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Loading... Murder at the Queen's Old Castleby Cora Harrison
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"Despite its regal name, the Queen's Old Castle is nothing but a low-grade department store, housed within the decrepit walls of what was once a medieval castle, built at the harbour entrance to Cork city. On her first visit for fifty years, the Reverend Mother is struck by how little has changed - apart, that is, from the strange smell of gas ... But when the store's owner staggers from his office and topples over the railings to his death, Mother Aquinas is once again drawn into a baffling murder investigation where suspects are all too plentiful. An unpopular man, Joseph Fitzwilliam had been disliked and feared by all who worked for him. And when the contents of his will are revealed, suspicion widens to include his own family ..."--Publisher's description. No library descriptions found. |
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 Google Books — Loading...GenresMelvil Decimal System (DDC)823.914Literature English English fiction Modern Period 1901-1999 1945-1999LC ClassificationRatingAverage: (4)
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Wikipedia in English
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"Murder [thought the Reverend Mother] was like a cancer. Its tentacles spread out and infected those who had been touched by it." And nothing is truer than for this murder.
A man dead from gas inhalation in the Queen's Old Castle, a grand name for a local department store in Cork. A young boy accused of murder by the distracted widow. A fractured family kept under the thumb by their tyrannical father, Joseph Fitzwilliam, are all disinherited and thrown over for the favorite son.
Detective Patrick Cashman has his hands full, Eileen MacSweeney is in the mix and the Reverend Mother has an eye on all the participants.
There are some wonderful touches including the whizzing around of the money canisters. I remember them from my childhood in an antiquated favorite store. I was just as fascinated as Brian Moloney.
As a side note the practice of apprenticeship and employment in Cork during the 1920's comes under scrutiny. Harrison has once again given us meat to chew on in this murder mystery set in the Ireland of these times. A pleasing read with my favorites out sleuthing. I love the wisdom and compassion of the Reverend Mother.
Things don't quite turn out in the normal way but as Reverend Mother reflects with a quote from Thomas Aquinas: "For the sake of the community, murder must never be tolerated."
Another great Irish historical crime read!
A NetGalley ARC (