Assassins at Ospreys

by R. T. Raichev

Overview

When one of mystery writer Antonia Darcy's admiring readers, Bee Ardleigh, becomes over friendly, Antonia finds it just a bit of a bore. But when she and husband Major Hugh Payne are persuaded to visit Bee at Millbrook House, they begin to suspect it's something more sinister. Is the lovely Bee, newly wed, really an invalid? Where does her female live-in companion go on her frequent outings? Why would the mortally ill master of nearby Ospreys estate decide to change his will and leave his vast fortune to Beatrice? Hugh and Antonia become embroiled in a gruesome death in their perilous pursuit of the truth.

Praise for R.T. Raichev

'Fascinating and surreal.' Lady Antonia Fraser

'All so ingenious.' Emma Tennant

'Clever and complex.' Francis Wyndham

'Splendidly old-fashioned sleuthery ... skilfully probes the surface smoothness of country houses ...couldn't put it down.' Hugh Massingberd

'This auspicious first in a new mystery series from Raichev ... Agatha Christie fans will find much to like in this traditional whodunit.' Publishers Weekly

'The kind of old-school English mysteries that fans of Christie and Sayers love ... but this will be pleasing to more than traditionalists, because it adds a P. D. Jamesian subtlety to the comfortable Christie formula. Antonia Darcy is a terrific sleuth, and Raichev is a very clever writer, indeed.' Booklist

Product Details

ISBN-13:	9781780336220
Publisher:	Little, Brown Book Group
Publication date:	10/11/2011
Sold by:	Hachette Digital, Inc.
Format:	eBook
Pages:	300
Sales rank:	524,624
File size:	776 KB

About the Author

R. T. Raichev is a researcher and writer who grew up in Bulgaria and wrote a university dissertation on English crime fiction. He has lived in London since 1989.
R. T. Raichev is a researcher and writer who grew up in Bulgaria and wrote a university dissertation on English crime fiction. He has lived in London since 1989.

Editorial Reviews

At the start of Raichev's stylish third novel to feature mystery writer Antonia Darcy and her husband, Maj. Hugh Payne (after 2007's The Death of Corrine), the couple attend a literary festival in Hay-on-Wye. There they reluctantly befriend two unusual women-a femme fatale in a wheelchair, Beatrice "Bee" Ardleigh, and Bee's austere companion, Ingrid Delmar-whom Hugh dubs "Goldilocks and Cerberus." A few months later, Antonia and Hugh accept Bee's invitation to come see her in Oxfordshire, where Bee has just made a controversial marriage and Ingrid has been impersonating Bee on visits to a dying neighbor who plans to leave his home, Ospreys ("The secret house of death they used to call it"), to the National Trust. The twisty plot thickens with the murder of a shady, Chartreuse-drinking priest at Ospreys. Deft use of literary allusion and well-drawn if unsubtle characterization are among the strengths of this traditional whodunit. (Apr.)

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Publishers Weekly

In Raichev's third series entry (after The Death of Corrine) to feature mystery writer Antonia Darcy, Antonia gets caught up in a gothic tale involving a tragic car accident, the two women it brought together, and one of the drivers, now dying and wishing to make amends. Greed, jealousy, rampant emotions, and a killer lurk in the wings of this tale that mixes Henry James's psychological insight with Agatha Christie's whodunit plotting skills. Throw in a diabolically clever story line and the challenge to readers to figure out what is really going on, and Raichev once again triumphs in this totally fascinating game of wits. Highly recommended for all collections.

—Jo Ann Vicarel

Library Journal

Many plot the death of an elderly invalid, but who draws the final curtain?Mystery novelist Antonia Darcy is accosted at a book signing by Beatrice, an overfriendly, wheelchair-bound fan, and her companion Ingrid. Reluctantly accepting an invitation to tea, Antonia finds herself fascinated by the pair, who seem to be masking their true natures. Raichev reveals through chapters that hopscotch among the perspectives of multiple characters that Bee was crippled 30 years ago in a car accident. While her fiance Ralph was driving, their car hit the pregnant Ingrid, who lost her unborn child. As Ingrid and Bee developed an odd symbiosis, Ralph went to America and made a fortune. Now dying of cancer, he's returned and taken up residence nearby in the grand estate of Ospreys, determined to earn Bee's forgiveness. Bee is engaged to stolid Colville, who has suspicions about both Ralph and Ingrid. The latter are well-founded, Colville realizes when he learns that Ingrid has been impersonating Bee in visits to Ralph. More predators lurk within Ospreys' walls. Ralph's spiritual advisor, Father Lillie-Lysander, who filches drugs for his personal use, is in league with Ralph's no-account nephew Robin, who's planning to murder his uncle. Can Antonia and her husband Hugh ferret out the true menace?Antonia's third mystery (The Death of Corinne, 2007, etc.) deftly mixes dark humor and psychological suspense, its genteel surface masking delicious deviancy.

Kirkus Reviews