Two Truths and a Murder
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- $13.99
Publisher Description
Agatha Christie’s trusted housekeeper, Phyllida Bright, has become an amateur sleuth in her own right, using her little grey cells to solve crimes. When a party game leads to murder, she decides to crash the investigation in this latest sparkling mystery from Colleen Cambridge.
While her famous employer is happily back home at Mallowan Hall, wrestling with her Belgian detective’s dilemma on board the Orient Express, Phyllida is finding her local renown as a sleuth has put her in high demand. A distraught Vera Rollingbroke suspects her husband of infidelity and has invited Phyllida to a dinner party to observe his behavior, particularly in regard to one Genevra Blastwick.
What she does observe at the party is that Genevra craves attention, in contrast to her shy sister Ethel. Genevra introduces a game called Two Truths and a Lie, and one of her questionable statements is that she once witnessed a murder. At this bold claim, the guests react with disbelief and pepper her with questions. Genevra remains cagey, withholding details, but insists this is not her lie.
The next morning Phyllida learns poor Ethel was purposely run down by a motorcar the previous night while inexplicably walking home alone from the party. She fears Genevra may have been the target, which means someone at the party is a killer—twice over. A chilling thought. With Genevra in potential danger—and Inspector Cork proceeding ponderously as usual—Phyllida takes it upon herself to unmask the killer. With two murders to solve, she will need to grill Genevra and the guests as well as re-examine any past sudden deaths or disappearances. And if she’s smart, she’ll look twice before crossing the road . . .
PUBLISHERS WEEKLY
Cambridge's fifth whodunit featuring Agatha Christie's housekeeper, Phyllida Bright (after Murder Takes the Stage), is another clever homage to the golden age of mystery fiction. Vera Rollingbroke asks for Phyllida's help determining whether her husband, Sir Paulson, is being unfaithful. The basis for Vera's suspicion is scant, rooted mostly in Paulson's strange behavior when Vera mentioned that sisters Generva and Ethel Blastwick would be attending one of their dinner parties. Phyllida agrees to attend the party herself so she can observe the dynamic between the sisters and Paulson. At the dinner, Generva insists the guests play Two Truths and a Lie, and, during her turn, claims she once witnessed a murder without knowing it. The next day, Ethel dies in a hit and run, and Phyllida speculates that someone may have been trying to kill Generva to keep her quiet about the murder. With the stakes of her inquiry raised, Phyllida starts casing the previous night's party guests, now searching for a murderer instead of an adulterer. Phyllida's deductive skills are on par with Marple and Poirot, and Cambridge is careful to play fair without going too easy on the reader. This is a treat.
