When Tilly McDonald gets the opportunity to stay with her cousin Sibyl with the young son of her deceased husband, it seemed like a timely blessing. Little did she know that it would lead to her involvement in two murders.
Elisabeth Sanxay Holding (1889-1955) was born and brought up in New York and educated at Miss Whitcombe's and other schools for young ladies. In 1913 she married George Holding, a British diplomat. They had two daughters and lived in various South American countries, and then in Bermuda, where her husband was a government official. Elisabeth Sanxay Holding wrote six romantic novels in the 1920s but, after the stock market crash, turned to the more profitable genre of detective novels: from 1929-54 she wrote eighteen, as well as numerous short stories for magazines. In 1949 Raymond Chandler chose her as 'the best character and suspense writer (for consistent but not large production)', picking The Blank Wall (1947) as one of his favourites among her books; it was filmed as The Reckless Moment in 1949 (by Max Ophuls) and as The Deep End (with Tilda Swinton) in 2001. After her husband's retirement the Holdings lived in New York City. Her series character was Lieutenant Levy. Holding also wrote numerous short stories for popular magazines of the day.
Another great mystery book by Elisabeth Sanxay Holding. Some parts reminds Agatha's Chritie's style when all suspects are faced to each other during the course of a murder investigation.
4* Angelica 5* Invincible Minnie 4* Rosaleen among the artists 3.5* The Thing Beyond Reason 4* The Stories of Elisabeth Sanxay Holding (coming soon at FadedPage) 4* The Unfinished Crime 4* Widow's Mite TR The Unlit Lamp (coming soon at PG)