April 1, 2023
When an MI6 agent is found shot through the heart near an estate belonging to the Wyndhams, whom he was surveilling owing to their alleged fascist sympathies, photographer-turned-spy Elena Standish is asked to investigate. She has an easy in with the family, as her older sister is being courted by Lady Wyndham's brother. More interwar mystery from Perry. Prepub Alert.
Copyright 2023 Library Journal
Copyright 2023 Library Journal, LLC Used with permission.
July 10, 2023
Elena Standish returns (after 2022’s A Truth to Lie For) for a delectable mystery that sees the photographer turned MI6 agent infiltrating a family of aristocrats in 1930s England. When MI6 agent John Repton is found shot to death near the Wyndham family estate, two questions emerge: who killed him, and why was he there in the first place? Elena, whose older sister, Margo, is being courted by Lady Wyndham’s brother, is tapped to investigate Repton’s death alongside fellow agent James Allenby. The pair discovers that Repton had been surveilling the Wyndhams to learn more about the family’s rumored fascist sympathies, and land an invitation to Wyndham Hall to see what they can dig up for themselves. As the revelations turn more and more sinister, and Hitler’s influence spreads across Europe, Elena faces a choice: does she risk her widowed sister’s happiness to take down the Wyndhams, or turn a blind eye to matters with international implications? Perry’s period details are exquisite, and she ably blends family conflicts with political intrigue, making the stakes of Elena’s inquiry feel both enormous and intimate. Historical mystery fans will eat this up. Agent: Meg Davis, Ki Agency.
July 15, 2023
Elena Standish is sent to a most unlikely place to ferret out the killer of a fellow spy. John Repton, who'd been active in MI6 during the Great War, had more or less retired by 1934. But the very last job he agreed to take on--secretly keeping an eye on Wyndham Hall in the Cotswolds--ended with the discovery of his body in a ditch nearby. Urgently needing to know what Repton had discovered and who'd shot him to death, Peter Howard sends Elena and James Allenby, two of his best, to Wyndham Hall to pretend they're a couple while they ask discreet questions and gather evidence. It seems more and more likely that the motive for Repton's murder was political. Sir David Wyndham has donated sizable sums to Oswald Mosley's Blackshirts. His wife, Lady Griselda, is clearly more than just an acquaintance of Edward, Prince of Wales, and his mistress, Wallis Simpson. And now that Robert Hastings, the local MP who's been spoken of as the next prime minister, has been accused by his aide, Timothy Rogers, of improper sexual advances that could put paid to his career, Lady Griselda has made it clear that she considers the pliant Chief Constable Algernon Miller the ideal replacement. What makes the assignment especially dicey for Elena is that Geoffrey Baden, David's brother-in-law and the beau of Elena's sister, Margot Driscoll, is another admirer of Mosley's, and Elena correctly believes that Margot considers every indication her sister gives that she should proceed with extreme caution as a sign of Elena's jealousy. Perry, who died earlier this year, caps a well-upholstered tale of aristocratic murder with news of a surprising killer.
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August 1, 2023
This is the fifth book in Perry's sublimely intense Elena Standish, British MI6 agent, series, following A Truth To Lie For (2022), and likely the last. The author died earlier this year, leaving a legacy of over 100 published books and a place on many lists as a "master of crime," right up there with Agatha Christie. It is appropriate to note that this work bears all the hallmarks of a Golden Age mystery, with an all-suspects-assembled "reveal" at the end, reminiscent of Marple and Poirot. Elena investigates the murder of a fellow agent near a magnificent country estate belonging to an influential family. Sound familiar? It is a late 1930s summer with the looming threat of Hitler's rise and a growing wave of pacifism in a country that can't bear the thought of another war. Expertly playing a new undercover role as an elegantly attired young photographer, she finds herself dangerously awash in the pro-Nazi and antisemitic sentiments of the family, their vicar, and the chief constable. Anne Perry will be greatly missed.
COPYRIGHT(2023) Booklist, ALL RIGHTS RESERVED.
Starred review from August 1, 2023
As the presumably last work by Perry, who died in April 2023, this fifth Elena Standish historical mystery (after A Truth To Lie For) may feel bittersweet to longtime fans. Elena's MI6 boss has asked her to find out why agent John Repton was murdered. His body was found in a ditch near Wyndham Hall, the country home of her sister Margot's prospective in-laws, giving Elena a unique opportunity to scope out the situation. Repton was surveilling the estate because members of the household were rumored to have ties to fascists. Accompanying Elena for a weekend party is fellow agent James Allenby, posing as her love interest. Of course, her beloved grandfather Lucas is working the case as well from behind the scenes. The backdrop of this story is the chilling rise of Hitler and the increasingly loud voices of those in Britain who will do anything to prevent another war. Of course, readers know what is coming, yet Perry makes it seem fresh and compelling. VERDICT A quintessential Perry novel, this must-read demonstrates her trademark understanding of the human condition and is filled with complex and passionate characters.--Laurel Bliss
Copyright 2023 Library Journal, LLC Used with permission.