Slight Mourning

The Calleshire Chronicles, Book 6

By: Catherine Aird

Narrated by: Derek Perkins

In this classic parlor mystery from CWA Diamond Dagger winner Catherine Aird, Detective Inspector C. D. Sloan investigates a dinner party that ended in murder

Twelve friends sit down for supper at Strontfield Park, but only 11 survive the evening. After dinner, the host, William Fent, offers to drive one of his guests home, only to die behind the wheel in a violent accident. The autopsy shows that Fent ingested enough barbiturates to kill a horse.

So begins a fresh tale of murder and deceit for Detective Inspector C. D. Sloan, whose list of suspects begins and ends with the surviving dinner guests. Among them are a theologian at the local university; Dr. and Mrs. Washby, whose wedding was the cause for celebration; Ursula Renville, tall, graceful, and utterly aloof; the fat and extravagant Mr. and Mrs. Marchmont; the spinster Miss Paterson; the rector's daughter, Cynthia Paterson; Quentin Fent, heir to the Fent fortune; and Mr. Fent's wife, the now-widowed Helen. Each of the guests had the opportunity to kill William Fent. But which one wanted him dead?

©2019 Catherine Aird (P)2019 Blackstone Audio, Inc.

Traditional mystery

Enjoyed it thoroughly. A bit of village gossip, an unexpected outcome, and, all in all, an enjoyable cast.

Always tongue-in-cheek; and always very fine ...

Another Goddess of the Golden Age of Mystery Writers, Catherine Aird gives us another thoughtful, satisfying mystery to mull on, hiding wry smiles and gentle smirks amongst the interactions of the characters. If I could invite anyone to lunch, Catherine Aird would be one I'd want to share a bottle of wine with and spend the afternoon musing on the foibles of humanity, and the comedy inherent in our attempts to keep our collective boat on course., Not only do I recommend this book, but I recommend all of her books, as well as all of the books of Georgette Heyer, Ngaio Marsh, and Dorothy Sayers, all Goddesses of the Golden Age of Mystery Writers.

Difficult to rate

The writing was competent, and I got the impression that everything came together in the end in an interesting manner. Meanwhile, I was having difficulty keeping my attention because there were a lot of characters, none who were all that primary, and none who I felt any real connection with.

This was in someways a good bed book because it wasn’t too intense, but it was also a bad bad book because it didn’t engage me enough to go back and listen again if I missed something.

Lucky find

A very enjoyable book. I am off to buy another after finishing this review. No give aways to the endings of previous books.

eloquent language and literary allusions

witty and intelligent, good mysteries wrapped up in intelligent writing and clever cultural references..