British Mysteries

Most especially, there is Benny, the shy, kindly housekeeper who lived with Mallory's aunt for over twenty years and who had grown to love her as no-one else ever had. The aunt's formal and careful way of doing things still weighs on Benny, and she is as loath to give it up as she is to go through the dead woman's things. Benny is completely dismissed by the selfish Polly. Depending on your age and parental status, your horror and disgust at Polly's behavior may vary, but make no mistake, she's pretty terrible. Then there's Benny's friend Dennis, an accountant and broker, who lives a quiet bachelor life while tending to an incredible and really creepy collection of medieval war machines. Benny doesn't even like to go in the so called "war room" which takes up much of Dennis' house, but one day, when Dennis is late and she goes looking for him, she instead finds him horribly dead inside. This spurs her into an exhaustive insistence on the fact that Dennis' death wasn't an accident, but a murder. Graham is more than able to provide a long list of likely suspects.

The other thread to this book is that of a spurious spiritualist who drags along a hapless daughter in her wake, mostly ignoring her and forgetting to feed her. The daughter's fortunes as well as those of their live-in lodger are changed by, and tie in with, the cast of characters involved with Dennis' murder. A master of complexity - while still keeping the whole story moving and logical - Graham is even more a master of character. One of the actions of Mallory's daughter, Polly, is so dreadful that I could barely read about it - I had to remind myself that it was fiction, that Mallory and his problems weren't really real. It's stuck with me, though, long after I closed the book - which says lots for this writer. She made an indelible imprint on my brain, and she might on yours, too. (Robin)