Oxford Letters

Kate Ivory #12

by Veronica Stallwood

When Kate Ivory receives a phone call to say that her mother, Roz, is unwell, she finds it hard to believe; Roz doesn’t ‘do’ ill, she’s too busy and full of life. But as soon as Kate sees Roz it is obvious that something is seriously wrong, and not just with her health. A married couple appear to have moved into her house and started insinuating themselves into her affairs. Despite Roz’s insistence that they are looking after her, Kate suspects the couple are more concerned with her mother’s wealth than her wellbeing.
Increasingly troubled, Kate begins investigating the couple’s background, and finds herself following a disturbing trail of deception that always seems to reside just within the law. But she’s not about to let that stop her from uncovering the truth—after all there’s no smoke without fire...

313 pages, Mass Market Paperback

First published January 1, 2005

About the author

Veronica Stallwood was born in London, educated abroad and now lives near Oxford. In the past she has worked at the Bodleian Library and more recently in Lincoln College library.

Reviews

[Liz Polding · Rating 3 out of 5]

An enjoyable read that built the tension nicely and had some decent twists. However, the ending rather came out of nowhere. Not so much a twist, more of a hit and run (although not literally; this isn’t a spoiler). It would have been four stars, but the ending was a bit of a ‘really?!’ moment. The character is growing on me, though.

[Janakap · Rating 2 out of 5]

It was so good, but then too much started happening and then the author didn't know what to do with it all and ended it on a peculiar and inexplicable note. Disappointing.

[Rena George · Rating 3 out of 5]

Kate Ivory's normally robust and independent mother, Roz, is ill, and refusing to see a doctor. As she becomes increasingly worried about her mother's declining health, and more and more suspicious of all the supplements Roz's new friends, Ayesha and Marcus Freeman, are feeding her, Kate decides to research the mysterious couple's background.

Her concern grows when she realizes that Roz, and her friend and business partner, Avril, are receiving worrying anonymous letters. What author Kate doesn't know is that Roz has handed over her bank details to the sender in the hope of ending the flow of letters.

Despite being on deadline for the novel she is currently working on, and the harassment from her editor to submit the first draft, Kate sets off on a trail of investigation into the dubious Freemans’ past.

I was willing her on in the hope of some more excitement but sadly, Kate was no Inspector Morse. Not even her boyfriend, Jon Kenrick, who works for the National Criminal Intelligence Service, was able to
spike up this plot.

The fact that I was able to work out in the first couple of chapters where the whole thing was heading didn’t endear it to me either.

I love Oxford, so all could have been forgiven if I’d been able to settle back and soak up the atmosphere and charisma of the city, but apart from dropping in the names of some well known colleges, and the Bodleian library, there wasn't much scene setting.

Despite what I’ve just written, this was a pleasant, simple story, and I’m sure lots of crime fiction fans will enjoy this book. It just wasn’t for me.

[Felix Hayman · Rating 3 out of 5]

Another good piece of formula by Veronica Stallwood.Its a shame I worked the whole thing out in the first 10 pages, but it is a formula that has been used by too many authors before.If anything irritates me about Veronica Stallwood is the fact that she never gets into any depth ith her characters and many of her "baddies" are very stereotypical and she seems to have a deep snobbishness towards the English middle class.
Kate Ivory in this novel has to extricate her mother from a wicked couple and a cartel of evil Portugeses, so work that one out :)

[Kirsty Darbyshire · Rating 3 out of 5]

I've had mixed feelings about this series in the past but I enjoyed this one after leaving the series alone for a couple of years. Well written, well plotted and entertaining story and the characters seemed true to life.

[! · Rating 3 out of 5]

hardback

[Nancy · Rating 3 out of 5]

I bought this book at a garage sale and was pleasantly surprised. The writing is good and the main character is really interesting. I'll add this author to my list of favorite cozy series.