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Lyon and Bea Wentworth Mystery #5
The Death At Yew Corner
The Murphysville Convalescent Home in rural Connecticut proved to be a most unhealthy place for crotchety old Faby Bunting. She just died there. Perhaps if she hadn't been so nosy, she'd still be alive. Faby just couldn't resist aiming her opera glasses at something going on outside the sun-room window. What she saw was simply murder.
Of course, dead men (or women) tell no tales. But Faby's good friends Bea and Lyon Wentworth suspected her sudden death was no accident - especially when younger victims began following Faby to an early grave... each in such a startlingly unusual way.
Of course, dead men (or women) tell no tales. But Faby's good friends Bea and Lyon Wentworth suspected her sudden death was no accident - especially when younger victims began following Faby to an early grave... each in such a startlingly unusual way.
- GenresMystery
176 pages, Paperback
First published December 1, 1980
2 people are currently reading
17 people want to read
About the author
Richard Forrest
41 books2 followersAka Stockton Woods, Lee Evans, Rebecca Morgan.
Richard Stockton Forrest is the creator of ‘Lyon Wentworth’, an author of children’s books and amateur sleuth. Forrest also wrote mystery novels for young adults.
Richard Stockton Forrest is the creator of ‘Lyon Wentworth’, an author of children’s books and amateur sleuth. Forrest also wrote mystery novels for young adults.
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Displaying 1 - 2 of 2 reviews
December 30, 2021
Dr. Fabian "Faby" Bunting was a force to be reckoned with. An opinionated former educator who now lives Murphysville Convalescent Home, she spends her days shouting encouragement to the home's staff who are currently striking for better pay and benefits. She's a loud supporter and doesn't mind who knows. She also spends a bit of time watching what everyone gets up to with her old pair of opera glasses. But she watches one too many odd things and winds up scaled to death in the center's therapy hot tub. The center's managing director is all set to sweep the death under the rug--disguised as "heart failure" (well one's heart probably would fail if one were dumped into scalding water...), but Faby has an ex-student and friend in former Senator Beatrice Wentworth.
And Bea Wentworth learned from the best when it came to investigating oddities and not taking no for an answer. She knows there's no way Faby climbed into that scalding tub by herself (she was wheelchair-bound) and no one will fess up to helping her in. It's intimated that maybe Dr. Bunting committed suicide because she knew she was old and declining in health, but who in their right mind would commit suicide by scalding water? Bea and her husband Lyon, have gotten involved in murders before and insist that their police friend Chief Rocco Herbert investigate. He's a bit reluctant until it becomes apparent that the striking workers' union leader disappeared at about the same time as Faby died. Perhaps Faby saw what happened to Marty Rustman? And then one of the orderlies on duty that day at the convalescent home turns up dead....and more deaths follow. It seems that the convalescent home has become a center of death instead of recovery and there's quite a trail of corruption leading to the owners of the convalescent center. But is that the motive for murder? Or is something else driving the killer? It's up to Lyon--with his eye for small details--to put all the clues together.
I wasn't all that taken with the background of the strike and the corruption going on at high levels. It was all a bit heavy-handed and really disrupted my enjoyment of the mystery. Which is unfortunate, because Forrest really sets a pretty problem. You have the matter of a dead man who maybe isn't. You have a string of deaths that may be related and, if so, may be revenge killings. But--you have to decide whether someone is using all that as cover...and, if so, who? And, finally, Forrest gives us a really nice locked room murder towards the end. The explanation is interesting and I'm still trying to decide if it really could have been done in the time allowed. If you buy into that possibility, then it really is a nifty locked room solution. I'm pretty well giving all the star value to the locked room portion of the story. ★★ and 3/4--not quite a full three. (Though rounded up here)
[First posted on my blog My Reader's Block. Please request permission before reposting portions of review. Thanks.
And Bea Wentworth learned from the best when it came to investigating oddities and not taking no for an answer. She knows there's no way Faby climbed into that scalding tub by herself (she was wheelchair-bound) and no one will fess up to helping her in. It's intimated that maybe Dr. Bunting committed suicide because she knew she was old and declining in health, but who in their right mind would commit suicide by scalding water? Bea and her husband Lyon, have gotten involved in murders before and insist that their police friend Chief Rocco Herbert investigate. He's a bit reluctant until it becomes apparent that the striking workers' union leader disappeared at about the same time as Faby died. Perhaps Faby saw what happened to Marty Rustman? And then one of the orderlies on duty that day at the convalescent home turns up dead....and more deaths follow. It seems that the convalescent home has become a center of death instead of recovery and there's quite a trail of corruption leading to the owners of the convalescent center. But is that the motive for murder? Or is something else driving the killer? It's up to Lyon--with his eye for small details--to put all the clues together.
I wasn't all that taken with the background of the strike and the corruption going on at high levels. It was all a bit heavy-handed and really disrupted my enjoyment of the mystery. Which is unfortunate, because Forrest really sets a pretty problem. You have the matter of a dead man who maybe isn't. You have a string of deaths that may be related and, if so, may be revenge killings. But--you have to decide whether someone is using all that as cover...and, if so, who? And, finally, Forrest gives us a really nice locked room murder towards the end. The explanation is interesting and I'm still trying to decide if it really could have been done in the time allowed. If you buy into that possibility, then it really is a nifty locked room solution. I'm pretty well giving all the star value to the locked room portion of the story. ★★ and 3/4--not quite a full three. (Though rounded up here)
[First posted on my blog My Reader's Block. Please request permission before reposting portions of review. Thanks.
September 30, 2010
Read because it looked interesting. It is a very good mystery. Lots of murder and mayhem and it was difficult to find out who the murder was but Lyon unravels it at the end. This is my first read by this author and I think I must read more of his work. If you like mysteries add this one to your list. It's so well done.
Displaying 1 - 2 of 2 reviews