The Colours of Murder

In British author Carter’s middling sequel to 2018’s A Brush with Death, which introduced animal portraitist Susie Mahl, Archibald Wellingham invites his old and titled friends to a weekend party at his Norfolk country house. Needing an extra woman to even up the numbers, Archie invites Susie after hearing she’s attractive and in the area drawing racehorses. The only other guest who isn’t a member of the idle rich is Archie’s new acquaintance, exuberant American Hailey Dune. In the wee hours of the morning, the burglar alarm goes off. The awakened guests find no intruder, but do discover Hailey dead in her bed. The police are content to deem her death to be from natural causes; Susie disagrees. Acting largely on feelings and conjectures, she pulls tiny pieces of the puzzle together before turning things over to nice Detective Chief Inspector Reynolds, who says that “Susie makes a fine amateur detective.” The book starts slowly as Carter introduces the guests and muses at length on their manners, then continues along in fits and starts to its undramatic conclusion. This will appeal more to dyed-in-the-wool Anglophiles than mystery lovers. [em](June) [/em]