From Publishers Weekly
With a dollop of dark humor reminiscent of Peter Lovesey's Peter Diamond series, Silverwood's eighth Michael Angel whodunit (after
Sham) effortlessly blends an intricate puzzle with a contemporary police procedural. While under pressure to nab the arsonist who's torched the homes of two MPs, the London detective inspector also investigates the murder of Imelda Wilde, who was once one of many attractive assistants to a magician known as Mysto. Angel's inquiries soon turn up the suggestive lead that another Mysto female sidekick turned up dead a quarter-century earlier. The complications multiply when an irregular warrantless search of an arson suspect's home reveals a bizarre setup—a dozen umbrellas suspended from the ceiling, packed with raw rice. The pieces all come together nicely in the end, even if the solution is less surprising than the typical Lovesey mystery.
(Mar.) Copyright © Reed Business Information, a division of Reed Elsevier Inc. All rights reserved.
Product Description
An arsonist and murderer threatens to set fire to the luxury home of the local MP. Detective Inspector Michael Angel has two suspects, and while one has completely disappeared, the other is securely locked up in a police cell. But what do the 12 umbrellas found hanging from his bedroom ceiling mean? Will the umbrella man be able to execute his threat while still in police custody? Meanwhile, the murder of a famous stage magician's beautiful assistant appears to be a copy of an unsolved crime committed 25 ago. Could both cases be related? Michael Angel must race against the clock to unravel this unusual and chilling mystery.