January 2, 2023
In Brody’s deft 13th mystery featuring private inquiry agent Kate Shackleton (after 2020’s Murder Is in the Air), Ronnie Creswell—a maintenance worker at Yorkshire’s Salts Mill—urges Kate in a July 1930 letter to travel to the village of Saltaire so he can tell her a story about the past. But Ronnie dies in the mill’s reservoir before her arrival, and Kate discovers that the mill’s board chair Arnold Whitaker fears that it may not have been an accident, as Ronnie, who wished to marry Whitaker’s daughter, appears to have been looking into skullduggery threatening Whitaker’s livelihood. With the help of her associate, Jim Sykes, and housekeeper, Mrs. Sugden, Kate learns about potential industrial espionage, the disappearance of valuable silver and of a servant from the reputedly cursed Whitaker mansion, as well as the presence of some mysterious strangers at the mill. The melding of past and present, multifaceted characters, and a winning investigative team combine into a gripping and moving case. Longtime fans and new readers alike will find much to enjoy. Agent: Rebecca Winfield, David Luxton Assoc.