Book 26 in the A to Z Mystery Tour
Marion Gibbons writing as Marion Chesney – Edwardian Mysteries #2 – 2003
Lady Rose Summer, Captain Harry Cathcart, Daisy Levine, and Becket return for another round of crime-solving in Edwardian England.
Marion Gibbons, whether writing as M.C. Beaton or Marion Chesney, tells a good story, and wastes no time bluntly and obviously wrapping up plotlines in a sentence or two. They read as an afterthought, and with any other author I would consider this a shortcoming. This author is so funny, though, and she never minces words; I consider this just part of her eccentric style.
As with all of Chesney’s work, Hasty Death doesn’t lack for humor; I can’t imagine not lauging at a roomful of Edwardian nobility all audibly suffering from the noisy digestive consequences of a very gas-producing vegetarian meal. The characters are depicted with no subtlety; Chesney is not part of the ‘show, don’t tell’ school of writing – but as I said earlier, for her it works. She’s worth it.
The books in this series are short, fun reads. They aren’t Shakespeare, but they’ll make you smile.