False Alarm

February 18, 2013
In Heley’s solid seventh Abbott Agency mystery (after 2011’s False Report), Bea Abbott sets out to determine who set a trap for business magnate Sir Lucas Ossett that resulted in his falling down the stairs of his London apartment building. Bea soon discovers that the target may instead have been Lady Ossett, Sir Lucas’s estranged wife. Other suspicious events in the building appear to be nothing more than cruel tricks at first, but a pet cat found dead of rat poison is the beginning of a string of fatal “accidents.” Meanwhile, Oliver, Bea’s adopted son, works to help Sir Lucas learn who’s trying to destroy his business empire, becomes entangled in the magnate’s ruthless dealings, and learns a hard lesson. In her search for the truth, Bea must closely study the building’s odd inhabitants—in particular a couple of relentless old gossips who cheerfully malign their fellow residents while making themselves indispensable. Traditional mystery fans will find enough to like.

March 1, 2013
Domestic matters both personal and professional loom large for the owner of the Abbot Agency (False Report, 2012, etc.). Solving a murder is not at the head of Bea Abbot's to-do list, especially given the merger of her domestic agency with the larger Holland and Butcher. But Maggie, Bea's former assistant and now project manager in her own right, is threatening to move out from under Bea's roof and into a penthouse owned by Maggie's mother. Sir Lucas Ossett, the fourth husband of Maggie's mom, moved out of their marital home after taking a tumble down the stairs, and Bea offers to discover who planted the tripwire that caused the tycoon's nasty fall. Spry seniors Carrie Kempton and Lucy Emerson are only too glad to give Bea their take on the minor mysteries in the Ossetts' building. What kind of therapist is Carmela Lessbury, who sees only male clients and only in the afternoon? What happened to Tariq, a young, gay South Asian, who seems to have disappeared after Sir Lucas fired him from a tech job at Vicori Corporation? And who poisoned Momi, professor Jacobsen's cat? The mysteries progress from minor to major when someone pushes the building's irritable caretaker off Tariq's balcony. Even Bea's MI5 friend CJ Cambridge warns her that things are murky at Vicori. Can she unmask a killer and keep Maggie home where she belongs? The Abbot Agency's seventh outing will be just the thing for readers who like their cozies with a bit of bite.

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March 1, 2013

Bea Abbot is not amused when her assistant Maggie's mother demands her daughter to come home and protect her. Lady Ossett initially seems unduly worried, but as Bea surveys the situation, she begins to wonder. True, a trip wire set just outside their penthouse injured Sir Lucas Ossett--but was it meant for him? A powerful man with his tentacles into everyone's business, Sir Lucas does have enemies. Bea queries other tenants about earlier petty incidents around the building and notices that the stories don't quite line up in a convincing fashion. Then the Ossett's cat is poisoned, a tenant is found dead, and even Bea is attacked. She struggles to get taken seriously, coming up with a strategy just in the nick of time. VERDICT A closed-room drama with a fascinating set of characters makes for an intriguing whodunit. Think of the series's seventh outing (after False Report) as a big old-fashioned country-house case, Agatha Christie-like, but dressed-up smart and chic for today. [See Prepub Alert, 10/08/12.]

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