From Publishers Weekly
British author Brett introduced Mrs. Melita Pargeter in A Nice Class of Corpse . With her "armoury" of mink coats, an oenophile's palate and her weakness for an occasional weekend at the Savoy, the widow Pargeter brings a distinct touch of class to the sleuthing scene. It is 18 months since the death of Mr. Pargeter (whose mysterious and lucrative business dealings left his wife with devoted contacts among such shady characters as "Rewind" Wilson, in the used car business, and Keyhole Crabbe), and Mrs. P. has just moved to a new home in a small development of upwardly mobile families in Surrey. But she quickly determines that something decidedly fishy has happened to the former mistress of the house, Theresa Cotton. Remaining quintessentially ladylike, Mrs. Pargeter--dare we say it?--snoops, uncovering clues that lead to Theresa's body and point the finger of guilt at any one of the other women of the houses in Smithy's Loam. Further investigation leads to a suspicious religious organization, The Church of Utter Simplicity, to the ruined career of Rod Cotton, and to real danger for Mrs. P. at the hands of a woman who has killed before. As with his Charles Paris stories, Brett here delivers solid mystery, deft characterization and delightful entertainment.
Copyright 1989 Reed Business Information, Inc.
--Ce texte provient d'une édition qui n'est plus publiée ou qui est non diponible.
From Library Journal
Although best known for the mystery series featuring actor Charles Paris (e.g., An Amateur Corpse, Audio Reviews, LJ 7/94), Brett also writes about another amateur sleuth, Mrs. Pargeter (e.g., Mrs. Pargeter's Pound of Flesh, Audio Reviews, LJ 4/15/94). In this, the second in the series, Melita Pargeter moves to a snobbish suburban development and discovers that her new home's previous owners are missing. Expertly using the skills of her late husband's criminal cohorts-one of whom slips out of prison and breaks into a storage depot to discover a corpse-she solves the mystery. Brett, as usual, entertainingly reads his deft satire of English yuppiedom, selfishness, and pretension. These stories are lighter and less cynical than his Paris books, and Brett captures perfectly Mrs. Pargeter's distinctive friendliness combined with resourcefulness. For most mystery collections.
Michael Adams, Fairleigh Dickinson Univ. Lib., Madison, N.J.Copyright 1994 Reed Business Information, Inc.
