When good looking wealthy Malcolm Hardy joins the only veterinary practice in Taviscombe, he brings more than the much needed investment, he firmly puts the cat amongst the pigeons. He quickly upsets the senior partner Diane by sacking one of the other long serving partners. He blames a junior partner for mistreatment of several animals, and upsets the practice assistants by employing his girl friend.
So it is not surprising that when is found dead, all his colleagues without exception come under suspicion.
I think this is what is termed as a ‘cozy’. Sheila Mallory gathers her information by gossiping, and boy can the ladies of Taviscombe gossip! Over coffee in the buttery, the church hall and at the check-out at the supermarket Sheila picks up amazing information. She shares all with her best friend Rosemary, and under a sufferance visit to Rosemary’s mother she learns of Malcolm’s family. Poor half sister June who lost out on the family fortune and cousin Donald Gillespie who was cheated out of a valuable picture. But there are even more surprises, Malcolm’s affair with a married woman and what of the now discarded girl-friend Julie.
For long time followers of this series, the story is set during the approach
to Christmas and family values provide a strong background to the story. Son
Michael drops a bombshell, which gives Sheila pause for thought. Annie Aldington
did a reasonable job, producing rather pleasant middle class accents for the
characters which were in the main indistinguishable, except when workmen were
involved and then she produced a very good Devonshire accent.
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Lizzie Hayes
There are fourteen other books in the series featuring Mrs Sheila Mallory.