Easeful Death (Severn House Large Print) - Hardcover

Dewhurst, Eileen

Hardcover

ISBN 10: 072787313X ISBN 13: 9780727873132

Publisher: Severn House, 2003

Synopsis

Seaminster Police Chief Maurice Kendrick has moved from grudging acceptance of the help of the Peter Piper Agency to approaching it as plain Mr Kendrick, concerned about his niece's involvement with a local sect that promises life after death. While Phyllida Moon as the affable Miss Lubbock is beginning her investigation, two of the sect's young acolytes leap from a cliff into the sea. Suicide? Or murder? Worse is to come. At a meeting of the sect, held at his family seat, the charismatic leader falls dead. The public suicide his flock has been half awaiting? Or, again, murder? Kendrick the policeman investigates potential suspects, chief among them the wife, the sister, and the business manager, all of whom seem to have good reason to wish him gone.

About this title

About the Author:

Dewhurst was born in Liverpool, read English at Oxford and has earned her living in a variety of ways.

From Booklist:

Police chief Maurice Kendrick is concerned about his niece Samantha, who is involved with a cult called The Bridge, whose quasi-religious message may camouflage a darker, deadlier purpose. Since the group has done nothing wrong, Kendrick can't launch an official investigation, so he calls on his friend, top-notch PI and mistress of disguises Phillida Moon. Enlisting the aid of her librarian friend Sally, Phillida moves into a derelict housing complex where some of The Bridge members live, transforming herself via wigs, padding, and prosthetic devices into Miss Emily Lubbock, a mousy spinster, with Sally posing as her gullible niece. The pair then wangle an invitation to one of The Bridge's meetings. At first, Phillida finds the group more bizarre and pathetic than sinister, but when two members commit suicide and the group's charismatic leader is murdered, she quickly changes her mind. This peculiar mix of British cozy and secret-agent thriller may puzzle some devotees to both camps, but taken on its own terms, the quirky story is oddly entertaining. Emily Melton
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About this edition

• Publisher: Severn House
• Publication date: 2003
• ISBN 10: 072787313X
• ISBN 13: 9780727873132
• Binding: Hardcover
• Number of pages: 304