Murder Served Cold

Murder Served Cold by Eric Brown Severn House Mystery & Thrillers Pub Date 01 Apr 2019

Review

Eric Brown has a gift for creating vibrant characters who fit their time. Personal beliefs and emotional responses to situations play a major role, as they do in Christie’s novels. The disappearance of the painting is a challenging puzzle, but the novel is a psychologically driven mystery. When characters feel real, so too does the mystery. Donald Langham and his partner in detection Ralph Ryland, as well as the other recurring characters are easy to like. I enjoy this series, and Murder Served Cold is a wonderful addition.

What first appears as a case of theft - the disappearance of a valuable painting - soon leads to a case of murder. Donald Langham, writer and sleuth, is called out with his partner when the painting is found missing and there is no sign of a break-in, indicating an inside job. Possibilities abound amongst Lord Elsmere’s lodgers, but first the painting must be found. As you can guess from the title a body is found as well.

If you like Agatha Christie style mysteries or historical mysteries you will enjoy reading Murder Served Cold.

5 / 5

I received a copy of Murder Served Cold from the publisher and Netgalley.com in exchange for an honest review.

— Crittermom

Description

The theft of a painting takes crime-writer sleuth Donald Langham to a country house full of seething tensions, resentment and dark secrets. November, 1956. Lord Elsmere, an old friend of Donald Langham’s literary agent, Charles Elder, is in a pickle – his favourite painting, a Gainsborough, has been stolen from under his nose. What’s more, there’s no evidence of a break-in. The family heirloom was recently re-insured for a hefty price, and Elsmere is struggling financially. Could he have staged the theft, or was it taken by one of the guests? Old Major Rutherford, evasive beauty Rebecca Miles, Dutch war hero Patrick Verlinden, Elsmere’s son Dudley Mariner and his statuesque sculpture fiancée, Esmeralda Bellamy, are all guests at the manor. But who would steal the painting, and why? Private investigators Langham and Ralph Ryland take on the case and soon uncover seething animosities, jealousy, secrets and deception, before events take a shocking turn…