Blotto, Twinks and the Ex-King's Daughter

P.G. Wodehouse fans will welcome Brett's zany first in a new series set between the wars among the English aristocracy. When Blotto (aka Devereux Lyminster), the impossibly handsome but slow-witted son of the duchess of Tawcester (pronounced "Taster"), reports that he's found a dead body in the library of the ancestral home, Tawcester Towers, his mother replies, "Not now, Blotto. We have guests." Blotto seeks his highly intelligent sister, Twinks, an amateur detective, for help with this "[b]it of bother in the library," but since she's still changing after playing tennis, Grimshaw, the butler, deals with the matter instead. Later, Blotto overhears a conversation about a plot to kidnap the daughter of one of the house guests, the ex-king of Mitteleuropia. Together Blotto and Twinks embark on a quest to discover the killer's identity and to prevent the kidnapping. Brett puts a hilarious spin on the traditional British mystery. (Feb.)