A Deadly Sickness

George Thorne #3

by John Penn

[From Publishers Weekly] From the author of 'Mortal Term' and earlier notable novels comes this tale of crime among the English upper classes. Here, however, Penn demands an extra soupcon of belief. His admirable Inspector Thorne and Sergeant Abbot are fooled too long by conspirators one doubts could succeed so well. At a party given by Alan Poston and his wife Diana, a crisis prompts the murder of Alan's father, Sir Oliver, to hasten the day when the son inherits the victim's fortune. Present at the party are Diana's lover, her brother and a friend of Alan's. Their actions puzzle Diana's naive young sister Celia, a house guest. If Celia were brighter, she might have prevented two more killings. But she doesn't see the significance in the strange behavior of Alan's dog or in other odd incidents. So readers will probably solve the mystery long before Thorne and Abbot literaly dig up the truth.

Genres: Mystery

189 pages, Hardcover

First published November 1, 1985

About the author

John Penn is a joint pseudonym of Palma Harcourt with husband Jack H. Trotman.

Reviews

[dmayr · Rating 3 out of 5]

Sir Oliver Poston is dying, but the deadly sickness in the title refers not to his illness but to the greed of the various people waiting to inherit once he kicks the bucket. Good storytelling although the plot was pretty straightforward and predictable.