A Deft Pen..
Classic crime from the Golden Age and, perhaps, one of the most enjoyable from Lorac. Written with a deft pen - the cast of characters is brilliantly done, the plot fascinating, the irony in abundance and red herrings amply scattered all in a good, solid and wholly enjoyable and entertaining whodunnit. A wonderful reissue.

This was a slow-paced, somewhat psychological mystery where everyone seems a little on edge and everyone acts like they have something to hide. It went on a little too long for me, but I did appreciate the neatly explained solution. As is the case in the best mysteries, it was left in plain view for the reader to put together if inclined, but so buried under everyone's personalities and personal problems that it's very unlikely you'll catch on.

At an infrequent gathering of the Surray's, a highbrow literary family, Ruth's brother Richard is a bit concerned about her, feeling that she is suffering some kind of nervous tension, and a lack of sleep. The family scatter, but at a later gathering, Ruth is found dead from an overdose. Beside her is an amended will and a note. It all seems to point to suicide, but after the inquest, Richard receives a letter from her that had been delayed in the post; she seems perfectly happy and had been making plans for her future, leading him to question the ruling and call in MacDonald.

It's a fairly quick moving mystery with a surprising (to me), solution, I thought it was headed in a different direction. Of all the Authors that have been brought back the this series, I think E.C.R. Lots has been my favourite find so far so it's nice to see so many more of her titles available, and long may that continue.

*Many thanks to Netgalley and the publishers for a review copy in exchange for an honest opinion.*

This is one of the best Lorac's mystery I read and I read a lot of them. A very complex, twisty, and surprising whodunit with an intriguing puzzle at the center in a case that could be a suicide or a murder.
I love following McDonalds investigating and this one kept me hooked and guessing. There's plenty of mystery and there's a perfect family that maybe is not so perfect.
Ruth Surrays, the dead woman, is at the center of a relationships but she's always a sort of far away idol, a woman who doesn't feel emotion or is so repressed to never feel them.
I was fascinated by the "turmoil of voices around her" paraphrasing Ezra Pound. We don't meet her, we learn about her via friends, colleagues and lovers.
This one of the best mysteries I read this year and I read it in one sitting.
The locked-room/impossible crime is a sort of fashionable marketing trope, this is the real thing, a challenge to solve a very complex puzzle.
Highly recommended.
Many thanks to the publisher for this arc, all opinions are mine