2012 cosy mystery, third in the Mac Faraday series (amateur
detection). Someone sends Mac the stolen last painting of Ilysa
Ramsey, murdered eight years ago. Naturally, he looks into the
unsolved case. Meanwhile, it seems that the same woman was murdered
elsewhere a year earlier…
Yes, this book introduces a second investigative team who later
get their own spin-off series. It does mean that the principals
sometimes don't have much to do, as rather than tracking two separate
investigations, the story of adultery and theft among the rich and
unprincipled follows what's becoming the usual Carr pattern of
everyone having a secret which they'll spill when lightly pushed. (And
some of those secrets being very implausible. Jura gur svefg gjva
jnf zheqrerq, gur bgure fyvccrq vagb ure cynpr naq gur uhfonaq qvqa'g
abgvpr.)
Carr's ear for language is sometimes a bit off, and the people are
sometimes simplistic, but I find I enjoy them even so. There will be
very few surprises here for anyone who's paying attention, but an old
story well-executed is sometimes quite satisfying, and that's what
these books give me.
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