One of England's most acclaimed younger mystery writers, the creator of Detective Aurelio Zen, gives us a brilliant and haunting variation on the classic drawing-room murder novel. The setting is Eventide Lodge, where the guests have gathered for tea. Colonel Weatherby is reading by the fire. Mrs. Hargreave III is whiling away her time at patience. And Miss Rosemary Travis and her friend, Dorothy, are wondering which of their housemates will be the next to die.For even as Michael Dibdin's elderly sleuths debate clues and motives, it becomes clear that Eventide Lodge is not a genteel country inn but a place of ghastly cruelties and humiliations. A place where the logic of murder is . . .almost comforting. At once affectionate homage and audacious satire, The Dying of the Light will delight any aficionado of Patricia Highsmith, Peter Dickinson, or Ruth Rendell.From Kirkus ReviewsImmured in a beastly nursing home run by smarmy William Anderson and his foulmouthed sister Letitia Davis, Rosemary Travis, abetted by her cooperative chum Dorothy Davenport, keeps her spirits up by embroidering the horrors of life at Eventide Lodge into a baroque Golden Age mystery plot--a plot that casts each of her innocuous fellow-geriatrics as a possible suspect when Hilary Bryant dies or George Channing attempts to escape and is mauled by Anderson's Doberman. But when Dorothy, on the eve of her departure for the hospital for terminal-cancer treatment, dies of a fantastic concoction of liquor and pills, Rosemary has a real-life mystery on her hands. Or does she? Did Dorothy really kill herself? Or was Anderson getting rid of her as expeditiously as possible? Or was the killer some other patient? Or is the whole plot one last fictional legacy of Dorothy's? Once again, Dibdin, author of Ratking and the Aurelio Zen novels (Vendetta, 1991, etc.), produces a tale as piercingly funny as Tom Stoppard--and as wise about the powers of fiction to deal with an unspeakable world. -- Copyright ©1993, Kirkus Associates, LP. All rights reserved.Review"Dibdin has a gift for shocking the unshockable reader. He writes the unmentionable calmly and with devastating effect."—Ruth Rendell"Horribly, monstrously funny . . . a merry and maddening jeu d'esprit."—The Independent on Sunday"An elegant novel."—Boston Globe"As appealing as it is inventive."—The Sunday Times Views: 17
Jasmine is thrilled when she gets to cat-sit for her neighbours. But the beautiful cat has a very special secret... From best-selling author Holly Webb. Views: 17
Evie is overjoyed when she is given her very own puppy, Alfie. Alfie adores Evie - he loves to be cuddled, sleeps on her bed and welcomes her home from school every day with a wag of his tail. But it's not long before another new member of the family arrives: Evie's baby brother, Sam. Suddenly, no-one has much time to look after a puppy, let alone play with Alfie and take him for walks, and soon he finds himself unwanted and all alone... From best-selling author Holly Webb comes another moving animal story. Views: 17
Lizzie Delancey is happily married, in her early 50s, with three grown children. But Lizzie guards a dark secret. At age 18 she had a baby boy, and gave him up for adoption. She still thinks of him every day. Then, out of the blue, she receives an official-looking letter from Kent Social Services. Her son, Daniel, wants to make contact. On one hand she is overjoyed - she longs to meet him. On the other, she has never told her children that they have another sibling. Tangled Lives follows the effect this revelation has on her family, as, with Daniel as the catalyst, a few small tears in the family fabric suddenly gape wide. Views: 17
Darling, save the last dance for me... Prima ballerina Allegra spent her life on stage. But now there are whispers that the superstars lost her sparkle, so when she's offered a week on a tropical island, for survival expert Finn McLeod's TV show, she leaps at it! But Allegra' hours of disciplined dance practice are useless when it comes to resisting the temptation of Finn himself... Alice's world is turned upside down when she's hired to organise billionaire Cameron Hunter's company ball. She's shocked by an invitation on her doormat, and the next thing she knows, she's dancing in her boss's arms in a stunning dress! Alice knows that on Monday morning everything will could back to normal. But for now, she's going to enjoy every second... Two sparkling rom-com stories from the author of Make My Wish Come True & Kiss Me Under The Mistletoe Views: 17
Robert Hart Davis was a house name. Actual author was John JakesOriginally published in the Dec 1966 issue of The Man from UNCLE Magazine, Volume 2, Issue 5 Views: 17
