Murder at Standing Stone

by Eric Brown

Overview

Donald Langham and Maria Dupr must navigate a rocky road to find a killer when a body is found next to a standing stone.

Newlyweds Donald Langham and Maria Dupr have moved to the country. They're excited about starting a new life in the picturesque village of Ingoldby-over-Water - and about meeting their new neighbours.

But they've barely moved into Yew Tree Cottage when their new neighbour at Standing Stone Manor, Professor Edwin Robertshaw, invites Donald over to discuss some 'fishy business'. Shortly after, a body is found by the professor's precious standing stone in the manor grounds.

Donald and Maria discover tensions, disputes and resentment raging below the surface of this idyllic village, but can they find out which of the villagers is a cold-blooded killer?

Product Details

ISBN-13:	9780727850560
Publisher:	Severn House
Publication date:	06/24/2021
Series:	A Langham & Dupré Mystery , #8
Edition description:	Main
Pages:	224
Product dimensions:	5.79(w) x 8.74(h) x 0.87(d)

About the Author

Two times winner of the British Science Fiction Award, Eric Brown is the author of thirty science fiction novels and numerous short story collections. He writes a monthly review column for the Guardian and is the author of six previous Langham & Dupr mysteries. Born in Haworth, West Yorkshire, he now lives near Dunbar in Scotland.

Editorial Reviews

Character-driven and filled with red herrings, a most enjoyable classic British read - Kirkus Reviews

From the Publisher

2021-06-16
A detecting couple’s move to new digs doesn’t prevent them from being involved in yet another murder.

Mystery writer and private detective Donald Langham and his equally talented wife, Maria Dupré, have left London for the peace and quiet of Yew Tree Cottage. Accepting a dinner invitation gives them the opportunity to meet many of their new neighbors, and a diverse and interesting bunch they are. A cryptic note from professor Edwin Robertshaw soon entangles them in blackmail and murder. Maria takes a liking to Robertshaw’s niece, Nancy, who’s been living with him since the deaths of her parents and caring for his ailing wife, Xandra—but not so much to Robertshaw, whose selfishness and lack of empathy have alienated his neighbors. Robertshaw, who’s being blackmailed, asks Donald for help, but the clever sleuth is stymied when the payment is retrieved by a dog who jumps in a car and escapes. When Robertshaw is found shot at the foot of his beloved standing stone, the neighbor with whom he’s having a land dispute is arrested, although there are several other candidates, including his first wife, who’s resumed their relationship, his supercilious son, who worries about inheriting his estate, and Nancy’s boyfriend, whose background story is a lie. The couple wrestle with a thorny mystery but one that’s not beyond their skills.

Character-driven and filled with red herrings, a most enjoyable classic British read.

Kirkus Reviews

Brown ... has a real knack for historical mystery; his version of Britain in the 1950s, especially the social strata that existed at the time, is vividly re-created and striking in its verisimilitude

Booklist on Murder by Numbers

Another fine entry in a reliably entertaining series

Booklist on Murder Served Cold