My rating: 4 of 5 stars
"A Hobby of Murder brings back one of E.X. Ferrar's most popular characters, solving a classic mystery in a traditional house party setting.
"Retired professor Andrew Basnett had been at loose ends since finishing the book that was for so long his full-time occupation. A country visit with his old friends Mollie and Ian Davidge seemed like just the diversion he needed.
"And, indeed, the visit begins pleasantly enough with a cocktail party to meet the Davidges' friends and neighbors: Eleanor Clancy, the somewhat tiresome and obviously lonely retired games mistress; Brian Singleton, a biochemist, and his visiting brother, Luke, a well-known thriller writer; Edward Audley, a solicitor; and the fashionable Sam and Anna Waldron, who occupy the manor house of the village.
"Then it is the Waldrons' turn to host a party -- an elaborate dinner cooked by Sam. The fetive evening ends abruptly, however, when one of the guests keels over at the table and dies instantly. It's immediately apparent that the victim's coffee has been poisoned, although how the poison got there is not so apparent at all. But when a second corpse is discovered several days later, it seems clear that at least one person knew the killer's identity.
"Veteran writer E.X. Ferrars was working at the height of her powers in this classic country house mystery, whose startling solution lies in Basnett's close observation and ingenious powers of deduction."
~~front & back flaps
There's always a second corpse, isn't there? Sometimes I think it could hardly be an English cozy without one.
This is indeed a well-written, well-plotted mystery, and although hindsight informs me that the clues were there for me to find, I (like the characters in the book) was diverted and sidetracked by all the other details and red herrings that the author sprinkled so plausibly about.
I don't remember reading other books by this author, but I shall certainly seek them out in future!
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