- Hardcover: 384 pages
- Publisher: Allison & Busby (Oct 19 2009)
- Language: English
- ISBN-10: 0749007966
- ISBN-13: 978-0749007966
- Product Dimensions: 21.6 x 14 x 3.8 cm
- Shipping Weight: 481 g
- Average Customer Review: 4.0 out of 5 stars See all reviews (1 customer review)
- Amazon Bestsellers Rank: #1,579,876 in Books (See Top 100 in Books)
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Product Details |
Product Description
Review
'A mesmerising combination of exciting story-telling and historical narrative, Eccles proves her talent for bewitching readers' Good Book Guide 'Beautifully written and invoking a bygone age - Marjorie Eccles portrays so eloquently the elegant lifestyle of the upper classes in the Edwardian era and then slowly and delicately peels away the facade and exposes the lies beneath the elegant picture' Lizzie Hayes, Mystery Women
Product Description
The year is 1919 and the population of Great Britain is still struggling to its feet after being hit by the atrocities of the First World War. Progress is slow, even in quiet spots like the village of Broughton Underhill, on the edge of the Black Country. Gradually, soldiers return, wounds begin to heal and people try to move on with their lives. But for the Wentworth family, this proves to be impossible as former police sergeant Herbert Reardon returns to the village, determined to finally find out what happened the night that his daughter, Marianne, was found drowned in the lake all those years ago, when the war was just beginning.
However, as Reardon begins to investigate, it becomes clear that secrets still abound and lips are staying sealed. When Edith Huckaby, a maid from Oaklands Park, is found murdered in exactly the same spot, Reardon is convinced that the two cases are linked. As Reardon tries to discover the hidden truth, his suspects and witnesses are painstakingly trying to rebuild their lives, in a world which has been changed and scarred forever.
Broken Music is a masterful portrait of the horrors of the frontline and the anxiety of the home front, as the loves and losses of wartime Britain are woven together and the truth slowly dawns on a local tragedy.
However, as Reardon begins to investigate, it becomes clear that secrets still abound and lips are staying sealed. When Edith Huckaby, a maid from Oaklands Park, is found murdered in exactly the same spot, Reardon is convinced that the two cases are linked. As Reardon tries to discover the hidden truth, his suspects and witnesses are painstakingly trying to rebuild their lives, in a world which has been changed and scarred forever.
Broken Music is a masterful portrait of the horrors of the frontline and the anxiety of the home front, as the loves and losses of wartime Britain are woven together and the truth slowly dawns on a local tragedy.
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Most helpful customer reviews
4.0 out of 5 stars
Good WW1 mystery,
By
This review is from: Broken Music (Hardcover)
Marjorie Eccles' "Broken Music", is a well-written mystery set in England during "The Great War", with action occurring both pre and post-war. Eccles is following in the publishing path of "Charles Todd "(that mother/son team) with their "Inspector Rutledge" and "Bess Crawford" series, set during the same time. And, of course, the "Maisie Dobbs" series by Jacqueline Winspear, which began during the Great War but have continued on through England in the 20's and 30's."Broken Music" is a stand-alone book; Eccles also has a series starring DS Gil Mayo and some other stand-alones. "Broken Music" is the first Eccles book I've read. Her lead character, a former policeman called Herbert Reardon, has just returned from service in France at war's end. He's been badly burned but is getting used to his new face and is considering what to do next with his life. Does he want to go back to the police force in an area in the north of England? He returns to his former home, and decides to take on a private investigation into the death/suicide/murder of a young woman by drowning in the first days of the War, August 1914. Since he has no official authority to ask questions, he's at a standstill til another young woman is found dead - definitely murdered this time - and he returns to the police force with orders and authority to investigate this second death. As with most of these books, there are a plethora of both suspects and secrets. Or, suspects WITH secrets. The formula for a successful mystery - whether historical or contemporary - never changes, and Marjorie Eccles provides both an interesting cast of characters to go along with her plot. She is also good with her picture of the time; late 1919, with the population just trying to get over the madness of the war, which took so many good men and left many others with permanent wounds. "Broken Music" is not as hard-edged as Charles Todd or Jacqueline Winspear's books. Eccles tells a good story, though, and I'll definitely look at her back list.
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