Murder Takes a Turn: A Langham and Dupré Mystery

Brown’s charming fifth mystery set in 1950s England (after 2017’s Murder Take Three) takes part-time private detective and full-time mystery writer Donald Langham and his literary agent wife, Maria Dupré, from London to Cornwall, where egocentric novelist Denbigh Connaught has invited five people he has wronged in the past to a weekend at his estate. Among those he wishes to apologize to is Charles Elder, Maria’s partner in the literary agency, who has painful memories of his school days with Connaught 40 years earlier. Connaught’s daughter, Annabelle, has asked Donald to investigate her father’s business manager, Wilson Royce, whom she doesn’t trust. Soon the guests are assembled at Connaught House, where drinks flow freely, personalities clash, and their host is just as brusque and self-absorbed as ever. When a body is discovered in the locked study, readers are presented with not only a whodunit but also a howdunit. Some delightfully old-fashioned slang enlivens the dialogue. Fans of traditional country house mysteries will be gratified. Agent: John Jarrold, John Jarrold Literary Agency (U.K.). (July)