A deception at Thornecrest

A deception at Thornecrest

Ashley Weaver

Book - 2020

"The stylish, charming next novel in Ashley Weaver's Edgar-nominated Amory Ames mystery series, set in 1930s England, A Deception at Thornecrest Amory Ames is alone at her country house Thornecrest, enjoying her last few weeks of peace and quiet as she prepares for the imminent arrival of her baby. Her husband, Milo, is in London on business, and Amory is content to catch up on her correspondence, organize the nursery, and avoid the well-meaning if rather overbearing company of the ladies in the village as they prepare for the Springtide Festival. But then a woman appears on her doorstep, also claiming to be Mrs. Ames, Milo's wife. Amory's marriage has had its ups and downs in the past, but her faith in her husband has b...een restored, and Milo has been nothing but thrilled about becoming a father. Though the supposed second Mrs. Ames seems earnest, Amory is convinced she must be mistaken, a belief that Milo confirms upon his homecoming. However, when a second unexpected visitor arrives at Thornecrest, secret identities and whirlwind romances appear to be becoming par for the course. It's not until the day of the festival, when Milo's stable hand Bertie is found dead, that the strange characters appearing in town begin to seem more sinister, and Amory is determined to uncover the killer in the crowd"--

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Subjects
Ames, Amory > (Fictitious character) > Fiction.
Women private investigators > Fiction.
Murder > Investigation > Fiction.
Mystery fiction.
Detective and mystery fiction.
Novels.
Genres
Mystery fiction
Detective and mystery fiction
Novels
Published
New York : Minotaur Books 2020.
Language
English
Main Author
Ashley Weaver (author)
Edition
First edition
Physical Description
275 pages ; 25 cm
ISBN
9781250159793
Contents unavailable.
Review by Publisher's Weekly Review

Set in 1934, Weaver's sprightly seventh outing for Amory Ames (after 2019's A Dangerous Engagement) finds the heavily pregnant Amory at Thornecrest, the Ames family's country home in Kent. One morning, while Amory is applying herself to her correspondence, the butler announces an unexpected visitor: a young woman claiming to be the wife of her husband, Milo, who's away on business. The woman introduces herself as Imogen Prescott, and says she married Milo three months earlier. Amory maintains her aristocratic sangfroid, and assures Imogen that everything will be explained once Milo returns home. No sooner does Milo do so than another unexpected visitor turns up on their doorstep, and it becomes clear how Imogen was deceived. A murder amid the annual village Springtide Festival complicates matters further. The lively give-and-take between Amory and Milo makes up for the minimal sleuthing. Those who enjoy escaping into make-believe English villages in the company of pleasant vicars, mildly eccentric aristocrats, and wily village folk will be satisfied. Agent: Ann Collette, Rees Literary. (Sept.)

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Review by Library Journal Review

In the next entry in the Edgar-nominated series from Weaver, technical services coordinator at the Allen Parish Libraries in Oberlin, LA, Amory Ames contentedly awaits the birth of her child at her country estate, Thornecrest, when a stranger drops in claiming to be the second Mrs. Ames. Amory's husband, Milo, quickly puts paid to that idea, but more issues of confused identity arrive with a second visitor--and suddenly a stable hand is dead. With a 35,000-copy first printing.

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Review by Kirkus Book Review

A dashing detective duo in 1930s England is in for some unpleasant surprises. Amory Ames has had her share of rocky times in her marriage to Milo, but never before has a young woman turned up claiming to be his wife. Milo is naturally annoyed that his heavily pregnant wife has to deal with this false accusation against him, but all is explained when the next shock arrives on their doorstep in the form of Darien Ames, the illegitimate half brother he never knew existed. Darien, a dead ringer who shares Milo's looks and some of his wilder proclivities, used Milo's name while seducing then declining to marry Imogen Prescott, who's stayed in town to confront him. Darien has evidently moved on to Marena Hodges, who, unable to get along with her own mother, has become almost a daughter to the local vicar and his wife. Marena's discarded beau, Bertie Phipps, punches Darien after a war of words, and when he's found dead in a field, Darien is arrested for his murder. At first it looks as if Bertie, a splendid horseman, was thrown and hit his head, but an autopsy shows he was murdered. Milo insists that Amory leave the investigation to the authorities, but the inveterate sleuth, determined to clear Darien, continues to ask probing questions and uncovers many hidden secrets that may be motives for murder. A splendid resurrection of a formula popular in the 1930s combining romance and glamour with a tricky case of murder. Copyright (c) Kirkus Reviews, used with permission.

Copyright (c) Kirkus Reviews, used with permission.

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