Ian Sansom writes a great traditional mystery series set in 1930s
England. Kerry Hammond has fallen in love with the series and is here to tell
us why.
Westmorland Alone is the 3rd in the County Guides Mystery
series by Ian Sansom. It releases in paperback on November 1 by Witness
Impulse. One of my favorite mystery genres
is the British traditional mystery, and the best ones are set in the early
1900s. This book had both the time and place, and I was intrigued to find out
more about the county guides that the characters were creating.
Swanton Morley is the renowned writer of the English
countryside’s County Guides. He travels around with his assistant Stephen
Sefton in a Lagonda, writing about the land and the people he encounters. Sefton
is the narrator of the stories and offers up a no-nonsense
version of events, in stark contrast with Morley’s effusive manner and Morley’s daughter Miriam’s drama.
Their travels take them to Westmorland and the small town of
Appleby, where they are involved in a horrible train crash. Stranded in the
town, they explore the county fair and an archeological dig. When a woman’s
body is found at the dig, Morely can’t help but investigate the suspicious
death, even when the local police order them to leave things alone.
Sansom’s County Guides series is unique in its premise and at the same time wonderfully familiar in
its execution. If you’re a fan of the traditional British mystery of old, where
quirky characters go about their business, stumble over a murder, and solve it
using nothing more than their common sense and intelligence, you will join me
in being one of the newest fans of this
author.
Jumping into the third book is the series wasn’t a problem
at all, I quickly became acquainted with Sefton, Morley, and Miriam. I wasn’t at a loss as to their history but did feel intrigued to find out
about it. Sansom is also the author of the Mobile Library mystery series, and I
plan to check those out next, no pun intended.
This book was provided to Mystery Playground by the
publisher. The review was fair and completely independent.
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