Death at Thorburn Hall - A Review

Death at Thorburn Hall

by

Julianna Deering

A Review

The year was 1935. The Open (we Americans incorrectly call it The British Open) was about to begin. But the bodies start to accumulate - The Farthering’s host (accident), the host’s lawyer (poison), and the host’s daughter’s fiance (gunshot) are each found dead. Though Drew Farthering and his friends have developed a reputation for helping the police solve crimes back home, the Scottish Inspector Boyd Ranald would have no part of Drew’s amateur sleuthing. Drew would have to work alone, rather than alongside, the local Police Department.

But the timing is all wrong - as the British public is becoming quickly aware of the awful consequences following the rise of Hitler’s power in Germany. And with nearby military encampments, Drew begins to suspect the murders are tied to a spy ring operating in the area.

The result is a compelling story weaving mid-20th century culture (I had never heard of potatoes dauphinoise), mysteries, and a touch of romance, together. I was disappointed that, though the set of side characters were present, they did not play as a significant role in this story as they have in the previous tales. This, however, was my only disappointment. I enjoyed the book and whether you are a golf fan or not (I am not), I expect others will as well.

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Sadly, both the publisher and the author chose to not provide a copy of this book for review.  I fully anticipated that I would have access, having reviewed the other books in the series. Having received negative replies from my requests, I gave up on this title and moved on to other books on my review list. However, fortuitously, Amazon offered a free $5 gift certificate just after the Christmas rush. I used this gift to purchase the book. However, I still feel a bit of sting for being refused a review copy.