This Private Plot
An Oliver Swithin Mystery
$31.10
- Paperback
320 pages
- Release Date
6 May 2014
Summary
If a blackmail letter drives a man to suicide, is the sender guilty of murder? “Yes,” says Oliver Swithin, author of bestselling Finsbury the Ferret children’s stories and amateur sleuth, who is on holiday in an ancient village. A midnight streak with his naked girlfriend-Scotland Yard’s Effie Strongitham-abruptly ends in the discovery of a corpse. Retired radiobroadcaster Dennis Breedlove has hanged himself from the old gibbet. Evidence suggests blackmail may have driven this celebrity to suicide. Irresistibly intrigued, Oliver believes discovering the dead man’s secret will lead to the identity of the blackmailer. But in Britain today, when shame is a ticket to fame, why suicide? What if it wasn’t?When the mystery abruptly turns inside out, black-clad strangers attack Oliver in the night. The Vicar behaves strangely. So do the village’s five unmarried Bennet sisters, a mysterious monk, the persistent, self-effacing Underwood Tooth, and Oliver’s Uncle Tim, Effie’s superior at the Yard and a part-time Shakespearean actor. Plus Oliver’s aunt and his mother. Who else might play a role in This Private Plot? Two William Shakespeares?It’s time to put the laugh back into slaughter with the long-awaited third chapter in the career of Oliver Swithin. Yet under the clever wordplay and bawdy jokes lies an inventive and, yes, scholarly plot.
Book Details
| ISBN-13: | 9781464202421 |
|---|---|
| ISBN-10: | 1464202427 |
| Author: | Alan Beechey |
| Publisher: | Sourcebooks, Inc |
| Imprint: | Poisoned Pen Press |
| Format: | Paperback |
| Number of Pages: | 320 |
| Release Date: | 6 May 2014 |
| Weight: | 322g |
| Dimensions: | 140mm x 216mm |
| Series: | Oliver Swithin Mysteries |
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Critics Review
“This snarky cozy is full of humor and British quirkiness. Agatha Christie meets Monty Python.” – Barbara Bibel * Booklist *
“This Private Plot is the third in the Oliver Swithin series. As with the previous two books, a subtle humor floats through the story, bringing a touch of whimsy to a serious plot. Delightful.” * Bookloons *
“This Private Plot is a wildly successful book - witty and light-footed, but with some serious crime-novel momentum. I hope Alan Beechey is at his desk right now, because I want to read another Oliver Swithin book in the next ten minutes.” * Charles Finch, author of the Charles Lenox mysteries *
“The author provides numerous colorful suspects and several red herrings leading up to a riotous, yet suspenseful resolution that takes place during the final scene of the Hamlet performance.” * Publishers Weekly *
”…delicious dialogue, ridiculously eccentric English characters: utter heaven and worth the long wait.” * Rhys Bowen, New York Times bestselling author *
Alan Beechey
Alan Beechey was born in England and grew up in London. He moved to Manhattan in his twenties and now lives with his three sons and his rescue mutt, Leila, in Rye, New York. This Private Plot is the third title featuring children’s book author and amateur sleuth Oliver Swithin and his girlfriend, Scotland Yard detective Effie Strongitharm. They first met in An Embarrassment of Corpses, which The Bookshop Blog included in its list of the “Best 100 Mysteries of All Time,” and reappeared in Murdering Ministers. Alan is also the co-author of a non-fiction book on American culture and values.
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