cover image Forgotten Murder: A Jack Haldean 1920s Mystery

Forgotten Murder: A Jack Haldean 1920s Mystery

Dolores Gordon-Smith. Severn, $28.99 (240p) ISBN 978-0-7278-8846-4

In Gordon-Smith’s sprightly 10th Jack Haldean 1920s mystery (after 2015’s The Chessman), 23-year-old Jenny Langton, a typist at a real estate firm in the village of Stowfleet, Surrey, longs for a promotion. She gets her big chance when her boss, mindful of an article “about the Modern Girl and the need for an up-to-date employer to recognize her capabilities,” sends her to assess a Victorian-era house. Inside, she experiences a sense of déjà vu that culminates in a fainting spell after she sees a monster in the garden. Is this the onset of lunacy, or is she seeing ghosts? Searching for a rational explanation, she calls on her old friend Betty, the wife of mystery writer and amateur sleuth Jack Haldean. Jack assumes the task of uncovering the reason for Jenny’s visions. The stakes rise when someone starts murdering the people he interviews in connection with the case. Never mind that the culprit is obvious early on. Gordon-Smith neatly uses period details to further the well-constructed plot (that teddy bears were not sold before 1900 provides a vital clue). Historical fans will be pleased. (Mar.)