Doomed to Die

Inspector Luke Thanet is called to the home of barrister Vanessa Broxton. Her nanny has been murdered and her kitchen is the crime scene. Perdita Master was a struggling young artist who left a sketch book of drawings of children and passionate portraits of a man. The man was obviously special to the victim, but who was he and what was their relationship? Her jealous soon to be ex-husband is a prime candidate for the murder? A tense and well plotted cozy that travels crooked roads. Dorothy Simpson's, DOOMED TO DIE is a fine addition to this classic British series. Nash Black, author of HAINTS and WRITING AS A SMALL BUSINESSS.

EVER! This whodunit examines the death of a young artist, found suffocated in the kitchen of a barrister (the victim had been filling in for the nanny, who'd had an emergency appendectomy). Inspector Thanet has a wealth of suspects to choose from, and it's hard to winnow them down. Was it the extremely jealous soon-to-be ex-husband? Said husband's mother? The deceased's married lover? The married lover's wife? They all had a reason (or two or three)to dispatch her. The fun for the reader is following Thanet on his quest to unmask the guilty party(ies). Dorothy Simpson is simply amazing. She's not an author that you read and put away her latest. You usually reread her books every so often just to delight in her well-sketched characters, extraordinary and yet believable plots, sly wit, terrific dialogue, and her main character, Luke Thanet. She draws him as a fully developed person, with foibles and nobility. It's very hard to believe he's not real. Why they've never made a movie from her series is the real mystery. Are you reading this Spielberg? Get busy!