Orchids and Lies (A Beatrice Barrington Thriller), by Fiona Garton - SEP 2020 LTER
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1LyndaInOregon
Disclosure: An electronic copy of this book was provided by the publisher, Poolbeg Press, via Library Thing, in exchange for review.
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Not many thrills in this leisurely-paced mystery that begins with the death of a gardener at Dublin’s Botanical Gardens. Though preliminary investigations consider the death a suicide, court stenographer and amateur sleuth Beatrice Barrington and her ex (?) boyfriend, a retired detective, both have their doubts.
There’s a lot of wandering around Dublin, meals and drinks in various pubs, descriptions of the weather (wet and cold), discussions of where the car is parked, interviews with the dead man’s family and with other garden employees, and nattering between Beatrice and the head of the official investigation.
Things begin to tighten up about three-fourths of the way through the book, as various past events within the suspect pool come to light, but it’s pretty well too late to rescue this tale, which overall is as grey and dreary as Dublin in March. There are some nice red herrings that emerge as the most-probable suspects surface, but the observant reader will spot the real motivation fairly early-on, which knocks most of the likely killers out of the lineup.
There’s a subplot involving Beatrice and Gabriel, with roots extending into previous entries in this series. ‘Orchids and Lies’ stands well enough on its own, however, and nothing in their mutual past is compelling enough for this reviewer to go looking for the backstory. The ending – after the killer is caught – sets up for future adventures with this pair. Whether one is compelled to continue to follow the series will depend on one’s taste for laid-back detective tales.
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Not many thrills in this leisurely-paced mystery that begins with the death of a gardener at Dublin’s Botanical Gardens. Though preliminary investigations consider the death a suicide, court stenographer and amateur sleuth Beatrice Barrington and her ex (?) boyfriend, a retired detective, both have their doubts.
There’s a lot of wandering around Dublin, meals and drinks in various pubs, descriptions of the weather (wet and cold), discussions of where the car is parked, interviews with the dead man’s family and with other garden employees, and nattering between Beatrice and the head of the official investigation.
Things begin to tighten up about three-fourths of the way through the book, as various past events within the suspect pool come to light, but it’s pretty well too late to rescue this tale, which overall is as grey and dreary as Dublin in March. There are some nice red herrings that emerge as the most-probable suspects surface, but the observant reader will spot the real motivation fairly early-on, which knocks most of the likely killers out of the lineup.
There’s a subplot involving Beatrice and Gabriel, with roots extending into previous entries in this series. ‘Orchids and Lies’ stands well enough on its own, however, and nothing in their mutual past is compelling enough for this reviewer to go looking for the backstory. The ending – after the killer is caught – sets up for future adventures with this pair. Whether one is compelled to continue to follow the series will depend on one’s taste for laid-back detective tales.
