Death wears a mask

Milo and Amory Ames have tried to put the murder at the Brightwell Hotel behind them; working to rebuild their marriage, they have plunged into the London social scene of the 1930s. Invited to a dinner party with 10 others at the home of Serena and Lloyd Barrington, friends of Amory's mother, they have no thoughts that they might be regarded as amateur sleuths until Serena asks Amory to find out who is stealing her jewels. A piece goes missing, she claims, every time they have this particular group to dinner. Serena and Amory plan a trap at an upcoming masquerade ball hosted by one of the guests, the noted roué Lord Dunmore, but Serena's nephew is murdered instead. The event is reported in all the scandal sheets, and DI Jones, from Murder at the Brightwell (2014), is on the scene, having been transferred to Scotland Yard. This time he actively involves Amory, asking her to discover the connections among the party guests during a seemingly innocent round of social calls. Weaver has followed up her debut novel with another engaging closed-house mystery sure to appeal to Agatha Christie devotees.--Muller, Karen Copyright 2015 Booklist

A few months after the events that took place at the Brightwell Hotel (recounted in Murder at the Brightwell), Amory is dining with the Barringtons and several other society types in London when Serena -Barrington asks her to help catch who is stealing Serena's jewels. The two women concoct a scheme to catch the thief at Lord -Dunmore's masked ball, but their plans go awry when Serena's nephew is murdered. Meanwhile, Amory and Milo, her husband, are still feeling their way back to a comfortable relationship amid rumors of infidelity on his part. VERDICT Librarian Weaver, whose series debut was tapped by the Reference and User Services Association (RUSA) Reading List as the best mystery of 2015, has whipped up a delicious confection of a mystery set in 1930s England. It sparkles with personality and an appealing plot. Devotees of golden age authors such as Agatha Christie as well as contemporary writers such as Rhys Bowen and Barbara -Cleverly will settle down in their cozy armchairs for a pleasurable read. [See Prepub Alert, 4/11/15; library marketing.] © Copyright 2015. Library Journals LLC, a wholly owned subsidiary of Media Source, Inc. No redistribution permitted.