Murder on the Old Road

November 15, 2010

Marsh & Daughter set out on yet another exploration of past misdeeds.

A visit to a pub on the Kentish North Downs is the start of a new project for Georgia and Peter Marsh, a daughter-father team well known for solving and than writing up true crimes. A large gathering at the Three Peacocks pub turns out to be the Chillingham Drama Group, who are about to re-create a pilgrimage to publicize their upcoming play Becket. The same pilgrimage, 40 years before, led to the unsolved murder of Hugh Wayncroft. Now his son Julian and Julian's half brother Valentine Harper and their families are re-creating the original with the hopes of putting the village of Chillingham on the tourist map. Long associated with Saint Thomas, the Wayncrofts are an old Catholic family whose estate is rumored to be the resting place of Thomas' bones. Georgia and Peter's research and interviews unveil a massive split in the community between those who want the area developed and those who don't. When the vicar who is on the anti side is murdered, even more bad feelings and many a motive for murder are revealed. Now it only remains to pick the right one.

This is not the most exciting of Myers' Marsh & Daughter mysteries (Murder Takes the Stage, 2009, etc.), but the tried-and-true formula of mystery plus history makes for a pleasant read.

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January 1, 2011

Encountering a drama group reenacting a pilgrimage to Canterbury that ended in murder 40 years earlier, Georgia Marsh and her father begin digging out facts to see if this will be their next book on unsolved crimes. This engaging series (Murder in the Mist; Murder Takes the Stage) usually juxtaposes a cold case with a current mystery that causes the father and daughter to delve into some dangerous interrogations of reluctant witnesses. VERDICT The smooth and effortless narration will appeal to fans of British cozies.

Copyright 2011 Library Journal, LLC Used with permission.

December 15, 2010
True-crime writers Peter Marsh and his daughter, Georgia, encounter a group of strangely dressed pilgrims in their local pub. Members of the Chillingham Drama Group, they are about to begin a journey along the Old Road to Canterbury to perform Tennysons play, Becket. This pilgrimage is a reenactment of a similar production that took place 40 years ago. That one ended with the murder of Hugh Waynecroft, the owner of the local manor house. The crime was never solved. Of course, Peter and Georgia want to know why, so they get to work to find out what happened. They encounter resistance from the residents of the village and discover that the same political issues continue to divide them. Should the village use its connection to Saint Thomas Becket to attract tourists? The English village atmosphere and the historical background will appeal to both cozy and historical-fiction readers.(Reprinted with permission of Booklist, copyright 2010, American Library Association.)