The Tomb in Turkey: A Fethering Mystery

Brett’s lighthearted, fast-moving 16th Fethering whodunit (after 2014’s The Strangling on the Stage) takes Carole Seddon and her free-spirited friend, Jude Nichol, to Turkey, where an old flame of Jude’s, property developer Barney Willingdon, has offered Jude free use of a villa called Morning Glory. Carole, a stick-in-the-mud prone to falling into a “state of perpetual shudder” in unfamiliar situations, reluctantly agrees to go along. On their arrival at Morning Glory, they’re greeted by blood-red graffiti stating that they aren’t welcome and should remember what happened to Barney’s first wife, who died under ambiguous circumstances. Shortly after this warning, a modern body turns up in an ancient tomb. Carole and Jude subsequently discover that Barney has made lots of enemies between his shady business deals and erratic romantic life. The comic interactions between the chalk-and-cheese pair of amateur sleuths more than compensate for a less-than-compelling mystery. (Mar.)