The Hunt for Sonya Dufrette

Country House Crime Mystery #1

by R.T. Raichev

On the day of the ‘Royal Wedding' in July 1981 at a house party on the banks of the Thames, a little girl wanders off on her own. Her doll is found floating in the river, but of the girl herself there is no sign. Twenty years on and Antonia Darcy, divorcee and assistant librarian at the Military and Naval Club, still puzzles over the disappearance of Sonya Dufrette and the strange behavior of the awful Lawrence Dufrette, his exotic wife Lena, and intelligent and charming Lady Mortlock — not to mention the strange absence of the nanny. Ably assisted by her new admirer, Major Payne, Mrs. Darcy embarks on the first adventure in a new series of ingeniously plotted whodunits set against the background of country house life.

Genres: Mystery, Fiction, Crime, Cozy Mystery, British Literature

256 pages, Paperback

First published April 27, 2006

About the author

R. T. Raichev is a researcher and writer who grew up in Bulgaria and wrote a university dissertation on English crime fiction. He has lived in London since 1989.

Series:
* Country House Crime Mystery

Reviews

[Nancy Oakes · Rating 3 out of 5]

First in a series collectively known as "Country House Crime, The Hunt for Sonya Dufrette begins with the marriage of Princess Diana and Prince Charles in 1981. It is this event which has brought several people to a house party to watch the nuptials on television. The home is owned by a couple named the Mortlocks; among the guests was a little girl named Sonya Dufrette, a child with autism. Sonya disappeared while everyone was watching the celebration, and everyone thought she drowned in the nearby river. Now, 20 years later one of the other guests sees someone who reminds her of that day. Antonia Darcy, a writer and currently a librarian at a military club, gets it into her head to investigate Sonya's disappearance after all this time, and she finds a partner in Major Hugh Payne. Antonia has her reasons, and one of them is that she had carried a bit of guilt for what happened over the years because she had first brought Sonya to the river to play at that house party. But trying to solve a mystery after 20 years? Not always that easy.

As first novels in mystery series go, this wasn't bad, and I do so love an English country house murder mystery. Many of the characters were a bit flat, although I must say I did like the main character, Antonia, who has an invisible voice in her head she names Miss Pettigrew. Antonia also has a very vivid imagination, but often not much common sense. The action wasn't very active, but again, it's a first in a series and hopefully the rest of the novels pick up the pace a bit. We'll see, as I do plan to read at least the next one, The Death of Corinne.

This may be something cozy readers would like, although there are no cutesy gimmicks here. Hard-core mystery readers like myself may find it a bit tame and a bit slow. However, it was a decent read and I was captivated for a while.

Overall...I'd label it "not too bad."

[Rajat · Rating 3 out of 5]

This book had more potential than it offered. The opening was a bit slow until Payne enters after which it became really interesting. I liked the not so usual for their age romance of the two protagonists. I specially liked the parts where princess Diana's death was talked about by Dufrette and hoped there'd be some connection of the royal wedding/princess' death with Sonya's disappearance but that didn't turn out. The twists and turns were great but a bit too many and some were unnecessary.

Overall I'd say it was a nice, quick read but could have been a lot better.

[Cece · Rating 4 out of 5]

I liked this first mystery-the narrator is consistent and a bit self-deprecating-the writer, a man, writes a very convincing female viewpoint-but there is a dearth of "feelings" and emotions that I welcomed. Too much of self-analysis or navel-gazing in a first person narrator and out the window the book goes.
The reader is lead up the garden path several times, but as we are right behind our heroine, who is just as confused, it is less like author trickery and more because the reader is seeing only the clues as she does, and having only her interpretation-an honest way to tell a story if done consistently. I will certainly search out the other two books in this series.

[Almeta · Rating 3 out of 5]

I thought that I had it figured out. Raichev even confirmed that I had it figured correctly, AND THEN she changed her mind!

Pretty good mystery, but not enough character depth.

No one was vile enough to play the villain, mad enough to act the red herring, drunk enough to perform the misunderstood patsy, cute enough to be the beloved victim, mean enough to stage the irascible elderly, sweet enough to achieve the desirable love interest, psychotic enough to be the depressed author.

[Rhonda]

Surprising

This is an interesting start to a new mystery series. Though the characters aren't yet well developed enough to decide they're keepers, the ground has been set. I also think the English Club bsse of operations lends itself to lots of future escapades for the sleuths, particularly since the members have served in British colonial posts around the world. I see hints of a mastery to come in the Nepal papers spirited away in this one!!

