Cassandra Chan Village Affairs

Village Affairs

Cassandra Chan

St. Martin's, Nov 2006, $23.95

ISBN 0312337507

Scotland Yard Detective Sergeant Jack Gibbons is heartbroken that Annette Berowne dumped him. Marla Tate suggests to Jack's best friend affluent Phillip Betancourt that they help the cop come out of the doldrums by surrounding him with attractive females. However, Jack has a court appearance so can not join his pal amongst the fashion models in the Cotswold.

However, Jack and Detective Chief Inspector Wallace Carmichael head to Chipping Chedding in the Cotswold to investigate the death of Charlie Bingham, a successful inventor. The deceased apparently died from mixing sleeping pills with whiskey, but Jack has found anomalies like the body being moved by the fireplace that makes him suspect a homicide occurred. As he investigates what he believes is murder, his boss, his friend, a local cop, and a wannabe sleuth entangle the case with confusion, as what is evidence becomes difficult to filter from what is a red herring and a blunder.

Though it lacks the Wimsey of Lord Peter's mysteries (as much of the key cast is stereotyped), the second Gibbons tale (see The Young Widow) once again reverently brings Dorothy Sayers into the twenty-first century with a delightful Cotswold cozy. The storyline is fun as Jack finds the biggest obstacles to solving the case are the myriad of silly sleuths. Fans of Ms. Sayers will enjoy Jack's look into the wealthy businessman's Village Affairs and other dealings.

Harriet Klausner