Murder Comes to Call

In Ellicott’s diverting fourth mystery set in the post–WWI English village of Walmsley Parva (after 2019’s Murder Cuts the Mustard), glamorous American Beryl Helliwell and her practical British friend, Edwina Davenport, stumble across the body of Gordon Faraday, an unpopular local magistrate, at the foot of his staircase. The fledgling private inquiry agents find no shortage of potential perpetrators, including Faraday’s widow and stepdaughter, who seem relieved at his death; his half-brother, who has a history of gambling and family estrangement; and an indigent Irish laborer who faces a jail sentence if he does not pay a fine. Faraday also may have surprised a burglar, as a rash of peculiar thefts has occurred in the village, including the snatching of completed census forms. Beryl and Edwina juggle the questioning of suspects, pumping of local gossips, hunting for the missing census materials, and jousting with their nemesis, Constable Doris Gibbs. This is a treat for readers who enjoy following the adventures of disparate yet complementary sleuths. [em]Agent: John Talbot, Talbot Fortune Agency. (Nov.) [/em]