Murder in Style: An Ellie Quicke Mystery

In Heley’s well-plotted 17th Ellie Quick mystery (after 2015’s Murder by Suspicion), Ellie investigates the suspicious death of Poppy Cordover, who ran a prosperous West London boutique, the Magpie, with her twin sister, Juno. The police say that Poppy’s fatal fall down the stairs of the Magpie was accidental, but her father believes otherwise. Ellie, who was recommended to Poppy’s father and stepmother by a policewoman familiar with her instinct for crime solving, focuses on the members of the dysfunctional extended family, in particular Poppy’s husband, Ray, whose gambling habit has gotten him into debt. Another suspect is Poppy and Ray’s daughter, Trixie, who wanted her mother to finance her making of a film. As the case becomes more complicated, distractions and red herrings abound, and readers are hard put to figure out just who and how the “accident” was arranged. A mature woman with keen observational skills and psychological insight into dark human deeds, Ellie is a worthy successor to Agatha Christie’s Jane Marple. [em](Oct.) [/em]