[Rob · Rating 4 out of 5]

great for fans of Agatha Christie. Cool to watch a developing professional and perhaps personal relationship between Hugh and Antonia. The internal dialouges can be bit "swimmy, i.e. unfocused and meandering, but not too distracting. Very enjoyable overall. Looking forward to the second installment.

[Alison C · Rating 3 out of 5]

Antonia Darcy is a divorced librarian who has published a mystery novel but is stuck in her attempt to write a second one. She spends her days working at the Military Club, and finds herself recalling an incident some 20 years ago: when she was a guest at a country home and a 7-year-old autistic girl, daughter of another guest, wandered off while everyone was watching the Royal Wedding on television, and presumably drowned (her body was never found). Somehow Antonia’s memory of the events feels a bit off, but it is only when Antonia begins discussing the matter with one of the patrons of the Military Club, Major Payne, that she realizes that there is still a mystery there to be solved…. I have been reading short stories about Antonia and Major Payne in EQMM for years, but only recently discovered that Mr. Raichev has also written novels featuring the characters. This is the first of those, and indeed introduces these interesting people to the readers, and to each other (which leads me to suspect that the first novel, at least, precedes any of the short stories). I have always enjoyed them at shorter length and am pleased to find that they are as attractive a sleuthing team at novel length too. There is a lot of witty repartee and clearly the main characters are highly educated, but most importantly they are keen observers and reliable narrators. A lot of fun; recommended. 3 1/2 stars.

[Jaclyn Holland-strauss · Rating 5 out of 5]

Two words come to mind when reading R.T. Raichev’s The Hunt for Sonya Dufrette. Sheer perfection! This is the final book of this author’s I’ve read, although it’s the first in his canon. I’m glad I read it last, because for me it’s his masterpiece. I’ve enjoyed all his books, but in the past, some of his plot twists have come too fast, it’s not always been easy to differentiate between his characters in terms of their dialogue, etc. But this murder mystery contains none of these faults. I definitely rate it 5/5, and would even say that if you read one murder mystery this year, make this one it! The beginning starts off with an emotional Antonia Darcy (she’s not Antonia Payne yet, as Major Payne and she have not yet wed) remembering the disappearance of a young child. A very dramatic beginning. Although she is remembering the past, it never gets confusing. The red herrings are here, and excellently performed. The clues are here, and the author is equally adept at crafting them. There are enough plot twists to be intriguing, but not confusing. One of the very best mysteries I’ve ever read, and I’ve read tons. Highly recommended to anyone who likes whodunits, great prose, cultural references, and straight-up readability. 5/5

[M · Rating 1 out of 5]

This could have been better. The layout and narration seemed off-kilter. I liked Antonia's character but I wish there had been more character development so we as readers could have connected on a personal level. The mystery itself spiraled into an anticlimactic finish which reveals the villains as people who were not so evil but overcome with greed and grief. There was no visceral reaction I had when the criminals were unmasked and to me, this is a big clue that the author, especially of a mystery, has failed to achieve the goal of a story where there are villains to begin with. If this book had not been a cozy mystery, it would have been significantly more interesting. There would have been more room to expand on character personalities and I think it would have provided readers with better insight into why the criminals did what they did. Not to mention the lame ending where one of the "crimes" was not really a crime at all.

[Noloter · Rating 3 out of 5]

Perchè indagare su una morte accidentale avvenuta vent'anni prima? Come è possibile avere ricordi così nitidi, precisi e dettagliati di eventi apparentemente trascurabili accaduti a distanza di due decenni? E perchè ad occuparsene deve essere la solita anziana giallista in stile Jessica Fletcher con il pallino del detective?
Tutte domande che evidentemente Raichev non si è posto, scrivendo questo libro, ma che il lettore - perplesso - si pone eccome.

P.S. Affermare che Raichev sia l'autore che dovrebbe sostituire Agatha Christie nel cuore dei lettori - come presuntuosamente affermato in copertina - è un crimine che grida vendetta.

[Ellen · Rating 4 out of 5]

I read this on a whim and was pleasantly surprised. A twisty, complicated journey so beautifully written with all the right British characters, plots and sub-plots. Dame Christie would give a nod of approval.

[Bev Schuller · Rating 3 out of 5]

I just couldn’t get into this book enough to read more than a chapter or two at a time and I never felt like I couldn’t wait to get back to it.
I did not like all the questions the protagonists continually asked herself. It seemed formulaic.
The story was just ok.

