The Decent Inn of Death by Rennie Airth

The Decent Inn of Death by Rennie Airth ISBN-13: 9780143134299 Paperback: 368 pages Publisher: Penguin Books Released: January 14th 2020

Source: review copy from the publisher.

Book Description from Goodreads:
Snowed in at a country manor, former Scotland Yard inspectors John Madden and Angus Sinclair find themselves trapped in the company of a murderer.

On a trip into Winchester, former chief inspector Angus Sinclair learns of a tragedy that has taken place in the village he is staying in. Beloved church organist Greta Hartmann has slipped and fallen to her death in a shallow creek, and while investigations conclude it to be an accident, her friend and housemate, Vera, remains unconvinced. After learning that Greta was the widow of a prominent anti-Nazi German preacher, Sinclair meets with the distraught Vera, and he resolves to dig deeper into the story. His investigations lead him to the stately manor of Julia Lesage, where she lives with her devoted staff that includes her secretary, cook, and driver. Though confined to a wheelchair, Julia is an electrifying spirit with a sharp wit, and those who know her adore her. Among those who do, a gentleman with dubious business dealings is also staying at the house--and Julia appears to be in love with him. A blizzard hits, keeping Sinclair, and later Madden, on the grounds with little to do but analyze the case of Greta's death, until a murder takes place, and everyone becomes a suspect.


My Review:
The Decent Inn of Death is a mystery set around 1950 in England. It is the sixth book in the series, but you don't need to read the previous books to understand this one. This book did not spoil any of the previous mysteries. Two retired detectives and several current detectives worked on this case to solve it.

Angus stumbled across an apparent accident that the victim's friend was certain was murder. He found clues and passed them on to the police, but then he become stuck at a mansion due to snow storm. His friend, John, was concerned about his health and was quickly able to re-create what Angus had done. At this point, the detectives started looking into certain suspicious people while John tried to get to his friend. After he got to the manor, both Angus and John were suspicious that some of the servants may be the very people they're after.

It then turned into a suspense as they tried to survive a known serial murder. The characters were engaging, clever, and I cared about what happened to the good guys. The detectives were smart and able to quickly find and track down clues. The difficulty was in sorting out some confusing clues to determine exactly who was who.

There was no sex. There was a minor amount of bad language. Overall, I'd recommend this enjoyable historical mystery.


If you've read this book, what do you think about it? I'd be honored if you wrote your own opinion of the book in the comments.


Excerpt: Read an excerpt using Google Preview.