Ghost Walk: An Antiquarian Book Mystery

We first met Dido Hoare and her father Barnabas in "Death's Autograph." The smooth style of Marianne MacDonald flows through this second installment in series that delights books loves in the same fashion as John Dunning. Single mother coping with all the problems takes a customer to the hospital. He returns to give her a necklace with a history; he is later found dead. Tom Ashes's death has Scotland Yard interested and Tom was known by her father. Dido is named to administer his will -- does she have something valuable enough to kill for. Dido and Barnabas must work hard to unravel the puzzle before they end up as victims. A light love interest helps Dido as she gets close to ghosts of the past. Clever, good clues, steady pace makes a good read and we love a good bookstore. Nash Black, author of "Sins of the Fathers" and "Travelers."

In her second appearance, antiquarian bookstore owner, widow, and single mother Dido Hoare distracts herself from a London heat wave by indulging her curiosity over the death of a learned but possibly homeless customer, Tom Ashe. Ashe piques this curiosity when he disappears from the hospital Dido has taken him to after finding him unconscious on her doorstep. Reappearing to give Dido an old, possibly valuable necklace Ashe is then found dead, having appointed Dido executor of his (surprisingly substantial) estate. Dido doubts the official verdict of natural causes and her suspicions are soon buttressed by the stonewalling involvement of intelligence services - and the wartime memories of her father who once knew the man. Dido is a resourceful heroine who encounters more danger than she bargained for but remains undaunted. Macdonald writes with warmth, humor and energy.

Another gem of a mystery involving Dido Hoare, an antiquarian bookdealer who also possesses an unhealthily larger than normal dose of curiosity. This time Dido finds herself entangled with Scotland Yard, what was once MI12, and WWII intelligence operatives.It all begins when Dido goes to the aid of a sometime customer, Tommy Ashe, whom she suspects might be just one step away from homelessness and whom she finds sprawled in front of her store. In spite of his protests to the contrary, Dido takes him to hospital, where it turns out he's suffering from a bout of malaria. He caught it while he was in the Middle East in the late 1940s, and he gets recurring attacks every now and then. By way of thanking Dido, Ashe gives Dido a necklace, and then vanishes, but not before Barnabas, Dido's father recognises Ashe as someone he worked with in Intelligence during WWII. The next day, Ashe is found dead. The police at first dismiss the death as natural, caused no doubt from drinking too much alcohol. Dido however knows that Ashe had foresworn alcohol because he was a recovering alcoholic. She asks her policeman friend, Paul Grant, to take another look at the Ashe's death, and this time evidence is found that suggests murder. But who would want to kill a harmless old man who liked reading Thucydides?And then Dido discovers that Ashe named her as executor of his estate, and a strange man claiming to be Ashe's son drops by asking if his father had left any old mementoes from his travels abroad. Except he turns out not to be Ashe's son afterall. Obviously someone believes that Ashe possessed something of great value, and that it might now be in Dido's possession. Will they now come after Dido and Barnabas? And what exactly did Ashe possess that someone was willing to kill for?This Dido Hoare installment like all the rest not only possesses a very interesting and intriguing plot, it also has a very winning prose style that makes you wish that Dido and Barnabas were actual friends instead of fictional ones. In case it's misses anyone's attention, I thoroughly recommend the entire series.

This is an insidious, intrusive, yet perfectly wonderful book. It sneaks in under your guard, and before you know it, you're hooked! Dido Hoare is the main protagonist, a 30something single mom who juggles the various facets of her life with varying degrees of success. Her young son Ben is teething, her elderly father cannot resist being her father, and her antiquarian bookshop in London appears to be doing rather well, actually. And, there's even a new man in her life--well, sort of. Problem is, he's married, but rather conveniently, he's also with the CID. Everything is relatively peaceful, until-- Tom Ashe had been a fairly frequent visitor to the store, occasionally making small purchases, as though to justify his presence there. But his sudden death proves disturbing, in more ways than one, for Dido is named executor of his estate. Estate? Well, yes, there is one. And an endearing, elderly widow, plus a pseudo son. All inquiries into Tom's life end up being balked by a secret service edict. Just who was Tom Ashe, anyway? And how did he acquire a considerable estate? Dido is an intelligent, curious woman with an obvious love for books, and that's just how she acts. She's not superwoman by any means, but that curiosity does get her into trouble. All the clues are nicely laid out, just waiting to be picked up. This is a very civil type of book, one which could almost just as easily have been written fifty years ago, with its ambiance of small-town London. I loved it.