Lestrade and the Mirror of Murder

De: M. J. Trow

Narrado por: M. J. Trow

The madness begins when Captain Orange and his three nieces are killed in a carriage accident. The only clues? A tall man seen near the Captain's house, and a broken mirror found in the Captain's breast pocket. Next, Janet Calthorp of King's College, London, tumbles to her death as she makes her way to her lover's bedroom, the victim of a tripwire. The clue? A broken mirror found in said lover's boudoir.

So it is little surprise that, when the dead body of Juan Thomas de Jesus-Lopez is discovered in a ruined lighthouse, the only clue found is a broken mirror. "Mirror, mirror, on the wall," muses Superintendent Lestrade, "who's the guiltiest of them all?" He is to find out.

©2001 Regnery Publishing (P)2014 Soundings

Lestrade takes off without Sherlock

In yet another spinoff from the Sherlock Holmes classics, MJ Trow has taken the character, Inspector Lestrade of Scotland Yard, and fleshed him out as the main detective in this story. When I got this, I had not realized that it is a book well into a series, so I am not sure what the earlier ones are like, but I have found this one delightful.

In a complicated case, Lestrade, capably joined by Constables Bee, Queux and Adams, tackles murders that lead him to different locales and varying classes of suspects and victims, including the military and royalty. Here he is the star of the stories, though not forgetting his Conan Doyle origins by amusedly saying things like, "the game's afoot." The book is peppered with humor in characters, situations and allusions. I felt a bit uncomfortable in some spots where the author chooses to use what would be considered politically incorrect names for ethnic groups, but suppose it fits the historical time of the story.

This is very well read by the author, who undoubtedly knows best how the story and dialogue was intended to be spoken. Sadly, there were times, especially in the very beginning, where either the narration or audio quality was not as clear as I would have wished. This improves quickly into the book. Because I like to read series in order, I am sorry I didn't listen to the first one first, but if you want a light and amusing homage to Sherlock and the fun of having Lestrade come into his own, I recommend this book!