A Shadowed Livery / Charlie Garratt

from the publisher's site:

Warwickshire, England, 1938

While Hitler and Chamberlain are preparing to sign the Munich agreement, the murderer of a Jewish shopkeeper is being hanged in Birmingham. After witnessing the execution, Inspector James Given, who brought the killer to justice, is surprised to find he has been taken off the investigation to pursue something completely different.

Grovestock House, owned by the wealthy Barleigh family has witnessed a triple death.

With the terrible events neatly written off as a murder and a double suicide, Given is supposed to tidy up a few loose ends with the help of local constable, John Sawyer.

But Given is sure there is more to the case than meets the eye.

What dark secrets were the Barleigh family hiding? Could there be another killer involved?

And how will Given react when he is forced to confront the ghosts of his past…?

This dialogue-driven crime novel includes traditional elements of old-fashioned crime fiction — a stately home complete with servants, a large cast of suspects, a long list of possible motives, family secrets — but features a detective who will be familiar to modern-day readers: an alcoholic with a hair-trigger temper, a problematic love life, and a difficult relationship with his father. The historical context, which drives James Given to hide his Jewish heritage, adds a welcome layer of complexity to the story. The author deftly shows how the horrors of WWI still impact society, and foreshadows the even more terrible events still to come. Although crime and mystery buffs may guess at least part of the riddle behind the deaths at Grovestock House, they'll certainly be entertained.

[I received an electronic copy of this novel from the publisher, Sapere Books [link], in exchange for my honest opinion.]

rating: ***