[Linda Brue · Rating 1 out of 5]

Don't waste your time on this one. The writing is okay, but poor plotting and an obvious ending render it unremarkable. I have no idea why I even finished it.

[Stephanie · Rating 3 out of 5]

Not quite my cup of tea.

[Sarah "Kat" · Rating 5 out of 5]

What started out a little slow picked up quickly and had a few great hairpin turns to keep you in suspense to the last page. Great writer!

[Jackie · Rating 3 out of 5]

Fun, quick read

[Missy · Rating 1 out of 5]

Got this book from a library book sale because I thought it sounded interesting. The writing was far from interesting.

[Leigh-Ann · Rating 4 out of 5]

What a twisty novel! Very well written.The story is set on July 29, 1981, the wedding day of Charles and Diana. I enjoyed this novel very much and look forward to reading more by R.T. Reichev.

[Chiara · Rating 4 out of 5]

Giallo semplice ma ben scritto, lettura scorrevole e personaggi simpatici.

[Adrienne · Rating 4 out of 5]

This book started out a little rocky, but I'm glad I stuck with it. It was fun, somewhat light, and not scary. I guessed the main "whodunit" pretty early but there were twists that I still didn't see and was surprised at a couple things at the end. The British-ness of this novel was delightful and I could tell Raichev is in love with British culture. The descriptions of places, homes, people, their choice of words and humor are like a love letter to the place, very romantic but without being too flowery and indulgent.

I very much liked the protagonist Antonia. I liked how she wasn't your typical grandma, consumed with her adult son's life and her granddaughter. Antonia had a curious mind, and an awesome job that would be right up my alley! Because of her character I wanted to keep reading. Raichev did a great job with her, I thought. Very compelling.

It was confusing at the beginning for me when Antonia started describing "the tragedy," because I didn't know if it was a real event or one of her writing drafts. She referred to one of the people involved as "protagonist" and "character." I usually dislike when a novel has references to writing. But in this case it worked, because it was her writing, her curiosity and her enjoyment of solving a crime allowed her to solve it. The two things - writing a crime story, and solving an actual real life crime, blended together really well, I thought. Talking about writing, and finding details, her neurosis and her worrying about her writing style was too much navel-gazing for me, however.

I finished wanting more of the characters involved in the tragedy, especially Lawrence Dufrette who was a dangerous mix of evil and tenderness (imo). I wanted to know the nitty-gritty of their relationships, how X fell in love with Y, and how the affair between A and B happened - before, during and after. I wanted to know what motivated people, their feelings about it. But I had to remind myself this is a crime novel. The crime and solving it are the point of it. So even if I was left unsatisfied I understand.

I enjoy finding new authors, and I'll definitely read the other two(?) books in this series because this one was great.

[Abbey · Rating 3 out of 5]

2006, #1 Antonia Darcy, librarian and mystery writer, London; cosy, with historical flashbacks. A very cold case, a missing child, mistaken memories.

On the memorable day Lady Diana Spencer married Prince Charles in 1981, a lively houseparty was gathered at Richmond-on-Thames, visiting Lord Michael and Lady Mortlock, a wealthy couple who had gathered an odd group of people around them to spend that weekend together in their mansion. The main purpose was to watch the Royal Wedding ceremony on a large color TV set up in the drawing room especially for the occasion. Among those gathered there were Lawrence Dufrette (of the Foreign Office), his wife Lena and their 7-year-old daughter Sonya, Miss Haywood (Sonya's nanny). While all the adults are watching the ceremony, Sonya wandered off and was feared drowned in the Thames; her body is never found.

This oddly elliptical novel slowly traces what happened that day as seen through various perspectives and memories of the people in the house-party, but particularly that of Antonia, who comes to the realization twenty years later that she has some personally unfinished business around the disappearance that she still needs to sort out.

Full review at Reviewing the Evidence:
http://reviewingtheevidence.com/revie...

[Hilary]

I don't think words can adequately convey how much I disliked this book. The plot is so-so, but the writing's so stilted that I had to check the copyright page to see if it had been translated from another language. It hadn't, so there is no excuse. It also suffered from major perspective problems: 99% of it was from the main protagonist's point of view, but every so often it shifted disconcertingly and threw the thing out of balance more so than it was to begin with, that is. And, annoyingly from a plot point of view, the story really only starts to get going after the book ends. One thing it does have going for it, and that's that the protagonist and her admirer are adults old enough to have grandchildren. I was also rather envious of the lead character's job as the librarian in a London gentleman's club, a job which, if it existed, would have suited me down to the ground. Oh, well.

