intrigues of Bee, her new husband, Lem, and her former caretaker Ingrid; their curiosity is piqued when Bee receives a letter from an old flame recently returned from America and dying in the nearby Ospreys house. Real life begins to resemble one of Antonia’s mysteries as first Ingrid (who was disguised as Bee) and then a priest (with an opium obsession) go missing. With plenty of literary references and witty remarks, this will appeal to readers who like their cozies on the intellectual side. The English country setting, moderate pace, and well-described characters could just as easily be in the nineteenth as the twenty-first century and will appeal to series fans and newcomers alike. --Jessica Moyer

Edition details

• Publisher: Soho Constable
• Publication date: 2008
• ISBN 10: 1569475059
• ISBN 13: 9781569475058
• Binding: Hardcover
• Language: English
• Number of pages: 224