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Death Came Dancing
Paperback
First published January 1, 1940
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October 31, 2020
Major characters:
Barbara Locke, assistant to Tod Richmond
Tod Richmond, owner of Tropical Tourist Agency
Liane Richmond, his predatory wife
Peter Scotland, newspaper reporter, friend of Tod
Sidney Bonfield, British diplomat
Mark Fleming, banker
Carol Fleming, his pregnant wife
Dr. Lucius Lear
Julia Lear, his wife, Liane's aunt
Eric Thurman, antique dealer
Gustav Nilsson, a trader
Elisha Macomber, investigator
Police Judge Urriola
Locale: Panama
Synopsis: Barbara Locke, our protagonist, has come to Panama seeking glamour and excitement. She takes a job at Tropical Tourist Agency, as an assistant to owner Tod Richmond. Tod's wife, Liane, is a predator and has her eyes and claws out toward various possibilities: Sidney Bonfield, British diplomat; and Mark Fleming.
Preparations are underway for a gala evening: the Pollera Ball. At a pre-gala cocktail gathering, Liane mentions she will be wearing her Tembleques, a priceless set of Panamanian gold hair ornaments. The pairings for the ball indicate the dysfunction of the Richmond marriage: Tod is taking Barbara (instead of his wife), while Sidney Bonfield is taking Liane. After the ball, Barbara returns to her room to find Liane dead and the Tembleques gone.
Elderly Julia Lear (Liane's aunt) is aghast, she is more upset that the tembleques are missing than her niece is dead; as she has always asserted they rightfully belong to her. Later she receives a package with the tembleques in it, and is instructed to attend the carnival that night to find out who killed Liane. Julia wears the templeques to the carnival, and she is killed also; and the tembleques she is wearing are found to be a copy.
Elisha Macomber is still in Panama on vacation, and is urged to investigate.
Review: This novel is a sequel to The Tainted Token. While it is a standalone story, The Tainted Token sets up the locale and the background for why Elisha Macomber is in Panama, and his relationship with the authorities.
Knight has, again, set up the atmosphere of Panama well; and in a similar household setting as The Tainted Token. The characters all inhabit a common version of an apartment building, a hollow single-story square with a balcony around the outside and a common courtyard in the center.
There are two intertwined mysteries: the two killings, and the situation of the original and the copy of the tembleques. They turn out connected, and the solution revealed satisfactorily. The ending seems to me hastened, with the killer bowing out of the story suddenly, and the love story between Peter and Barbara coming to an ambiguous ending.
The two stories should be read together, in sequence, for the best experience.
Barbara Locke, assistant to Tod Richmond
Tod Richmond, owner of Tropical Tourist Agency
Liane Richmond, his predatory wife
Peter Scotland, newspaper reporter, friend of Tod
Sidney Bonfield, British diplomat
Mark Fleming, banker
Carol Fleming, his pregnant wife
Dr. Lucius Lear
Julia Lear, his wife, Liane's aunt
Eric Thurman, antique dealer
Gustav Nilsson, a trader
Elisha Macomber, investigator
Police Judge Urriola
Locale: Panama
Synopsis: Barbara Locke, our protagonist, has come to Panama seeking glamour and excitement. She takes a job at Tropical Tourist Agency, as an assistant to owner Tod Richmond. Tod's wife, Liane, is a predator and has her eyes and claws out toward various possibilities: Sidney Bonfield, British diplomat; and Mark Fleming.
Preparations are underway for a gala evening: the Pollera Ball. At a pre-gala cocktail gathering, Liane mentions she will be wearing her Tembleques, a priceless set of Panamanian gold hair ornaments. The pairings for the ball indicate the dysfunction of the Richmond marriage: Tod is taking Barbara (instead of his wife), while Sidney Bonfield is taking Liane. After the ball, Barbara returns to her room to find Liane dead and the Tembleques gone.
Elderly Julia Lear (Liane's aunt) is aghast, she is more upset that the tembleques are missing than her niece is dead; as she has always asserted they rightfully belong to her. Later she receives a package with the tembleques in it, and is instructed to attend the carnival that night to find out who killed Liane. Julia wears the templeques to the carnival, and she is killed also; and the tembleques she is wearing are found to be a copy.
Elisha Macomber is still in Panama on vacation, and is urged to investigate.
Review: This novel is a sequel to The Tainted Token. While it is a standalone story, The Tainted Token sets up the locale and the background for why Elisha Macomber is in Panama, and his relationship with the authorities.
Knight has, again, set up the atmosphere of Panama well; and in a similar household setting as The Tainted Token. The characters all inhabit a common version of an apartment building, a hollow single-story square with a balcony around the outside and a common courtyard in the center.
There are two intertwined mysteries: the two killings, and the situation of the original and the copy of the tembleques. They turn out connected, and the solution revealed satisfactorily. The ending seems to me hastened, with the killer bowing out of the story suddenly, and the love story between Peter and Barbara coming to an ambiguous ending.
The two stories should be read together, in sequence, for the best experience.
Displaying 1 - 1 of 1 review