Death Wears a Mask

Like Weaver’s Edgar-nominated debut mystery, Murder at the Brightwell (2014), this follow-up is narrated by Amory Ames, a British socialite who, with her husband, Milo, leads a charmed life in 1930s London. Here, Amory is asked by a family friend, Serena Barrington, to identify a jewel thief—a favor that eventually leads to murder as well as her and Milo’s near brushes with adultery. Reader Larkin’s use of a flippant, above-the-fray Mayfair accent for Amory flattens the characters. And Milo, though thoughtful and vaguely amused by his wife, sounds a bit too condescending, even for the 1930s. Despite being filtered through Amory’s off-putting air of constant frivolity, the novel’s murder plot and its solution make the book worth the listen. A Minotaur hardcover. (Oct.)