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4.0 out of 5 stars
5 Jemima Shore stories + 8 others, January 25, 2003
The first 5 stories feature Jemima Shore, Investigator, as she's called in her work in English television. Although she's not a detective, her reputation has involved her in a number of cases. Like the author, she was educated at a convent boarding school in England, although not the same one; see also Jemima's first full-length novel appearance, _Quiet as a Nun_.
The non-Jemima stories aren't typical mysteries. Two of them involve the killing of family pets; some involve problems other than crime.
"Jemima Shore's First Case" occurred when Jemima, at fifteen, attended school at Blessed Eleanor's. Although nominally Protestant, she's a day student since her parents live nearby. Just now they're both away, so she's boarding at the school temporarily, only to be wakened in the night by the screams of the irreligious Sybilla, who swears she saw one of the statues move in the chapel. (All other Jemima stories are set much later in her life.)
"The Case of the Parr Children" was famous a few years prior to this story; as heirs to the Parr fortune, their custody was disputed when Catherine Parr left her husband for a roaming life with her lover. The judge stuffily decided in favor of the husband's solid, worthy alternative of upbringing complete with nanny - although the supposedly impartial nanny, Zillah, married Parr once the divorce was final. Catherine, having just learned of her ex's death and of Zillah's recent drowning, wants verification that the two little girls really *are* her children, and has come to Jemima for help.
Mrs. B, Jemima's bossy cleaning lady, disapproves of her visits to Holland Pools for exercise, saying "Swimming Will Be the Death of You". Of course, *Jemima* isn't the woman drowned in an accident there.
As a TV personality, Jemima's appearance is part of her stock in trade. When an automated message from Arcangelo's salon calls to say "Your Appointment Is Cancelled" just after a long session abroad, she's concerned mainly with re-scheduling rather than with the murder of the proprietor's son-in-law. The victim was suspected of cheating on his wife with Epiphany, the beauty who fields telephone calls. As constructed, the story suffers from several plot holes; for instance, competent police wouldn't need Jemima's intervention to notice the key clue.
Jemima becomes involved in the disappearance of "The Girl Who Wanted To See Venice" after finishing the filming of an installment on 'The British Honeymoon' on location. Ironically, heiress Nadia Hewling *was* on her honeymoon in the same lavish hotel that Jemima's staying in, but they didn't meet in filming. Nadia left the hotel with only her passport, apparently not even spurred by any quarrel with her husband, although they were not only newlyweds but in her chosen city.
Pamela, the young wife of a successful middle-aged barrister, is determined to arrange the "Death of an Old Dog" without consulting either Richard or her stepson.
Sammy Luke's books have previously done well in the U.K. but not the U.S.; his newest, _Women Weeping_, however, has hit the jackpot, so he's in New York for his first publicity tour. His wife Zara hasn't accompanied him, her mother's illness taking priority over her normal smooth running of his life. Oddly enough, although he's usually a nervous little man, he's having a splendid time, until he starts getting anonymous phone calls whispering "Have a Nice Death".
Emily's young mother Cora calls her "Boots", short for Little Red Riding Boots; they're great readers of fairy stories. Cora doesn't believe in overprotecting Emily; Cora's boyfriend Mr. Inch makes a poor impression, forever closing doors to "protect" Emily from the grownups' conversation. She doesn't fear him, although he reminds her of a wolf, with his big teeth and the way he smiles at her when they're alone. Where's a woodcutter when you need one?
"Who Would Kill a Cat?" Twice-married Felicity's beloved cat Wotan was named when she, not he, was prone to wandering, as a hard-up divorced mother of a young son in London. Now widowed with a large country house - and no money - she has a court of hangers-on: her laid-off brother, her now-teenaged son and his young half-sister, an au pair, and her live-in lover. All have good reason to want her to be happy, but *someone* garrotted Wotan on his wanderings in the woods: the second violent incident at Chessworth lately, after a mysterious robbery.
Nola, a conscientious mother with a much older husband, five-year-old son, and frail health, continually encounters the same face in her travels to and from the British Museum: an ancient face, of indeterminate gender, with a youthful body. "Doctor Zeit" even turns up in the Reading Room, researching the same topic and even using the same references. Very worrying, especially when Nola nearly loses her son on the Underground, only to see that face yet again...
Melanie's friend Letty is sure that her actor husband doesn't know she's cheating on him, until Victor rises to the challenge of the perfect stage setting "On the Battlements".
A very sound portrayal of two young children, as Philip and Polly keep secret the visits of "The Night Mother". Nobody else at school has both a day mother and a night mother, still less a ghost who tells such stories. :)
Jacobine, divorced mother of two, asks "Who's Been Sitting In My Car?" upon finding it stuffed with cigarette butts. She's on good terms with her ex, and anyway the car was bought after the split. Creepy.
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