D is for Death
London, 1935. Fleeing an unwelcome arranged marriage, Dora Wildwood takes the milk train to London, where she narrowly escapes abduction by taking refuge in the London Library. Here she is horrified to discover that some miscreant is mutilating books by hollowing them out, leaving just the spine and covers on the shelf. When she then stumbles on the body of the director, she feels compelled to offer her assistance to an unimpressed Detective Inspector Fox who, against his will, finds himself co-operating with her.
Harriet Townson takes Dora on a whistlestop tour of 1930s London, directing a whirling cast ranging from lady authors to the ‘nippies’ at a Lyons Corner Café to the Bright Young Things at the Café de Paris, but never losing sight of her purpose. In the grand tradition of the Golden Age of detective fiction, she plays fair with the reader who, at the denouement, can look back and piece together the subtle clues.
Dora is an engaging heroine who quickly makes friends. She is ruled more by instinct than by reason, but her instinct rarely lets her down. As she unravels the library mysteries, she learns more about herself and her own history. Some personal questions are left open, but the reader is encouraged by a taster of the next book in a promising new series that will appeal to all lovers of Golden Age mysteries.
