Death Comes to the Rectory (A Kurland St. Mary Mystery)
The last in an eight-book cosy mystery series, Death Comes to the Rectory again employs the amateur sleuthing skills of Robert and Lucy Kurland, whilst this time stretching familial obligations to their limits. Shortly after the christening of their new baby, Robert is called to the rectory, where his cousin’s husband has been stabbed to death with the rector’s letter opener, in the rector’s study, complicated by the fact that the rector himself, Lucy’s father, may have financial reasons for wanting the man dead.
As local magistrate, Robert is obligated to investigate the members of both his and Lucy’s family, who are forced by bad winter storms to stay over-long at the Kurland mansion after the christening. Everyone is getting on each other’s nerves, and everyone lies to Robert, giving us lots of animated repartee between husband and wife. Further, the dead man was a despised member of society, and no one but his wife is the slightest bit bothered by his untimely death.
This is the first Kurland St. Mary mystery I have read, and although I found it slow to begin with, once the pace picked up it is a convoluted murder plot involving money, shipping ventures, and nefarious schemes designed to defraud investors. Various red herrings block the path to the murderer’s identity until the end. Since the many family members are somewhat hard to unravel, I suggest reading some of the earlier books first, to get a feel for the relationships, but fans of the series will be delighted with this conclusion.
