The Affair of the Bloodstained Egg Cosy
ISBN: 9780749080495
Description
The theft of the diamond necklace and the antique pistols might all be explained, but the body in the lake - that was a puzzle. "Don't expect me to solve anything," Inspector Wilkens announced modestly when he arrived to sort out the unpleasantness. And at a house party that included English aristocracy, foreign agents in disguise, a ravishing baroness, a daring jewel thief, a Texas millionaire, and of course, the imperturbable butler, it was going to take some intricate sleuthing to uncover who killed whom and why...
Reviewed on 10th May 2012
The first book in this series is a fairly light-hearted and modern take on the style of Agatha Christie. Set in a picturesque stately home filled with a wide variety of suspects, all of whom might have something to hide, everything is going swimmingly until a body shows up.
While the setting is similar to Christie, the style is much more contemporary and many of the characters seem to have a modern attitude. This doesn't distract though, in fact it almost certainly helps as the plot becomes complex to almost ludicrous proportions and threatens to confuse the reader.
Other than being completely baffling, the plot is rather entertaining and the main characters come across as all being fairly likeable. I did have to keep turning back to the list of characters and map of the scene that was at the front of the book in order to refresh my memory of who was whom, but did not think this got in the way of my enjoyment. I had a great time trying to puzzle out who was guilty - more so than with Christie's works I think as there was a little more available to get the teeth into.
Overall, an enjoyable tale that I found relaxing and refreshing to read. I'll definitely be reading the remaining two books in the set and looking up the author's other works.
