The Accusers is a perfectly adequate murder mystery that happens to take place in Ancient Rome (and you know how I get about Ancient Rome). There are lawyers and togas and money trails and murder and wine and affairs and trials and atriums. It fit the bill, but was mostly unremarkable. I really won’t remember much about it in a month.
I’ve enjoyed others in this series more, is what I’m saying.
Another book that was just sort of meh. I didn’t love Murder on the Quai, nor did I hate it. I haven’t read the rest of the series, so I was maybe not the intended reader?
The mystery to be solved is a conspiracy that originated with the theft of some nazi gold in WWII and now is playing out amongst those same people in 1989. It’s a perfectly fine mystery, maybe a little convoluted at the end.
The book didn’t do much for me. I suspect if I’d read the rest of the series, it would be different.
What’s it about?
Maisie Dobbs is an independent woman in 1930s London. She is a private investigator, which lends itself well to a mystery series. This is the eighth book in the series; pro-fascist groups are on the rise in London (and Britain in general). Maisie is hired by a national security organization to keep an eye on a private college in Oxford that emphasizes peace in all its teachings. Not because they want to avoid war, but because the security services are worried the pro-fascist factions have infiltrated it. She is supposed to do some light investigating and keep the right people apprised of what she discovers. Of course, the college’s head is murdered and Maisie needs to figure out who did it.
Why should you read it?
A Lesson in Secrets is the first in the series that I’d read; that was a mistake. There are a number of characters and a couple of ongoing plots that were hard to keep track of simply because I wasn’t familiar with the previous seven books. That said, I liked the tone and crisp efficiency of the book and the main character. These are People Who Get Things Done. I think that’s what mysteries are ultimately about: taking a messy situation and putting it in order. This one fills its mission well, and I do love a bit of 1930s London & Oxford. I will definitely go back and read the previous books.