Marble Hall Murders

Editor Susan Ryeland returns to London for a third adventure (following Moonflower Murders and Magpie Murders) after a self-imposed exile on the island of Crete. She’s eager to reestablish her name in the publishing world, but her next freelance job is one she does not want: collaborating with troubled writer Eliot Crace on an Atticus Pünd continuation novel entitled Pünd’s Last Case. The grandson of adored children’s author Miriam Crace, Eliot reveals to Susan a nightmarish childhood living with his grandmother at Marble Hall, at odds with public perception. Reading Eliot’s nearly complete manuscript, Susan recognizes in the poisoning of Lady Margaret Chalfont a lightly veiled attempt by Eliot to implicate a family member in the death of Miriam Crace 20 years before. Horowitz’s cast of characters/suspects are entertaining, and his dialogue pitch-perfect, as Eliot’s drunken and vociferous claims lead to a body count. Susan must race to solve Pünd’s last case before another murder is announced—her own.