“It’s so aggravating. It’s not like being at home where we would know everyone or there would be other people we could ask. Here, everything is against us; the weather, the city, the time of year”
Kitty Bryant and her husband Matt have received word that her errant father is desperately ill in New York, so in the lead up to Christmas, they take a trip over the Atlantic to be with him. When they arrive, however, they find him remarkably perky, and believe his illness was just a ruse to avoid some unsavoury people. Nora, the neighbour who telegrammed them about his predicament later invites them all to a fundraising party at her apartment, where Kitty and Matt meet other residents of the building, Nora’s daughter and husband, and Nora’s staff.
The next morning, Kitty and Matt find Nora dead, outside in the snow.
When an established series – this is Book 18 of the Miss Underhay series – goes outside of their usual environs, it can be hard to keep track of all the new characters, but Helena Dixon keeps things tight. We get the joy of Kitty and Matt’s first time in New York, seeing the city at Christmas through their eyes, although enjoyment is tempered by their innate need to find out what happened to Nora. It may be a holiday season but their private investigator instincts don’t take a break. This time, everything is against them as they are in a strange city, with only Edgar, Kitty’s father, being familiar, and everyone hiding secrets and motives.
I loved the new setting for this mystery, and the contrast of 1920s American society with small town England, with the novelty of the situation keeping Kitty and Matt – and the reader – on their toes. After 18 books, the series can still throw up surprises, and I can’t wait for the next book.
Many thanks to the publisher and Netgalley for an advance copy of this novel.
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