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The Cabinet of Curiosities
A LOCKED ROOM.
AN AUDACIOUS THEFT.
A BLOODY CORPSE...
November 1954. Sir Henry Fox-Strangways has invited old friends and colleagues to Dartstone Manor to show off his cabinet of curiosities. Amongst a collection of artefacts from a thousand years of European history, the cabinet's centrepiece is the magnificent 12th-century astrolabe of Swiss astronomer, Albrecht Wolfe.
The guests assemble, dinner is served, music plays, and the cabinet of treasures is revealed. The following morning, however, reveals a grim scene. Behind the locked drawing room door, the Wolfe astrolabe is gone, and Sir Henry lies on the fireside rug, dead from a gunshot wound to the chest.
THE CABINET OF CURIOSITIES, a classic murder mystery set on the edge of Dartmoor, introduces Hilary Stamp, unflappable and courageous wartime SOE operative, turned brilliant private detective.
"Lindsay has a real ear for dialogue, and a highly visual imagination." Sunday Mirror
From the author of DI BUCHAN, DI WESTPHALL, AND THE VIKSTRÖM PAPERS
AN AUDACIOUS THEFT.
A BLOODY CORPSE...
November 1954. Sir Henry Fox-Strangways has invited old friends and colleagues to Dartstone Manor to show off his cabinet of curiosities. Amongst a collection of artefacts from a thousand years of European history, the cabinet's centrepiece is the magnificent 12th-century astrolabe of Swiss astronomer, Albrecht Wolfe.
The guests assemble, dinner is served, music plays, and the cabinet of treasures is revealed. The following morning, however, reveals a grim scene. Behind the locked drawing room door, the Wolfe astrolabe is gone, and Sir Henry lies on the fireside rug, dead from a gunshot wound to the chest.
THE CABINET OF CURIOSITIES, a classic murder mystery set on the edge of Dartmoor, introduces Hilary Stamp, unflappable and courageous wartime SOE operative, turned brilliant private detective.
"Lindsay has a real ear for dialogue, and a highly visual imagination." Sunday Mirror
From the author of DI BUCHAN, DI WESTPHALL, AND THE VIKSTRÖM PAPERS
243 pages, Kindle Edition
Published June 18, 2026
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Displaying 1 - 3 of 3 reviews
July 5, 2026
A locked room mystery, particularly one set in the 1950s, in a country house in the middle of nowhere, is a bit of a cliche. Especially when there's a woman detective involved!
Lindsay manages to take this cliche and work with it in new and interesting ways, introducing us to a new character, Hilary Stamp, in a classic opening sequence that demonstrates her cool unflappability.
Very quickly, we're into death(s), thefts (from the titular cabinet) and shenanigans at the mansion, involving wartime deeds that many would rather lay hidden, deep misogyny from most of the male characters, and some pretty clever misdirection from others.
Stamp's past in the SOE is only hinted at and I think Lindsay was having so much time fleshing out the other characters that, of all the people in the book, her background is left the most opaque, which rather leaves one hungry for the next installment...
Lindsay manages to take this cliche and work with it in new and interesting ways, introducing us to a new character, Hilary Stamp, in a classic opening sequence that demonstrates her cool unflappability.
Very quickly, we're into death(s), thefts (from the titular cabinet) and shenanigans at the mansion, involving wartime deeds that many would rather lay hidden, deep misogyny from most of the male characters, and some pretty clever misdirection from others.
Stamp's past in the SOE is only hinted at and I think Lindsay was having so much time fleshing out the other characters that, of all the people in the book, her background is left the most opaque, which rather leaves one hungry for the next installment...
June 25, 2026
November 1954. Sir Henry Fox-Strangway has invited twelve people to Dartstone Manor including two private detectives, to view his cabinet of artifacts. By morning he is dead in a locked room and the most expensive item stolen.
An entertaining historical mystery with its interesting characters. A good start to this new series.
An entertaining historical mystery with its interesting characters. A good start to this new series.
Displaying 1 - 3 of 3 reviews