The Cruellest Month

The Cruellest Month
(The second book in the Sheila Malory series)

Hazel Holt

Copyright: 1991

Apparently, everyone has a secret or two, so discovers Sheila Malory while she is at the Bodleian researching data for her upcoming article on little know Victorian authors; and meeting up with old friends.

The rather unpleasant Gwen Richmond was discovered crushed under an avalanche of old books. How could that have happened on its own, things like that don't just happen. But then again, Gwen was a blackmailer, so I guess something's are possible. Delving into Gwen's past, Sheila uncovers quite a few irregularities and with the help of an old journal, the truth soon comes to light.

Unfortunately, not all of the truths that Sheila finds on this trip bring her the peace of mind that she was searching for. Sometimes it's best to keep our past the past and hopefully, the future won't be tarnished with the unscrupulous deeds of others.

I enjoy these older cozy mysteries; they aren't clog up with over the top stupidity that seems to be prevalent in the genre day. Sometimes the writer will wander off the course a bit, but that's OK because there aren't pets with above human intelligence or a man rushing in to save the day. The stories stay true to what a good old-fashioned mystery used to be.