A wedding day is supposed to be the happiest day of your life. Ursula Smart has finally found happiness of a sort with the man known only as Spear (as, it transpires, he has a silly forename) and so she, Spear, her family ā the so-called Smart Women ā and his mother head off into the wilds of frozen Finland. What better place for an isolated ceremony than a snowbound forest near a frozen lake? After all, the Smart Women seem to attract murderers like a magnet, so surely the middle of nowhere is the safest place to be?
Before the ceremony can start, things take a bad turn. Are the owners of the resort really the complete strangers they seem to be, or do they have history with people in the wedding party? It isnāt soon before the blood begins to flowā¦ And when one member of the party disappears and Ursula sees them under the ice in the lake, it seems the murderer must have magical powers ā for the ice is undisturbed and the lake froze solid six months agoā¦
Ah, one of my favourite modern series is back, and back with a bang. It really is something for everyone. For fans of modern mysteries about murderous hen parties and the like, we have a slightly unreliable narrator and a closed circle of suspects in an isolated location. And for fans of proper mysteries, we have, well, a proper mystery, with clues and everything.
I do enjoy Ursulaās voice, that of someone trapped in events that seem to go from bad to worse to traumatic, while responding to those events exactly as one probably would. Thereās no āwhat-ho, thereās been a jolly old murder, letās investigateā here, thereās a character trapped in a situation that seems to be going rapidly downhill. There is a wry humour to her narrative, but if you need a more obvious humour, Aunt Charlotteās misunderstandings should bring a smile to you face.
Thereās also the strength of the relationship between Ursula and Pandora, her mother, someone who seems unwilling to cut the ties that bind them together while still wanting the very best for her troubled daughter. Victoria does a fantastic job of making the relationships here something you care about, rather than something you end up skipping throughā¦
But this isnāt a soap opera novel, itās a mystery novel with lots and lots going on. There are clues all over the place as to aspects of the story ā I spotted the who part of it from one particular clue that I thought stood out a bit, very curious if anyone else thought the same ā but I was well away from the overall story and miles and miles away from the solution to the body in the lake.
It is so good to see books like this, a modern-style book that embraces the classic puzzle, delivering on both aspects. This is a great series of books, and I strongly recommend all of them (preferably in order).
Murder Most Cold is out now in paperback and ebook from Joffe Books. Many thanks to Victoria for the review copy.
The Smart Women Series:
In Search of the Classic Mystery Novel 