Murder At The Mikado, by Julianna Deering

[Note: This book was provided free of charge by Bethany Books in exchange for an honest review.]

This is the third novel in the Drew Farthering mystery series, and the second one I have read [1]. In many ways, this novel is a continuation of the previous one, and appeals to an audience that combines an interest in historical murder mysteries (itself a fairly large genre audience)who are also interested in the practical implications of Christian grace. As was the case with the previous volume, this is a well-read mystery that combines historical interest (since many of us never get tired of reading about life in England [2] or life in the past, specifically the Great Depression here), knowing and winking references to well-known mystery novels and novelists from the period, as well as lead and supporting characters that are well-drawn and complex.

This novel adds to the intrigue by bringing a new element to test the relationship between Drew Farthering and his beloved Madeline—an old flame Fleur Landis, who coincidentally happens to be married to the gentleman Drew hired to turn his oil company around (he being rather ignorant about the industry), and who happens to have broken his heart six years ago by being something of a tease, leading him on and breaking his heart. Ever the gentleman, even when it gets him into trouble, Drew cannot resist helping her out and seeking to forgive her for her wrongs, even though his fiance understandably wants him to have nothing to do with the intoxicating and overwhelmingly flirtatious Fleur. Madeline, of course, has a history in which she lost a previous fiance to death in an automobile accident when he cheated on her with a similar type of young woman, and so the case provides a lot of strain on her relationship as well, and she has a hard time behaving in a gracious and Christian manner to her husband’s client/ex-lover.

Added to this stress are the details of the case themselves, a rash of connected murders within a theater troupe that at first implicate Fleur and then others, where there are a lot of people with motive and opportunity to murder and a decided lack of alibis, including a missing tabloid reporter who is also a person of interest, and where pretense and acting makes determining the truth of what happened even more difficult than usual. As is often the case, there are twists and turns along the way that test the resolve of the detective and his gal to marry each other, and that test the ability of Drew and his fellow amateur sleuths to sort beneath the lies and disguises and masks and their own personal feelings to solve the riddles at hand, with an elegant solution that is even more appropriate if one catches the numerous references to dialogue from the Mikado that manages to tie together quite a few loose ends.

On top of all this, this novel contains a great deal of concern for Drew about his mother. Being the child of an adulterous relationship between his father and a French shop-girl, Drew has long felt like an outsider despite being raised as a member of the gentry. This troublesome family background and its consequences, part of what gives him a particularly gallant approach to women in need (a vulnerability that is clearly exploited here by the flirtatious Fleur), also drives him to seek to discover as much as possible about his family past, which conveniently is aided by the blackmailing widow of the first victim of the series of murders, who threatens to expose his family history if Drew does not help her solve the murder mystery to allow her to get the insurance money she had on her husband. Strikingly, this novel succeeds most wonderfully at combining a gracious (if imperfect) Christian hero with a dark and sordid tale of deceit and reputation. Here too, we see Madeline, previously viewed as a paragon of womanhood, succumbing to insecurity and jealousy over her fiance’s former lover. Despite the historical setting of the novel, there is a lot here for readers to relate to, sometimes painfully. The end result is a worthwhile and satisfying mystery that serves deeper purposes of providing a mirror to our own insecurities and the consequences of our own past deeds.

[1] See, for example:

https://edgeinducedcohesion.wordpress.com/2014/04/28/book-review-death-by-the-book/

[2] See, for example:

https://edgeinducedcohesion.wordpress.com/2013/01/28/today-in-history-on-january-28-1813-jane-austens-pride-prejudice-was-published/

https://edgeinducedcohesion.wordpress.com/2012/05/28/book-review-the-virgin-queens-daughter/

https://edgeinducedcohesion.wordpress.com/2012/02/28/book-review-destiny-our-choice/