Sister Beneath the Sheet

One sunny day in turn-of-the-century Biarritz, the celebrated courtesan Topaz Brown writes her will, bequeathing a certain sum to her maid and 50,000 to the Women's Social and Political Union, a British suffrage group. The next day she is dead, apparently a suicide. Miss Brown's brother plans to contest the will, arguing that Topaz was of unsound mind. But Topaz's maid, Tansy, is convinced that Topaz was murdered--probably by a rival prostitute. Into this maelstrom of doubt steps Union member Nell Bray, whom Emmeline Pankhurst has sent to collect the legacy. Newly released from prison for having hurled a brick at 10 Downing Street during a demonstration, Nell is smart and feisty . An altogether likable heroine, she proves quite capable of investigating Tansy's theories, even when a renegade suffragist's interference produces tragic consequences. Although a few too many gratuitous coincidences weaken her plot, Linscott ( Murder, I Presume ) shows off her historical and political backdrop to good effect, and leavens her mystery with well-measured wit. (Sept.)