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The Kemps, a Cornish Catholic family, have held on to their hometown of Kellycoryk for almost 500 years, but it is beginning to look as though the present century will be their last. Roger, head of the shrinking clan, is desperate to save the family's house and land. His second marriage to the shrewd and tough businesswoman Bridget seemingly offers a way out. But Bridget, prosperous head of her own company, has plans of her own--taking Kellycoryk over for development. Then suddenly, Bridget show more disappears, and old memories begin to be raked over. Hadn't Julia, Roger's first wife (also a wealthy woman) disappeared mysteriously as well, presumably in a boating accident? Did Roger, his sister, and his disturbed children know more about the past than had ever been revealed? Wycliffe, who is supposed to be recuperating from an illness at home, finds the Kemps' case too intriguing to ignore. show lessTags
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The Kemp family has lived in its family home for 500+ years, but now the house is decaying and the current Kemp seems to have no luck in either saving the house or saving the people in it. Roger’s first wife drowned in a tragic accident some six years earlier, and now his second wife has gone missing; meanwhile, his grown children seem to mope about unable to turn their hands to anything. When another corpse shows up, Chief Superintendent Wycliffe is drawn into the relationships of this dysfunctional family, and he must solve the case before tragedy strikes yet again…. I raced through this one, mainly because I had a cold while reading it and when I have a cold I spend a lot of time reading; I guessed the identity of the killer show more fairly early on, but enjoyed Wycliffe’s process of getting to the answer just the same. Mildly recommended. show less
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41+ Works 2,098 Members
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Common Knowledge
- Canonical title
- Wycliffe and the House of Fear
- Original publication date
- 1995
- People/Characters
- Charles Wycliffe; Bridget Kemps; Rodger Kemps
- Important places
- Cornwall, England, UK
- Dedication
- To Muriel, without whose collaboration and contructive criticism here would have been no books
- First words
- Extract from the Cornish Gazette dated 15 June: Well-known Cornishwoman in Yachting Tragedy
- Last words
- (Click to show. Warning: May contain spoilers.)Times had changed.
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Statistics
- Members
- 77
- Popularity
- 409,467
- Reviews
- 1
- Rating
- (3.21)
- Languages
- English
- Media
- Paper, Audiobook, Ebook
- ISBNs
- 10
- ASINs
- 4
