From Publishers Weekly
Steeped in acronyms and conventions familiar mainly to ardent fans of English procedurals, this slow-paced but absorbing tale examines the dichotomy between the old landed gentry and the new gentleman farmers. Recluse Lorely Pelling, daughter of a deceased squire and keeper of a houseful of cats, is found shot to death in Farlowes Woods the day after wealthy landowner Franklin Welch, hosting a party for his 13-year-old son, staged a target-shooting competition. Detective superintendent Mike Yeadings and his team, last seen in The Blue-Eyed Boy , investigate with detective Sgt. Mike Beaumont, whose son attended the party, and find that the old woman had been shot elsewhere and moved. The police have little else to go on until they learn that Lorely left her estate to the Welch children, calling them "kin," even though the family insists they did not know their benefactor well. Although the plot barely hangs together as Yeadings delves into the victim's past, Curzon's characters--especially Yeadings, whose daughter, afflicted with Down syndrome, helps him look at the crime in a new way--are captivating.
Copyright 1992 Reed Business Information, Inc.
From Kirkus Reviews
When eccentric, reclusive spinster Lorely Pelling is found dead from a shotgun blast in the woods separating her house, a veritable cat sanctuary, from the upscale converted farmhouse belonging to the Welch family, Detective-Superintendent Yeadings, Thames Valley CID (The Blue-Eyed Boy, Three-Core Lead), is called in. His inquiries reveal that Miss Pelling's will left everything to young Amanda and Rory Welch, her ``kin,'' though their parents deny it; that a cat shot with her had been buried separately; and that the distraught Rory was so determined to protect someone that he soon tried suicide--twice. Was the secretive old lady blackmailing either Rory's mum or dad? Did the lad himself kill her? Various red herrings lead to the Welch stableboy, a former con, and to poor Peter, the simpleton who helped Miss Pelling with her cats. But it's innuendos about Miss Pelling's past (did she hush up the birth of a son?) that eventually draw Yeadings toward a motive. The narrow focus, strife among the classes, and carefully delineated clues are typical of Curzon and the civilized provincial police procedural and, here, prove a welcome balance to Yeadings's somewhat tedious introspection. --
Copyright ©1992, Kirkus Associates, LP. All rights reserved.
