cover image Murder at the British Museum

Murder at the British Museum

Jim Eldridge. Allison & Busby, $25 (316p) ISBN 978-0-7490-2366-9

Fascinating period details and stalwart British characters lift Eldridge’s sequel to 2018’s Murder at the Fitzwilliam. In 1894, London private inquiry agent Daniel Wilson and his partner in business and in life, archeologist and historian Abigail Fenton, are engaged by the British Museum’s executive curator to investigate the murder of scholar Lance Pickering, whose body was discovered in a locked stall in the gentlemen’s toilet, stabbed seven times. After Pickering’s publisher also meets a grisly end, Daniel and Abigail conclude that Pickering’s murder is connected to the museum’s new exhibition on the age of King Arthur, which prominently features Pickering’s definitive book on the historical Arthur. Police Superintendent Armstrong is sure he has the culprit in his sights, but Daniel and Abigail know better, and they must move quickly to stop a murderer, even if it means putting themselves in harm’s way. This is just the novel for whiling away a few pleasant evenings with a nice cup of tea. (Mar.)