The best book I read this month was the latest installment in one of my favorite series. The Decent Inn of Death is the sixth entry in Rennie Airth’s John Madden series, which follows Scotland Yard inspector Madden from the aftermath of World War I in Book 1 (River of Darkness) to the mid-twentieth century in this one.
I love this book for the reasons I love this whole series: the police work and the cast of characters. At the center of this story is John Madden’s former boss and current neighbor, Angus Sinclair. Sinclair is long retired but in doing a favor for a new acquaintance, finds himself drawn into a mystery that threatens the life of another new friend. The situation is complicated by a snowstorm that isolates Sinclair not only with the intended victim but the murdered as well. Meanwhile, Madden, two Scotland Yard officers, and a visiting consultant race to find Sinclair and save both him and the woman whose life is in danger.
It’s a solid closed-room (closed-estate, in this case) mystery. If you are fan of English mysteries and you’re not reading this series, you are missing out.