Anything Goes:: A Grace and Favor Mystery

Siblings Lily and Robert Brewster are having trouble making ends meet in New York City following the 1929 stock market crash. Lily has a dreary position as a bank clerk and Robert does odd jobs as a waiter and bartender. But their luck changes when they're summoned to Westchester County, where an attorney announces that their uncle Horatio has left them his mansion. The stipulation: the two must live in the home for 10 years before they actually become owners. Though reluctant to leave Manhattan, Lily and Robert move in. They soon learn that Horatio died during a party on a yacht and that his death may not have been an accident. Then, the corpse of Horatio appears in the kitchen one night, and the two are drawn into solving their uncle's apparent murder. To do so, they must confront affluent neighbors, servants and other locals--some of whom clearly want Lily and Robert out of their lives. Churchill adeptly captures the spirit of this early 20th-century Hudson Valley community, insulated from the rest of the world. With its various twists and false leads to the murderer, this mystery makes for a pleasant, albeit light, diversion. (June)