1991 mystery, fourth in the Robert Amiss series. Once more, Amiss'
friend Pooley sends him into an institution where murder may have
taken place, for a bit of unofficial undercover work. This time it's
as a waiter at ffeatherstonehaugh's, originally a club for roués
that's since become gentrified, then fallen on distressingly
moralistic times.
The plot's shape, clearly, is very much the same as that of The
English School of Murder, and again we have a population of hateful
people – but this time Dudley Edwards has gone to some trouble to make
them into actual people behind the stereotypes that they at first seem
to embody.
Alas, much of the information that fleshes them out comes quite late
in the book, as does the information that solves the mystery: yes, as
soon as we learn it the answer is obvious, but until we learn it
there's no way of making informed speculation about who might be
responsible. This ends up making much of the book feel a bit slow,
particularly if the Earl of Rochester is not a fresh discovery to the
reader.
Once things do finally get moving and people's true backgrounds come
to light, it's all rather more interesting and works very well. And
the book couldn't have been much shorter and still have been published
as a novel in the early 1990s. It's just a pity that so much of the
limited space is effectively wasted on pointing out that class-war
stereotypes are outdated and inaccurate: yes, OK, we get it.
I didn't feel particularly enthused by this one, but I gather the next
book introduces a solid recurring character. Series recommended by
Gus; followed by Matricide at St Martha's.
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