Book Review: A Murder in Mayfair

Reviewed By: Harriet Klausner

A Murder in Mayfair     Amazon US PB Amazon US HC Amazon UK PB Amazon Canada PB Amazon Canada HC
Robert Barnard
Class/Genre:   Mystery
Scribner, Apr 2000, $23.00, 288 pp.

Colin Pinnock feels he is on his way up the ladder of success when he receives an appointment as junior minister. Everyone congratulates Colin on his new assignment but his euphoria is disturbed by a strange post card that states” “Who Do You Think You Are?” Colin knows the card was sent before news of his appointment, leaving him to interpret the message quite literally that it has to do with his past. A second card follows shortly afterward.

On his first day at the job, his “boss” Margaret Stevens I is stunned because Colin looks just like Lord John Revill who vanished in 1962 after allegedly killing his wife. Colin knows he was adopted and begins a search for his roots.

A MURDER IN MAYFAIR is an entertaining thriller that centers on the real identity of the lead protagonist (or for that matter, anyone). The story line is crisp and filled with unexpected surprises that never reveal the climax. The characters are intriguing, especially Colin. The villain is crazy, but does things at the end that seems a bit loose. Still, Robert Barnard shows his talent to hook an audience from the start and keep them interested until the novel is finished.

Harriet Klausner

Reprinted with permission. Do Not repost without permission from the author, Harriet Klausner

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