Death Wears a Mask

January 25, 2016
Like Weaver’s Edgar-nominated debut mystery, Murder at the Brightwell (2014), this follow-up is narrated by Amory Ames, a British socialite who, with her husband, Milo, leads a charmed life in 1930s London. Here, Amory is asked by a family friend, Serena Barrington, to identify a jewel thief—a favor that eventually leads to murder as well as her and Milo’s near brushes with adultery. Reader Larkin’s use of a flippant, above-the-fray Mayfair accent for Amory flattens the characters. And Milo, though thoughtful and vaguely amused by his wife, sounds a bit too condescending, even for the 1930s. Despite being filtered through Amory’s off-putting air of constant frivolity, the novel’s murder plot and its solution make the book worth the listen. A Minotaur hardcover.

July 27, 2015
Set in London in 1932, Weaver’s delightful second mystery featuring British socialite Amory Ames (after 2014’s Murder at the Brightwell) finds Amory reluctantly agreeing to investigate a jewel theft for Serena Barrington, a friend of her mother’s. Possible thieves include dashing and disreputable Lord Dunmore, a charming but sinister tennis player, and a pair of impecunious sisters. When Mrs. Barrington’s hapless nephew is murdered at Dunmore’s masked ball and stolen jewels are discovered in his lordship’s pockets, Detective Inspector Jones asks for Amory’s help in gathering information from upper-crust suspects. Meanwhile, she fends off advances from Dunmore and copes with her devil-may-care husband Milo’s tabloid-fodder relationship with a French actress. Weaver peoples the novel with entertaining secondary characters, but a lack of backstory leaves questions about Amory’s relationship with Milo unanswered, and the resolution to their marital difficulties seems hasty and unconvincing. Still, readers will hope to see a lot more of the sophisticated, elegant Amory. Agent: Ann Collette, Rees Literary Agency.