[Carrie · Rating 3 out of 5]

I actually stumbled across this book reading R.L. Stine's Twitter. It sounded interesting, so I ordered it through Interlibrary Loan. I kind of have conflicted feelings about it.

On one hand, the murderous "whodunit" aspects were easy to figure out, and I had no doubts about the inevitable reveal. That, to me, is always kind of a let down. The challenge of a mystery is figuring out whodunit before the end of the book...but this wasn't much of a challenge.

On the other hand, the writing was interesting and it was fun to see the main characters unravel the story. I do think that the writing occasionally tried too hard to be clever and instead ended up excessively flowery and murky.

Overall, this was interesting enough that I will probably check out the next book of the series, but not particularly compelling.

[Mari · Rating 3 out of 5]

Era sfinita, ma non riusciva ad addormentarsi. Forse, cominciando a leggere, P.D. James produceva sempre quell'effetto su di lei

Antonia Darcy, un po' Miss Marple e un po' Jessica Fletcher è la protagonista di questo romanzo, gradevole ma niente di più. Un giallo dallo stile un po' retrò che mescola avvenimenti del 1981 ai giorni nostri. Un passato che riaffiora, un mistero da risolvere, sullo sfondo il matrimonio di Carlo e Diana.

Ci sono avvenimenti, rifletté Antonia, che ci rimangono dentro, nei minimi particolari, per tutta la vita, nonostante la convinzione di averli dimenticati completamente, come nel caso dell'annegamento della piccola Sonya Dufrette. Mentre sfogliava il resoconto che ne aveva fatto vent'anni prima, ogni dettaglio le riaffiorò alla memoria, preciso e limpido, quasi fosse successo il giorno prima.

[Gail · Rating 3 out of 5]

Antonia is still troubled by the twenty-year-old disappearance of a little girl named Sonya. She feels just the least bit responsible, and would like to resolve, for her own peace of mind, just what happened all those years ago.

This conceit is developed into a well-written, literate mystery with lots of blind alleys and plenty of bizarre characters. A good first effort and worth reading. A teensy bit of romance is deftly handled so that it doesn't become sloppy or take away from the plot. Mr. Raichev does an excellent job with the female detective.

[Elizabeth · Rating 3 out of 5]

I enjoyed the book somewhat but I got interested in the characters names. For one thing we are all familiar with a major pain or even a huge pain so why would you call a character Major Hugh Payne?

And then you have a little girl who is very difficult and she is called Sonya do fret (Dufrette). So I kept looking for hidden meanings in all the names and wondering what the author have in mind.

The mystery was not so very mysterious and the character rather superficial but I will try the next in the series.

[August · Rating 1 out of 5]

I hate this book more than anything I've ever read.

That sounds excessive, I suppose, and most other people seem to have found it dull and predictable at worst. But there was something about it that really got to me--I have this vague, horrified sort of bewilderment whenever I think about it. The characters didn't act like human beings. The whole thing seemed like it took place a century earlier. I didn't understand the author's intentions or the main character's motivations or why on earth I kept reading. It was repulsive.

[Harini Gopalswami Srinivasan · Rating 2 out of 5]

In "The Hunt for Sonya Dufrette", the author seems to be trying to recreate the world of Agatha Christie -- the classic country house milieu. He might have succeeded better if it had been set in the 40s or 50s, rather than the 80s (the flashback part) and the present day. I don't know much about English society, but it seemed to me disconnected from reality. The actual plot was just about okay, but the entire set up felt terribly uneasy. In the words of Major Payne, one of the 'detectives', with definite echoes of Hercule Poirot, "I wonder... I very much wonder..."

[Mascanlon · Rating 4 out of 5]

The first in a series of "Country House" murders set in current times although this first story is a throw back to events 25 yrs ago on the day of the wedding of Charles and Dianna. I enjoyed the plotting and he characters very much.Clever mystery with lots of twists and turns along the way. I went down the wrong trail several times before coming to a surprising ending that gathered up all the loose ends. I look forward to reading the next offering.

[Jane · Rating 3 out of 5]

Antonia, the main character, becomes determined to solve the disappearance of a young girl that had happened years before on the day of Diana and Charles's royal wedding. She was a guest at a house party where the young girl disappeared. Although it was assumed the girl had drowned, her body was never recovered, and Antonia becomes convinced that something more sinister happened. Her investigation reveals that the girl, Sonya, had indeed not drowned on that day years before.