The Perfect Daughter: A Nell Bray Mystery #9 [Hardcover]

Gillian Linscott (Author)

Book Description

Publication Date: 2000

"She was the perfect daughter before you got to her."Summer 1914.In her family's eyes, Verona North was all a girl should be at nineteen-talented, brave, and attractive, with the world opening out in front of her.But only a few months after leaving home to study art in London, she was found hanging in the family boathouse-dead from an apparent suicide. It seems that their perfect daughter had plunged rapidly from respectability to drugs, depravity, and left-wing politics.To her father, a respectable naval officer, there is no doubt who's to blame-his cousin the suffragette, Nell Bray.Nell is sure she's not responsible, yet a sense of guilt at not having paid more attention to the young girl sets her on a trail to discover what really happened in the weeks leading up to Verona's death. Nell's search takes her from an enclave of Bohemian anarchists in Chelsea to an old, run-down shop full of mysterious sea charts and maps.Piecing together clues, Nell soon discovers that Verona was leading a double life full of dangerous secrets.Was her death really a suicide, or a cover-up for murder?AUTHORBIO: GILLIAN LINSCOTT worked as a journalist for the Guardian and the BBC before turning to full-time crime writing.Assignments ranged from riots in Northern Ireland to the press gallery of the House of Commons.Absent Friends, her eighth book featuring the suffragette sleuth Nell Bray, was the winner of the 2000 CWA Ellis Peters Historical Dagger.

Editorial Reviews

From Publishers Weekly

In this ninth, engaging Nell Bray mystery (after 1999's Absent Friends), set in England on the eve of WWI, suffragettes clash with police, prison inmates are hunger-striking and immigrants from various suspect countries endure harassment, while a community of aesthetes and artists tries to remain above it all. Amidst the political chaos, feminist crusader and freelance gumshoe Nell finds the body of her cousin, Verona North, hanging in the family boathouse. While Nell feels no remorse at her self-absorbed young cousin's demise, the swiftly delivered verdict of suicide smells fishy to her. Nell's ensuing investigation entangles her with opium eaters, socialists and socialites; the closer she gets to penetrating the heart of Verona's mystery, the more bewildering her chase becomes. Was her young cousin really the pure and troubled young woman of her parents' memories? Or was she involved in some dangerous business that ended in her elimination by dark forces unknown? Linscott effortlessly creates the atmosphere of prewar Britain, with its combination of excitement and innocence that, like Verona's, is just about to be cut short forever. Her characters are vivid and appealing, especially Nell herself, whose wry tone keeps her first-person narration from becoming self-righteous. This is an intelligent and exciting story, by an author with both a deft touch and a mischievous voice. (Apr. 16)and the Herodotus Award from the Historical Mystery Appreciation Society for the Best International Historical Mystery of 1999.

Copyright 2001 Cahners Business Information, Inc.

From Library Journal

Amateur sleuth Nell Bray, protagonist for this series set in pre-World War I England, investigates the death of her young cousin Verona. The woman apparently led a secret life as a suffragette, an anarchist, and a spy. A solid, involving historical from the winner of the Ellis Peters Historical Dagger Award 2000.
Copyright 2001 Reed Business Information, Inc.

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Product Details

• Hardcover: 256 pages
• Publisher: Thomas Dunne Books (2000)
• Language: English
• ISBN-10: 0312272960
• ISBN-13: 978-0312272968
• Product Dimensions: 8.3 x 5.4 x 1.2 inches
• Shipping Weight: 1 pounds
• Average Customer Review: 5.0 out of 5 stars  See all reviews (1 customer review)
• Amazon Best Sellers Rank: #3,396,982 in Books (See Top 100 in Books)

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Most Helpful Customer Reviews

9 of 9 people found the following review helpful:

5.0 out of 5 stars an exciting and enjoyable read, March 22, 2001

By 

tregatt (Portland, Oregon) - See all my reviews

This review is from: The Perfect Daughter: A Nell Bray Mystery #9 (Hardcover)

I'm an unabashed feminist, and the Nell Bray mystery series is definitely one of my favourites. Gillian Linscott is absolutely brilliant at mixing politics, a socio-historical commentary of early 20th century England, with a mystery plot. And this latest Nell Bray mystery, "The Perfect Daughter" does not disappoint at all.

It's the summer of 1914, and Nell Bray is, as usual, busy fighting for the vote, when she receives news that her niece, Verona North, is missing. Verona, according to her parents, is perfect: young, attractive and intelligent, and dutiful. So that it came as quite a surprise to her parents when Verona decided that she'd like to go to London and enrol at an art school. Fortunately for the Norths, Nell lives in London, and although Verona's father, Benjamin, does not approve of Nell and her suffragette cause, Alexandra (Verona's mother) asks Nell to keep and eye on Verona. Nell is of course a little irritated -- she has enough to do without having to look out for her 'perfect' niece. But then six months later, Verona seems to have vanished. And when Nell goes down to Devon to discuss Verona's disappearance with Alexandra, she stumbles onto Verona hanging in the family boathouse, an apparent suicide. But that is not all: the autopsy finds Verona doped up with opium and two months pregnant.

While Nell feels a little guilty for not keeping a more vigilant eye on Verona, she also instinctively finds it hard to believe that Verona did take her own life. Sensing that the solution to all her questions lies in London, Nell sets off to question Verona's friends and acquaintances. Suddenly Nell finds herself being not only watched by Scotland Yard because of her suffragette activities, but by another more shadowy and sinister organisation. What exactly was Verona doing in London? Did she commit suicide or was her murder covered up by some very powerful people? Nell Bray is determined to discover all and bring Verona's killers to justice.

This is a really great series that gives you an idea of what the suffragettes went through in order to obtain the vote for women; and Gillian Linscott also does a deft job of painting the political and social changes that were coming to the fore in early 20th century England. And as for her unique creation, Nell Bray, well she might not be to everyone's taste -- she is intelligent, feels she's always in the right, and sees no neccessity to cater to the male ego. But she is also passionate in her beliefs, and a loyal friend. And this makes her, strong beliefs and all, a very likeable character. This novel is well written and tautly paced, and with well developed characters. "The Dutiful Daughter" is an exciting and enjoyable read, and will definitely provide you with a couple of hours of delight.