traditional detectives

Then There Were … Two Murders? by P.C. James

‘Then There Were … Two Murders?’ is the second book in the Miss Riddell Cozy Mystery series. It follows directly after ‘In the Beginning, There was a Murder’ where, at the end, Miss Riddell receives a letter asking for her help.

The letter is from an elderly widow living out in the English countryside. It’s winter 1953/54 and England is still suffering from the after-effects of WW2 and the costs of the ongoing Korean War. Miss Riddell goes to meet the woman, arrives at her house only to find her dead, suicide apparently.

She tells the police why she was invited by the woman — the woman thought her friend had been murdered months before. However, the police and coroner rule this death to be suicide and dismiss the idea the earlier old woman’s death was anything but natural causes.

Miss Riddell sets out to prove them wrong with her friend Poppy and the old lady’s dog, Jem. Unfortunately, like the police, Miss Riddell can find no conclusive evidence and her supporters give up. Her only hope in the end is to put herself in harm’s way and hope the murderer takes the bait.

In the Beginning, There Was a Murder: An Amateur Female Sleuth Historical Cozy Mystery by P.C. James

When her best friend is murdered, Pauline Riddell finds she must take the law into her own hands if she is to see justice done.

It’s northern England, 1953, rationing is still in place and the Cold War is heating up. Her fiancé is out in Korea, where thankfully that war is winding down, and she’s just setting out in adult life working at a local armament factory. She’s hard-up, everyone is, but Pauline can see better times ahead, a home, a family, a responsible job, and she’s preparing for that future. Then her friend, Marjorie, is stabbed to death.

At first, Pauline is only concerned with helping the police. She’s intelligent and resourceful but also inexperienced, just out of school and still believing the world runs in trustworthy ways.

Then she finds the police think they’ve caught her friend’s killer and they’re winding down the investigation. Pauline now realizes this is a world where you can’t always leave things to others, you have to get involved yourself. But, as she investigates and puts pressure on the police for more action, she finds the killer wants her out of the way and the police have come to suspect she killed her friend. Can she catch the killer before she either faces the same fate as Marjorie or is hanged for killing her?