Thy Sting, Oh Death

Miss Matilda Worthing is a former court reporter of a certain age and undiminished acuity who lives with her friend Martha Shaw in Holliston, Calif. Having already achieved some notoriety for helping the local police solve a particularly sticky homicide case, Miss Worthing, in this adventure, comes to the aid of her aunt, the very old but also still-sharp Lady Fairgrief, who is staying nearby at the home of an opera star. Three quick and surprising deaths occurthe first that of a tenor from a series of bee stings, to which he is known to be allergicand Worthing and aged company are hot on the trail of the murderers. With a background that includes old-world gentility, some Schubert lieder, and a pair of young, attractive, virginal lovers, Drummond's first novel is an accomplished, entertaining combination of genres: a modern mystery of manners. And Worthing is a dear. December 30