Bellfield Hall
30. Anna Dean, Bellfield Hall
As an unmarried woman of a certain age, Dido Kent is used to being at the beck and call of her more fortunate relatives. So when her niece Catherine urgently requests her presence at Bellfield Hall, the estate where Catherine has been visiting, Dido is not particularly surprised - until, that is, she discovers that Catherine’s fiancé has mysteriously disappeared, and Catherine wants her to find out the truth. When Dido arrives at Bellfield Hall, however, a second mystery falls into her lap: a woman has just been found shot to death in the shrubbery. Worried that Catherine’s fiancé might have had something to do with the dead woman, Dido begins to investigate both problems, but she soon finds that everyone at Bellfield Hall has something to hide.
Since I’m a big fan of both mysteries and historical fiction set in the Regency period, I was hoping to enjoy this book, and I’m glad to say I wasn’t disappointed! Dean effortlessly re-creates the language of Jane Austen’s England, and I very much enjoyed spending time in the world of this novel. The mystery was well plotted, with red herrings liberally strewn across Dido’s (and the reader’s) trail. I did guess many plot elements that Dido didn’t discover until much later, but there were still a few surprising twists at the end. As a mystery, the book is entertaining but not terribly innovative. However, the characters and setting were very well done, and I will definitely be purchasing the next book in the Dido Kent series when it comes out!
N.B. This book has also been published under the title A Moment of Silence.