" 'Chief Inspector,' she said, 'tell me, do you think, well ...' She paused, biting her lip, and then went on in an even lower voice. 'Will you be able to find who did it?' Carmichael was unexpectedly touched. 'I'm sure we will, Mrs. Berone,' he said, carried away by the moment, although in fact he was not sure of anything of the kind. Bethancourt, viewing this tableau with a neutral eye, had a sudden moment of doubt as to her guilt. He glanced at Gibbons to see what he thought, but his friend did not look his way; his attention was fixed on Annette Berowne."
~~back cover

"Every ambitious Scotland Yard detective sergeant like Jack Gibbons should have a best friend like Philip Bethancourt. Charismatic, well connected, and quite well off, Phillip likes to tag along on Jack's more interesting investigations, and Jack is happy to have him.

"Jack's latest case seems interesting enough indeed: Geoffrey Berowne has been poisoned in his study and his much younger third wife, Annette, has the strongest motive. After all, everyone else at the Berowne estate seems more inclined to kill her than her husband. But Jack and Phillip are stumped. As they look closer, their list of suspects grows to include Geoff's curmudgeonly sister-in-law, who deeply resent Annette, and his beleaguered son and unhappy daughter-in-law, stuck in the floundering family business and burdened by Geoff's opinion of their marriage, for starters.

"But it's more than just the investigation that keep Jack and Phillip coming back to the alluring widow. To Phillip's alarm, Jack is charmed by their lead suspect, and Phillips must carefully encourage him to stay objective as the lead detective on the case while also being Jack's best friend. Can they solve the case before Jack becomes Annette's next victim?

"Chan's clever, stylish novel, written in the classic mystery tradition, is a richly satisfying debut by a truly fresh new voice on the crime shelf."
~~front flap

This is one of the best mysteries I've read in a long while. The interplay between Betancourt and Gibbons is just marvelous; the plot is wonderfully murky until the very end, and the characterization of suspects and minor characters is exceptionally well done. I'm going to enjoy the rest of this series, and I strongly recommend you do the same. ( )

Very English, comfy, locked door sort of mysteries in this series. Light and amusing. ( )

I wasn't overly impressed. The characters were somewhat wanly drawn, and I couldn't bring myself to invest any emotions into their fates. I'm fine with an omniscient narrator (I actually prefer it, in most cases) but there was something curiously off about the tone. I think it was a bit too American for the setting (English aristocratic country house murder). I finished the book, but won't be getting any more. ( )

This is the first volume in a series* of mysteries starring a working class Scotland Yard detective and his wealthy, aristocratic friend. Not exactly original, and since the author lives in Florida, I'm not sure that they are atmospherically correct. However, the mystery itself was nicely done, and had the right kinds of twists, and it was well written.

It didn't leave me clammoring for more, but I will add the series to my list to watch out for.

*According to the back cover, there are previous short stories, which explains the feel of coming in late. I don't know if these are available anywhere, or if they have been collected. ( )