Friday 14 September 2018

The Dead Ringer

Many thanks to NetGalley and the publisher, St. Martin's Press (Minotaur Books), for granting me access to an advance readers copy of this book in exchange for an honest opinion.

By now, my regular readers will know that I am an avid reader of golden age crime fiction (Agatha Christie, John Bude, G.K. Chesterton etc.) but I also like to dabble with modern crime books. M.C. Beaton is one writer I've read before, mostly her Hamish MacBeth series, but this is the first Agatha Raisin mysetery I've stuck my nose in.

I must admit, I was quite impressed by this one. It feels like a golden age murder mystery in the style, but clearly is set in the modern day (mentions of Brexit being one obvious clue!). I found it really easy to read with very few negatives. Perhaps the main character falling in love with every man she seems to meet got a bit...irritating at times, but it didn't distract too much from the importance of the plot, which twisted and turned like a slippery eel. I had some vague idea who the murderer was, but I was never totally sure until fairly late in this book.

Overall, I liked it and will possibly read more of these books at a later date. For now, though, I think I need a return to fantasy and science fiction for a change of scene!

Star rating: 4/5
This book will be published on October 2nd 2018

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