Jaynie Turner, a relative newcomer to the quiet, refined town of Clerehaven, is doing some research into the town and its residents. Most people in Clerehaven try and avoid Jaynie, as all her talk is of herself, her importance, and the interesting things she has found out doing her research. Is that why she disappears and her body is found in an abandoned building a few days later? The police, in the form of Inspector Sheldon Hunter and his colleagues Annette and Collier, have the unenviable task of finding out who wanted her dead. It would have been easier to find out who DIDN'T. They are assisted in their enquiries by the more helpful residents of Clerehaven - most notably Inez and her friend Dora, who know more than a few of the town's secrets.
This is a nice look at the secrets and lies which go on beneath the surface of a seemingly peaceful town. It felt quite old-fashioned and unreal in some ways, but was an interesting, well-paced story, with a few surprises along the way.
On the whole I enjoyed the narration, although there were a couple of the female
characters whose voices were annoying. One, in particular, was so strident and
shrill that I had to turn my personal cassette player down every time Peter
Wickham narrated her dialogue. Luckily she was bumped off before too long. I
wouldn't have been surprised if the motive for her murder had been an annoying
voice. Had I been on the jury I would shown the murderer mercy for extenuating
circumstances and let him off with community service and a medal for services
to the community.
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Donna Moore
I could only find mention of two other books in this series, Cruel as the
Grave and Private View