Murder Has a Motive by Francis Duncan

Murder Has a Motive by Francis Duncan ISBN-13: 9781492651734 Paperback: 384 pages Publisher: Sourcebooks Landmark Released: Jan. 1, 2018

Source: ebook review copy from the publisher through NetGalley.

Book Description, Modified from NetGalley:
When Mordecai Tremaine emerges from the train station, murder is the last thing on his mind. But he has never been able to resist anything in the nature of a mystery—and a mystery is precisely what awaits him in the village of Dalmering.

A woman involved in a local amateur dramatic production--Murder Has a Motive--is found murdered much like a character in the play. Mordecai's reputation in the field of crime-solving precedes him. It is up to Mordecai to derail the killer’s performance…before the curtain closes on another victim.


My Review:
Murder Has a Motive is a mystery novel that was originally published in 1947 and is set in England. The real murders mimic the murders in a play that the locals are putting on. The play suggests whodunit, but the detective feels that the similarities are misleading.

The amateur detective, Mordecai, snooped around and collected clues. While it was a clue-based mystery, Mordecai seemed most taken by the atmosphere of evil that he felt about the place. While I did correctly guess whodunit and why early on, I was never sure that the author wasn't suddenly going to go in another direction as several possibilities were left open.

There were quite a few suspects to keep track of, and some were so bland that it was hard to remember who they were. However, the more important characters did have more distinct personalities. At the end, Mordecai hopes to end the killing spree by getting everyone together and pretending to know what he was only guessing. There was no sex. There was a minor amount of bad language. Overall, I'd recommend this interesting mystery.


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