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Jane Winfield #2
Death in Wessex
Even when the body of a strange man, an apparant suicide, was found on the Braden estate, it was passed over as merely a regrettable incident. But when another body turned up on the day of the festival - this time, a deliberate, brutal murder - Jan and Andrew were drawn into a web of strange dark secrets festering beneath the calm surface of the English countryside.
- GenresMystery
252 pages, Mass Market Paperback
First published March 1, 1989
1 person is currently reading
6 people want to read
About the author
Audrey Peterson
20 books3 followersAudrey Peterson is the pen name of Audrey C. Buckland.
“Audrey Peterson fell in love with England when, as professor of English at California State University at Long Beach, she traveled there to pursue research for scholarly publication, so it is no surprise that all of her mystery novels are set in England.” Willetta L. Heising’s Detecting Women provides some more background on this respected novelist:
Her six-book series featuring music professor, Andrew Quentin, and his former graduate student, Jane Winfield, begins with The Nocturne Murder [1987]. The pair spends a lot of time in England and on the continent, places which Peterson often visits. She told Contemporary Authors that the music background allows her to incorporate a lifelong interest in opera and concert-going. Like her second series character, Claire Camden, Peterson has done academic research in England, but has yet to solve a murder. She has written a study of 19th century writers, Victorian Masters of Mystery: From Wilkie Collins to Conan Doyle (1984). A Los Angeles native, she earned a Ph.D. at the University of Southern California and taught English literature at California State University, Long Beach for 20 years.
. Source
Series:
* Jane Winfield
* Claire Camden
“Audrey Peterson fell in love with England when, as professor of English at California State University at Long Beach, she traveled there to pursue research for scholarly publication, so it is no surprise that all of her mystery novels are set in England.” Willetta L. Heising’s Detecting Women provides some more background on this respected novelist:
Her six-book series featuring music professor, Andrew Quentin, and his former graduate student, Jane Winfield, begins with The Nocturne Murder [1987]. The pair spends a lot of time in England and on the continent, places which Peterson often visits. She told Contemporary Authors that the music background allows her to incorporate a lifelong interest in opera and concert-going. Like her second series character, Claire Camden, Peterson has done academic research in England, but has yet to solve a murder. She has written a study of 19th century writers, Victorian Masters of Mystery: From Wilkie Collins to Conan Doyle (1984). A Los Angeles native, she earned a Ph.D. at the University of Southern California and taught English literature at California State University, Long Beach for 20 years.
. Source
Series:
* Jane Winfield
* Claire Camden
Ratings & Reviews
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Displaying 1 - 4 of 4 reviews
October 30, 2022
"The Pastoral Beauty of England's West Country Hid a Dangerous Swamp of Corruption . . .
"Music student Jane Winfield was enjoying her research in the small English village of Bockton. Her professor from California, Andrew Quentin, was a guest at nearby Braden Beck, site of the upcoming church fund-raiser. To Andrew and Jane, the fete seemed a charming tradition, wholly in keeping with the town's quaint air.
"Even when the body of a strange man, an apparent suicide, was found on the Braden estate, it was passed over as merely a regrettable incident. The village gossips were far more interested in the amorous exploits of Stacy Farnham, the beautiful, bored wife of the local schoolteacher.
"But when another body turned up on the day of the festival -- this time, a deliberate, brutal murder -- Jane and Andrew were drawn into a web of strange, dark secrets festering beneath the calm surface of the English countryside."
~~back cover
Audrey Peterson is one of my favorite authors, and this book strengthened my appreciation. The book completely captured the essence of a small English village in the 1950s. Gossips abounded, and the triangle of Clement Farnham, Stacy Farnham and William Deavers gave them plenty to speculate about. The first murder arrived out of a clear blue sky and there seemed to be no explanation for it, although later events would put paid to that conclusion. The second murder brought the situation home, and the real investigation began, leading to the to-be-expected conclusion. Various people, out of the village's many characters, were fitted in the frame and then rejected, as always. And, also as always, the murderer was someone entirely unexpected.
A very satisfactory little murder mystery.
"Music student Jane Winfield was enjoying her research in the small English village of Bockton. Her professor from California, Andrew Quentin, was a guest at nearby Braden Beck, site of the upcoming church fund-raiser. To Andrew and Jane, the fete seemed a charming tradition, wholly in keeping with the town's quaint air.
"Even when the body of a strange man, an apparent suicide, was found on the Braden estate, it was passed over as merely a regrettable incident. The village gossips were far more interested in the amorous exploits of Stacy Farnham, the beautiful, bored wife of the local schoolteacher.
"But when another body turned up on the day of the festival -- this time, a deliberate, brutal murder -- Jane and Andrew were drawn into a web of strange, dark secrets festering beneath the calm surface of the English countryside."
~~back cover
Audrey Peterson is one of my favorite authors, and this book strengthened my appreciation. The book completely captured the essence of a small English village in the 1950s. Gossips abounded, and the triangle of Clement Farnham, Stacy Farnham and William Deavers gave them plenty to speculate about. The first murder arrived out of a clear blue sky and there seemed to be no explanation for it, although later events would put paid to that conclusion. The second murder brought the situation home, and the real investigation began, leading to the to-be-expected conclusion. Various people, out of the village's many characters, were fitted in the frame and then rejected, as always. And, also as always, the murderer was someone entirely unexpected.
A very satisfactory little murder mystery.
July 4, 2015
A nice old-school mystery set in the English countryside. American visitors Professor Andrew Quentin and student Jane Winfield are on hand to do some sleuthing when a dead man is found on their host's property, and then the schoolmaster's beautiful, bored wife is found dead. I would have liked to see more of Jane and Andrew, but altogether this is a very pleasant weekend read.
July 21, 2023
If you look up Audrey Peterson, most articles/mentions are about her sci fi writing. I don't know about that but her mysteries are awesome. They appear to be cozies in their covers and descriptions, yet they are so much more. Hard to find copies though. Only her sci fi work has stayed in the public eye.
March 16, 2011
My favorite Audrey Peterson novel thus far. Her novels bring the participants to the forefront and the detectives and the police much less in the spotlight than usual. In this volume she made the young people very likable--Bobo was clearly my favorite. Looking forward to reading a few more.
Displaying 1 - 4 of 4 reviews