The Accomplice (Felony and Mayhem Mysteries) [Hardcover]

Elizabeth Ironside (Author)

Book Description

Publication Date: October 15, 2006

Jean Loftus has lived at Asshe House for more than 40 years. Its tidy contours, the soft colors of the garden, speak to an orderly, gracious life, a supremely English life. But when workmen unearth a skeleton from that garden, the skeletons from Jean's past begin rising, similarly, to the surface. And the life they speak to - a childhood in Revolutionary Russia, chaotic years as a refugee between the two world wars - was neither orderly nor English. Zita Daunsey, Jean's neighbor in this cozy Sussex town, would like to help Jean protect her secrets. But this task is made more difficult with the sudden arrival of a mysterious, aggressively inquisitive Russian student. Whose body has been moldering in the garden? What aging sins are Jean so anxious to conceal? And in trying to help the past stay buried, at what point does Zita become an accomplice to it?

Editorial Reviews

Review

"A spellbinding story of love, murder and deception" --Evening Telegraph (UK)

"Elizabeth Ironside is one of those few mystery writers you unreservedly look forward to reading" --The Spectator (UK)

From the Publisher

Elizabeth Ironside won Britain's John Creasey award and was nominated for the prestigious Betty Trask award for her first mystery, A Very Private Enterprise. Author's previous book, Death in the Garden, was shortlisted for Britain's Gold Dagger award for best mystery of 1995. On publication last year, Death in the Garden got rave reviews in the New York Times and Washington Post, among other newspapers, and was named one of the 12 best books of the year by National Public Radio. It has sold more than 20,000 copies in the 9 months since publication. --This text refers to the Paperback edition.

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Product Details

• Hardcover: 355 pages
• Publisher: Felony & Mayhem; limited edition edition (October 15, 2006)
• Language: English
• ISBN-10: 193339773X
• ISBN-13: 978-1933397733
• Product Dimensions: 7.7 x 5.6 x 1.2 inches
• Shipping Weight: 1 pounds
• Average Customer Review: 3.7 out of 5 stars  See all reviews (10 customer reviews)
• Amazon Best Sellers Rank: #3,802,139 in Books (See Top 100 in Books)

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Customer Reviews

Most Helpful Customer Reviews

84 of 87 people found the following review helpful:

5.0 out of 5 stars WWII mystery by way of Latvia and Sussex! V. good, October 20, 2006

By 

E. Fasolino (NY, NY) - See all my reviews
(REAL NAME)   

This review is from: Accomplice (Paperback)

In this book a Latvian refugee from WWII nears the end of her life. She is the descendant of an aristocratic family, and has led two lives. The first life ends as the war ends and she meets her husband to be. He is a British doctor attending to the refugees in Berlin. Her next life is spent in comfort and security in a Sussex village. In 1990, after the Iron Curtain has fallen, she sends a package of clothing off to Moscow and events are initiated which cause her to revisit her early life, one that she kept secret. As the tale unfolds she begins to see herself in a young Russian girl who has come to spend the summer. This book is a mystery, and a novel. There are three significant murders, but this book feels more like a novel. The story is packed with historical detail and alternates between the past and present. I loved Elizabeth Ironside's "Death in the Garden" and this book did not disappoint.

36 of 39 people found the following review helpful:

5.0 out of 5 stars Realer than real, March 25, 2007

By 

Patto (Vermont) - See all my reviews
(TOP 500 REVIEWER)   

Amazon Verified Purchase

This review is from: Accomplice (Paperback)

Here is a completely fantastic story involving fleeing aristocrats, an unlikely vamp, an even more unlikely murderess, and you find yourself yielding to it with utter willingness. I just finished the book, and the really odd thing is how it wants to continue in your own mind. You feel sure you know what's likely to happen next, who will fall in love with whom, what will happen to the culprit, how justice will be served, without the author having to finish the story. And you're completely satisfied. A powerful piece of writing.

36 of 40 people found the following review helpful:

4.0 out of 5 stars This is as much a garden tea party as a mystery, October 4, 2006

By 

Harriet Klausner - See all my reviews
(#1 Hall OF FAME REVIEWER)    (TOP 1000 REVIEWER)    (REAL NAME)   

This review is from: Accomplice (Paperback)

In Broad Woodham, England under the roses of Asshe House, as elderly Jean Loftus after four plus decades living there moves out so her stepson and his family can move in, the bony remains of a child are found by workers. Detective Superintendent Stevens assumes the bones belong to a young boy who vanished without a trace three decades ago. Jean wonders if the connection goes further east to her homeland Soviet Russia where she was born Yevgenia Konstantinovna Chornorouskya, but decides to do nothing except move on.

However, a Russian teenager Xenia has brought back other unpleasant memories of her fatherland that Yevgenia would prefer to forget. Her best friend, attorney Zita Daunsey tries to help Jean cope though not understanding of what, but also decides to investigate what happened to the dead child as well as her pal's mysterious past; that is she makes inquiries in between attending tea parties and caring for her disabled son Tom with the help of "nurse" Lynne.

This is as much a garden tea party as a mystery. THE ACCOMPLICE is an odd somewhat fascinating English cozy that draws readers into the storyline. The more appealing character is Zita, whose life is tediously filled with responsibility as all revolves around Tom so a wee mystery adds spice though she seems to know more than she lets on. Readers will skip the tea segues, but want to learn more about just who Jean is, why she hid her identity four decades ago and how does the deceased child tie back to her in this English modern manners mystery.

Harriet Klausner