The Little Victim - Hardcover

Raichev, R.T.

Hardcover

ISBN 10: 156947575X ISBN 13: 9781569475751

Publisher: Soho Constable, 2009

Synopsis

Praise for R.T. Raichev:

"Deftly mixes dark humor and psychological suspense, its genteel surface masking delicious deviancy.”—Kirkus Reviews (starred review)

"Mixes Henry James’s psychological insight with Agatha Christie’s whodunit plotting skills. . . . Raichev once again triumphs.”—Library Journal (starred review)

“Except for its modern-day setting, the book could have been published during Agatha Christie's heyday, the so-called Golden Age of detective fiction, and readers who relish that period will be delighted.”—The Denver Post

"Raichev's use of characterization and allusion will keep the reader turning pages to the end."—The Oklahoman

It promised to be the perfect holiday with every modern convenience: exotic terraced gardens complete with an English folly, thirty-eight varieties of ice cream, and cocktails with names like “Widow’s Wink” and “Mumbay Mule.” Antonia Darcy and Hugh Payne never seriously imagined they would encounter anything worse than extravagance in this idyllic setting.

But an uninvited guest at the garden party given in their honor makes Antonia his confidante. Not only does he claim to have witnessed the strangling of beautiful, wayward Marigold Leighton, he also insists it was their host Roman Songhera, the “uncrowned King of Goa,” who had committed the murder.

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 four novels in the Antonia Darcy series and has lived in London since 1989.

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

Mystery novelist Antonia Darcy and her husband, Maj. Hugh Payne, travel to India in Raichev's witty fourth mystery to feature the amateur sleuths (after 2008's Assassins at Ospreys). The couple stay at Coconut Grove in Goa, the hacienda-style home of Roman Songhera, an Indian gangster. The scandalous behavior of Songhera's mistress, Marigold Ria Leighton, the daughter of Lord Justice Toby Leighton, has driven Songhera to the brink. At a lavish garden party at Coconut Grove, a drunken Englishman claiming to be in the employ of Lord Leighton tells Antonia that he saw Songhera kill Ria and fears for his life. With nods to Agatha Christie, John Buchan, P.D. James and other mystery greats, the amiable detectives sort out motives and suspects to arrive at the truth and a poetic justice more fitting than a mere jail sentence for the culprit. Clever chapter titles echoing classic detective fiction titles (e.g., Christie's The Mirror Cracked) add to the fun. (June)
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Edition details

• Publisher: Soho Constable
• Publication date: 2009
• Language: English
• ISBN 10: 156947575X
• ISBN 13: 9781569475751
• Binding: Hardcover
• Edition number: 1
• Number of pages: 224