Who’s Sorry Now? (Lady Adelaide Mysteries)
Lady Adelaide Compton is beside herself. Her sister collapses after dancing at the swanky Savoy Hotel – mere days after two of London’s “Bright Young People” die under suspicious circumstances in their favorite after-hours hangouts. Addie’s late husband’s ghost, Rupert, helped her and her sister avoid arrest in a Prohibition raid on New Year’s Eve 1924 in New York City, and now here he is whispering to her that it might be poison that made her sister ill.
Scotland Yard Detective Inspector Devenand Hunter is challenged to find the killer of the two Bright Young People from among their remaining circle of friends – a deposed Russian prince, a wealthy heir, and an impoverished earl’s daughter, to name a few. Addie offers to work undercover to ferret out the culprit (and endear herself to the attractive lawman) since she mixes unobtrusively with the upper crust. The newest “in” night spot, The Thieves’ Den, is also central to police investigations into a string of robberies, which could mean the gang has progressed to murder. Addie must tread lightly to avoid danger on all sides, and can’t count on Rupert intervening again to save her life.
Robinson reinvents Agatha Christie’s And Then There Were None premise with eight likely suspects in a tight circle of suspicion. Murder is serious business, but this novel has fun with classism, word play, and anticipation of ghostly sightings; even Addie’s maid and Hunter’s sergeant have their moments of glory. Lady Adelaide is a hoot, and this series should delight mystery buffs and romantics alike.
