As far as the mystery goes, part of the solution was telegraphed, part of it was not. Not many of the characters are particularly sympathetic, and it can be very difficult to keep them straight, since a few are referred to in different ways, and the two houses can be confusing. Still, not too bad. ( )

Warning: this review contains spoilers

****

It is the Victorian period, toward the end of the 19th century, and the extended Collard family sprawls over two grandiose houses in Blackheath, southeast of London. They run a family toy-manufacturing business and have the usual sorts of disagreements and conflicts in a family where the matriarch calls the shots. One day, one of the family members dies of what the doctor calls "gastric fever". Then a few months later, another case of this fever hits -- only it doesn't seem like a fever now so much as murder.

I started this on a Saturday morning and ended up finishing that evening. Symons certainly knows how to build suspense, and I hadn't the faintest idea who the poisoner was. I did guess that the corset and gloves in Roger's desk drawer were intended for a man, but I thought they were Roger's, not the person to whom they ended up belonging. Another item of interest was the scattering of historical footnotes, including one relating to the creation of the Appeals Court, which was mentioned also in Arthur & George, by Julian Barnes.

Recommended if you like classic mysteries or books set in the Victorian period. ( )

Symonds does a great job with the atmospherics in this mystery which takes place during an era when if a woman committed adultery and enjoyed it, it naturally must follow that murder would be something she was capable of and likely to commit. ( )

Set in 1890's Victorian England, this murder mystery focuses on a close knit family that resides in two truly unique homes just outside of London in Blackheath. The matriarch of the family, Harriet Collard, lives in Albert House with her daughter Charlotte and her nephew Bertie 'the Caterpillar'. Harriet's son George and his wife Isabel live a short distance away at Victoria Villa, along with George's sister Beatrice, her husband Roger and her stepson Paul. The family 'firm' runs a successful toy manufacturing business and the family is considered to be well off. The family has a peaceful routine of alternating locations for Sunday lunch between their two homes. Their peaceful and uneventful routine of life is interrupted by the sudden death of one of the family members. The family doctor waves the death off as a result of gastric fever and life resumes, until months later a second death occurs and the police are brought in to investigate.

Overall, I felt this was a dry story. There were lots of details provided about the family, their interactions, speculations around the deaths and the inevitable court trial. For a murder mystery, it really wasn't that mysterious. As I am not a fan of police procedural or trial cases, I had a difficult time getting into this story. ( )

A little to whet the appetite, no spoilers here!

The Collard and Vandervent families live in Blackheath; in one house live the Vandervents & the Collards, in another, Harriet Collard & her daughter Charlotte & nephew Bertie. Harriet is one of those very matronly, old-school elderly women; she tries to run her family with an iron hand and a tight fist on the pocketbook. The families all get together for lunch every Sunday, but that's as far as family togetherness goes. After one such Sunday, Roger Vandervent is stricken with what seems to be a "gastric fever;" eventually he dies. The doctor in charge is prepared to swear that he died of said gastric fever, but his young colleague thinks that it may have been foul play. However, there is no doubting the next death -- definitely not from natural causes. This time the police are called in, and arrest a suspect. But one of the family is not sure that the right person has been taken in; his own personal investigation uncovers some shocking secrets that he knows would serve as a motive for murder.

Julian Symons has long been one of my favorite crime authors and did not let me down in this case. He manages to set a gloomy & foreboding atmosphere that is just the right setting for this novel and keeps you guessing until the very last.

Recommended, most definitely. If you have a chance to do so, please don't miss the PBS series based on this book. ( )