Matricide at St. Martha's: A Robert Amiss/Baronness Jack Troutback Mystery

An extremely clever and funny book. But if you can read it in the earlier edition, do so; the original prologue was a highlight for me and is sadly missing in this reprint - replaced by a prologue from another book. To lose the gorgeous exchange between the Burser and Amiss in favour of an unfunny conversation between Amiss and the uninteresting cipher character, Rachel, is a mistake I hope no-one made deliberately. But anyway, read the book - it's marvellous.

This work was originally recommended to me via friends of mine who I trust about literature, so I decided to read Ruth Dudley Edwards' Matricide. As I read the book, I was initially confused with the characters of Jack and Robert Amiss because this is just one of the many stories Edwards has written using these characters. (Jack is an "elderly fat woman" and Amiss is a man called upon to do a favor for Jack.) After the initial haze (which is only the first ten pages or so of over two hundred), the book opened up to not only be a suspenseful murder who-dun-it but also a humorous read. The interactions between Jack and Amiss are priceless. In addition, the character of God-loving policeman Romford is thoroughly annoying yet enjoyable. Simply, the plot revolves St. Martha's, a college in turmoil between three factions (the radical feminists, the "Virgins," and the "Old Women") vying for money from a memorial trust. The war that ensues causes the murder of the Mistress of the college, Dame Maud Buckbarrow and the subsequent investigation by police. The mystery does not stop there as another is murdered which causes Jack and Amiss to desperately plot to find the true killer through academic channels. For those who enjoy great dialogue between various characters, look no further from this book. Although this is a British work, any American can read this without feeling disorientated with British vernacular. This book is a definite must for mystery fans and is a remarkably quick read. Personally, I have been so impressed with Edwards' style that I plan on reading the entire series of Amiss works. Overall excellent... I think I may have found another favorite writer to add to my ever-growing list...