O Gentle Death

I've read all of Janet Neel's books, except for "To Die For," and I enjoyed this one. It's not the best in the series, but when I got it from the library I read it within two days (that's fast for a working Mom who doesn't have a lot of spare time!). Give it a chance, especially if you enjoy British mysteries.

O Gentle Death is a very fine novel which also happens to be a murder mystery. Janet Neel has fleshed over the bare bones of a classic Scotland Yard procedural with interesting glimpses of the lives of a diverse group of realistic characters. There are no Colonel Mustards or Mrs. Peacocks here. I recommend the book enthusiatically.The main thread of the plot unwinds at Faraday Trust, a progressive British boarding school, where the arts and individuality are cherished and nourished. As the end of spring term approaches, so do signs of trouble. The Trustees of the school have asked the headmaster to step down because weak test results for university admisssion are hurting enrollment. Several members of the staff are vying to succeed him. Catriona Roberts, an underachieving, unhappy sixth-former is causing problems for her fellow students and for the staff -- which includes both her step-parents. Her death at a London party attended by many of the staff, her biological parents, and several of her classmates proves to be murder rather than suicide.Chief Inspector John McLeish (whom I take to be a regular fixture in Mrs. Neel's novels) has connections to the school and to several of its students through his wife Francesca, a musician and college administrator on maternity leave. McLeish and Francesca are present at the party and he is ordered to take charge of the investigation into Catriona's murder despite an obvious conflict of interest. He and his team work desperately to solve the murder before the suspects disperse at the end of term. Refreshingly, the case is not solved either by clever detective work or by having the sleuth recklessly put himself in harm's way, as so many mystery stories are these days.