The Locked Room
A James Lalonde Novella
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2.5 • 2 Ratings
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- $2.99
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- $2.99
Publisher Description
One locked room. A Dead body. Five suspects.
It’s the opening of Clovervale Hall, an exquisite bed-and-breakfast in Oxfordshire, owned and operated by Professor Xavier Watson and his wife, Flora. And James Lalonde can’t believe his luck—he gets an all-expenses paid trip.
And he gets to write a story about the opening of the bed-and-breakfast for the Northampton Tribune. It’s going to be the easiest weekend of his life. Unfortunately, the weather is scorching hot, and a cyclonic storm sets in, trapping him and the guests inside the manor house.
But, there’s one thing he didn’t count on—a killer is on the loose, roaming the halls of Clovervale Hall.
While cyclonic weather conditions rage on outside, James hunts down the killer. Lurking behind every corner, he discovers secrets and lies.
But his investigations haven’t gone unnoticed. The killer has a watchful eye on James.
Can James solve the murder before the bodies start to pile up?
The Locked Room is the prequel novella in A D Hay’s gripping James Lalonde amateur sleuth mystery series. If you like cloak and dagger mysteries filled with twists and turns, you’ll love this locked room mystery.
Customer Reviews
James Lalone
James Lalone is invited by his former professor, Xavier, to his new bed and breakfast. Lovingly restored and in the English countryside, the bed and breakfast boasts to be a low tech destination with no wifi or televisions. James meets some of the other guests, including Laurence, who is upset he can’t access the internet; Sybil a food critic and blogger plus her assistant Honey; Christopher a “major movie e star” who James has never heard of; and Stella, a mysterious red head. Oh can’t forget the feisty stray cat called Michaelangelo (after the teenage turtle of course).
Things get intense righ off the bat as James has to intervene in Laurence’s upset tirade against Xavier because of the lack of wifi when they almost come to blows. Not long after James witnesses a shocking interaction between Laurence and Stella. To top things off, James discovers one of his fellow guests dead under suspicious conditions in a room locked from the inside. However, due to a storm, the landlines are not working, leaving them unable to call the police. James joins forces with Xavier to figure out who the killer is while still keeping the remaining guests and staff as anxiety free as possible. Because they are now all trapped in a house with a killer there too.
This is a fast moving story that kept me immersed and entertained throughout. There were characters I loved to hate and other characters that grew on me. It was my first James Lalone story, and I will be reading more. James is an interesting guy, having a key role in a major newspaper as well as, it seems, the luck (or lack thereof!) to stumble onto murder scenes and investigate his way to understanding how, why and who perpetrated the murder. The book doesn’t take itself too seriously and makes for a great vacation read. This story was action-packed and eventful, along with colorful characters and a twist of a solution.