Read between February to February 11th, 2016
Edition Details:
Format : Paperback
Page count: 372
Publisher: Sphere Books limited
Series : Cordelia Gray #2
First sentence:
There could be no doubt about it, the new name plate was crooked.
Pryde detective agency was left to Cordelia Gray by Bernie Pryde. The agency as of now gets it’s work involving finding lost pets and has made a reputation in this field. Although, Cordelia wants some bigger work.
Clarissa Lisle is an actress who has been receiving type written quotes by some anonymous sender. The quotes usually have death and are taken from the plays that Clarissa has been performing. This has made Clarissa think that some body wants her dead. And this fear is jeopardizing her acting skills. So on her insistence her husband George comes to Cordelia.
He wants her to accompany Clarissa to Courcy Island where she’s to perform. There are going to be some guests there. The task is to make sure that Clarissa never receives these intimidating notes and if possible uncover the identity of the sender.George Ralston doesn’t seem to take this notes seriously.
Cordelia too thinks the task assigned to her is easy until she finds that Clarissa has been brutally murdered.
The small time that Cordelia spent with Clarissa made her realize that although Clarissa is charming but she’s not a very likable person.The guests that are present have their own grudges against her.
So the question arises who killed Clarissa? And why was she killed?
Will Cordelia be able to uncover the truth?
The book starts slow. It’s a murder mystery but murder doesn’t happen till you are half way through it. Although once the murder takes place the story gathers pace and was entertaining.
The victim Clarissa is not a very likable character.There were mainly six people present in the Island when the murder took place viz Roma Lisle(Cousin of Clarissa), Simon Lessing(stepson of cordelia),George Ralston(third husband of Cordelia),Ambrose gorringe(Owner of Corcy Island),Tolly(Miss Tolgarth)(maid of Clarissa) and Ivo whittingham(a famous play critic and ex lover of Clarissa).
All of these people had been wronged by Clarissa once in their lifetime and so they seem to be the ideal suspects.
Cordelia Gray as a detective is amateur. It’s her second big case and it shows in the way she’s handles herself throughout the story. She’s intelligent and impulsive but lacks experience. It would have been fun if more books had been writing featuring this character. I would have loved to see her grow from an amateur detective to an experience one.
The book can be read once. I like my mystery books to be fast paced and that hook me to it from the start. So in that way this was a different read for me. It was an okay read. Although i’ll definitely check the first book in the series.
Some quotes:
He was discovering that even hatred died a little at the end. But it still lasted longer than desire, longer even than love.
It was strange how little she knew about a real police investigation despite Bernie’s tutelage. It had already struck her that their legal powers were a great deal less extensive than a reading of detective fiction might suggest. On the other hand, their physical presence was far more frightening and oppressive than she would have believed possible. It was like having a mice in the house. They might for a time be both silent and invisible but, once known to be there, it was impossible to ignore their secret and polluting experience.
You can get the book from the following link:
The Skull Beneath the Skin (Cordelia Gray Mystery)
