Murder at the Chase: A Langham and Dupré Mystery

Brown’s pleasing sequel to 2013’s Murder by the Book takes mystery writer Donald Langham and his girlfriend, Marie Dupré, to Suffolk, England, in the summer of 1955 for a romantic holiday. When Donald and Marie learn that a friend’s father, Edward Endicott, has disappeared from his locked study at his place in Humble Barton, they switch into sleuthing mode. Endicott, “an ex-Hollywood screenwriter who penned mystery thrillers,” was working on a biography of a Victorian-era Satanist self-described as a “confidant of the Devil himself.” Some in Humble Barton suspect supernatural forces are afoot, but a skeptical Donald and Marie work with the local police toward a rational solution, while enjoying country walks and providing comfort to a blackmail victim. For all the criminal goings-on, Brown doesn’t generate much suspense, but his well-told tale offers plenty of unexpected twists. Agatha Christie fans will find a lot to like. Agent: John Jarrold, John Jarrold Literary Agency (U.K.). (Dec.)