Murder Take Three is a delicious combination of early Hollywood thriller and manor house mystery
Murder Take Three A British Country House mystery by Eric Brown Severn House Severn House Publishers Historical Fiction, Mystery & Thrillers
Pub Date 01 August 2017
Review
I love mysteries involving early Hollywood. I also love classic manor house mysteries. Put the two together like Eric Brown has and the result is an absolutely delicious historical mystery. David Langham is a mystery author/private investigator. American movie star Suzie Reynard hires him to investigate a potential threat to her lover, the film’s director. The cast and crew are preparing to film a mystery based on an actual murder that occurred not far from the film’s location - Marling house, a stately home in the Norfolk countryside. Suzie believes that something sinister is going on at Marling house, so she wants Langham and his fiancee to pose as her friends and stay the weekend. The danger is not readily apparent, but tensions between the cast, crew and homeowners are palpable. The relationships and histories of the players are complicated and filled with ill will. When Suzie is discovered murdered in the Douglas’s trailer, Langham is uncertain who was the actual target. Was Douglas the target? Or was it Suzie all along? A manor house murder amongst a group of people creating a film about a manor house murder - delicious.
I loved the varied personalities of the stars, the rich complicated background and the many relationship twists. Eric Brown is a marvelous storyteller. I highly recommend Murder Take Three to anyone who enjoys historical mysteries, early Hollywood or classic manor house mysteries.
5 / 5
I received a copy of Murder Take Three from the publisher and Netgalley.com in exchange for an honest review.
--Crittermom
Description
1950s Private Investigator Donald Langham discovers that truth is stranger than fiction when he investigates a murder on an American movie set. 1956. Having just started work as a professional private investigator, Donald Langham’s first client is American movie star Suzie Reynard, currently shooting a murder mystery film at Marling Hall, an Elizabethan manor house in the depths of the Norfolk countryside. The film’s director – Suzie’s lover – has been receiving threats and Suzie is convinced his life is in danger. On arriving at Marling Hall with his fiancée Maria, Langham finds the film set awash with clashing egos, petty jealousies, ill-advised love affairs and seething resentments. Matters come to a head when a body is discovered in the director’s trailer.
It would appear to be an open-and-shut case when someone confesses to the murder. Donald and Maria are not convinced – but why would someone confess to a crime they haven’t committed? If Langham is to uncover the truth, he must delve into the past and another murder that took place more than twenty years before
