Murder has a Motive
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- $15.99
Publisher Description
Amateur sleuth Mordecai Tremaine is back in another classic mystery from the author of Murder for Christmas
When Mordecai Tremaine emerges from the train station, murder is the last thing on his mind. But then again, he has never been able to resist anything in the nature of a mystery – and a mystery is precisely what awaits him in the village of Dalmering.
Rehearsals for the local amateur dramatic production are in full swing – but as Mordecai discovers all too soon, the real tragedy is unfolding offstage. The star of the show has been found dead, and the spotlight is soon on Mordecai, whose reputation in the field of crime-solving precedes him.
With a murderer waiting in the wings, it’s up to Mordecai to derail the killer’s performance…before it’s curtains for another victim.
PUBLISHERS WEEKLY
Originally published in the U.K. in 1947, the first mystery William Underhill wrote under the Duncan pseudonym introduces amateur sleuth Mordecai Tremaine, an unassuming retired tobacconist. When Tremaine arrives in Dalmering to visit his friends Paul and Jean Russell, they share the sad news that their friend Lydia Dare was stabbed to death the night before and ask him to find her killer. Lydia had been walking home after dining with Martin Vaughan, a man admittedly in love with her despite her engagement to another, and who was slated to portray a murderer in a local theatrical production of a play, Murder Has a Motive, which Lydia was stage-managing. Earlier that evening, she had shared her fear that the outwardly beautiful community concealed "something rotten." Tremaine's closest friend at Scotland Yard, Jonathan Boyce, arrives on the scene in time to assist. The self-effacing Tremaine is a plausibly astute detective who diligently works through Dalmering's secrets. Fans of classic fair-play whodunits set in small English villages will find this just their cup of tea.
