Elizabeth Ironside, The Accomplice

Elizabeth Ironside raises the complexities of life, as it's lived, in a sophisticated and very well written "thriller." Sublety replaces blood and gore--yet it's still a 'manhunt." A page-turner!

The Accomplice

Elizabeth Ironside

Felony & Mayhem, October 2006, $24.00

ISBN: 193339773X

In Broad Woodham, England under the roses of Asshe House, as elderly Jean Loftus after four plus decades living there moves out so her stepson and his family can move in, the bony remains of a child are found by workers. Detective Superintendent Stevens assumes the bones belong to a young boy who vanished without a trace three decades ago. Jean wonders if the connection goes further east, to her homeland Soviet Russia where she was born Yevgenia Konstantinovna Chornorouskya, but decides to do nothing except move on.

However, a Russian teenager Xenia has brought back other unpleasant memories of her fatherland that Yevgenia would prefer to forget. Her best friend, attorney Zita Daunsey tries to help Jean cope, but also decides to investigate what happened to the dead child as well as her pal's mysterious past; that is she makes inquiries in between attending tea parties and caring for her disabled son Tom, with the help of "nurse" Lynne.

This is as much a garden tea party as a mystery. THE ACCOMPLICE is an odd somewhat fascinating English cozy that draws readers into the storyline. The more appealing character is Zita, whose life is tediously filled with responsibility, as all revolves around Tom, so a wee mystery adds spice, though she seems to know more than she lets on. Readers will skip the tea segues, but want to learn more about just who Jean is, why she hid her identity four decades ago and how does the deceased child tie back to her in this English modern manners mystery.