“Some people invite confessions. Others perform to an audience. More rare are those who do neither, but shine like a flame amid the fluttering moths drawn to their presence.”
~ Christopher Huang, A Pretender’s Murder
Eric Peterkin, former lieutenant, has been recently installed as the secretary to the Britannia. As the secretary of this soldiers-only club, Eric manages the day-to-day routines of the club.
The well-liked Colonel Hadrian Russell is the acting president of the Britannia. He has lost all four of his sons to The Great War. His four daughter-in-laws are now his only link to them. But not is all as it seems with the congenial colonel, when he is discovered on the front walk of the Britannia, — shot and evidently pushed out a window.
Eric Peterkin plays detective, yet again, when Scotland Yard tries to pin the murder on friends he knows are innocent. Is it one of the four daughter-in-laws? A spy resurfacing from the war? A friend of one of his sons that recently returned to the area?
While the PTSD-theme can deliver a punch, Huang’s signature intricate plot keeps readers engaged. With clever references to the game Clue, all this book needs to accompany this intriguing adventure is a set of character cards for the cast.
If A Pretender’s Murder interests you, check out:
Murder on the Orient Express by Agatha Christie
Unnatural Ends by Christopher Huang
Disclaimer. I was provided a free copy of this title in exchange for an honest review.