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Death of a Lady
(2016)(The first book in the Inspector Felix Mysteries series)
A novel by R A Bentley
If you love the old ‘whodunits’ from the Golden Age of British crime-writing, you will enjoy this. Set in the 1920s, it’s the first of a series of traditional murder mysteries featuring the amiable Detective Inspector Miles Felix of Scotland Yard and his shrewd but prickly assistant, Sergeant ‘Teddy’ Rattigan.
It’s the spring of 1926. Following a macabre discovery, the Inspector investigates a fading aristocratic family where everyone seems to have a secret, even the servants.
About this series:
The Inspector Felix Mysteries, set in the 1920s, broadly evoke the British ‘whodunit’ of the time. There are, however, differences. Many early examples of the genre were primarily puzzles, with the characters in the tale little more than ciphers or chess pieces to be moved around as the plot required. This didn’t appeal to me as a writer, and I have opted for a treatment more common a few years later, with greater psychological and behavioural realism. The clues and red-herrings are still there to challenge you, but I like to think that should you fail to guess the murderer, you may at least have enjoyed the journey.
At risk of further annoying the purist, the ten books vary greatly from tragedy to farce to what is essentially a thriller (sorry, but it just turned out that way). Felix and his team are the only constants here.
As was normal at the time, you will not find in those old tales the more graphic descriptions of violence and gore. Such things were placed firmly ‘offstage,’ and I have done the same. Matters carnal were, of course, similarly treated, but I have occasionally, for the sake of a better story, cracked open the bedroom door just a little.
All the mysteries are stand-alone tales. However, if the reader wishes to follow the personal fortunes of Inspector Felix and his colleagues they are best read in order.
Genre: Mystery
It’s the spring of 1926. Following a macabre discovery, the Inspector investigates a fading aristocratic family where everyone seems to have a secret, even the servants.
About this series:
The Inspector Felix Mysteries, set in the 1920s, broadly evoke the British ‘whodunit’ of the time. There are, however, differences. Many early examples of the genre were primarily puzzles, with the characters in the tale little more than ciphers or chess pieces to be moved around as the plot required. This didn’t appeal to me as a writer, and I have opted for a treatment more common a few years later, with greater psychological and behavioural realism. The clues and red-herrings are still there to challenge you, but I like to think that should you fail to guess the murderer, you may at least have enjoyed the journey.
At risk of further annoying the purist, the ten books vary greatly from tragedy to farce to what is essentially a thriller (sorry, but it just turned out that way). Felix and his team are the only constants here.
As was normal at the time, you will not find in those old tales the more graphic descriptions of violence and gore. Such things were placed firmly ‘offstage,’ and I have done the same. Matters carnal were, of course, similarly treated, but I have occasionally, for the sake of a better story, cracked open the bedroom door just a little.
All the mysteries are stand-alone tales. However, if the reader wishes to follow the personal fortunes of Inspector Felix and his colleagues they are best read in order.
Genre: Mystery
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