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Watson's Choice by Gladys Mitchell (view source)
Revision as of 12:49, 4 December 2011
, 12:49, 4 December 2011no edit summary
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Sir Bohun (that's pronounced 'Boon', in case you're wondering) Chantrey is not the brightest or most sensitive of men, but Sherlock Holmes is one of his great passions in life is Sherlock Holmes. To celebrate the great man's anniversary he throws a party at which the guests are invited to come as characters from the stories. Our heroine, Mrs Bradley, and her secretary Laura Menzies are among the guests but not everyone there is interested in Sherlock Holmes. Quite a few are interested in Chantrey's money and his announcement that he is to marry his poverty-stricken nursery governess provokes anger in certain quarters. Then the Hound of the Baskervilles makes an unscheduled appearance...
The book was first published in 1955 and it's very much in the style of Agatha Christie – although, in fairness, the plots of most of Gladys Mitchell's books are rather more complex. Nearly sixty years on there is the feeling that this is a period piece, but it still makes for a good read and I certainly had someone else chalked in for the murder of the said poverty-stricken nursery governess, who had quite a few skeletons concealed in her closet. Red herrings abound and most people would be grateful that Mrs Bradley was not investigating their lives.