Book Review: Road Kill

Reviewed By: Harriet Klausner

Road Kill     Amazon US HC Amazon Canada HC
Marianne MacDonald
Class/Genre:   Mystery   Amateur Sleuth
Series: Dido Hoare # 4
St. Martin’s, Sep 2000, $22.95, 256 pp.

On a back street in central London is located Dido Hoare Antiquarian Books and Prints. The shop is the business and home of a single thirtyish woman and her child. She receives some help from her father and a nanny Phyllis Digby who is more of a friend. When Phyllis asks her employer for help, Dido immediately takes her son and goes to her friend’s home. There she finds lights systematically broken and the door ajar. Dido finds Phyllis locked inside a closet. The frightened woman claims three polite men placed her inside the closet, but thoughtfully left her with a cell phone.

Surprisingly, nothing seems stolen and the only rooms disturbed are her husband’s den and their bedroom. Obviously the trio were seeking something. Phyllis tells Dido she has no idea where her spouse is. Two men soon arrive claiming to be detectives, but they are searching for something as well. Dido believes these men will keep returning until they find what they want. She decides to not wait for a deadly incident to occur by doing her own brand of investigating.

Marianne MacDonald provides more than just a fabulous mystery. Being a natural talent, Ms. MacDonald gives her audience a taste of London without confusing the non-British audience with the local vernacular or isolated back streets. The secondary characters in many ways steal the show, especially Dido’s pontificating dad and her toddler Ben. The mystery reveals itself one tantalizing step at a time before attaining a dramatic climax that makes the story line feel real. Anyone new to this series will seek previous tales after delighting in ROAD KILL.

Harriet Klausner

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