A Death After Dinner Author David S. Pederson
Book Review
4.5 out of 5 stars!
"And don't let the train leave without us." - Liam
"But how am I to keep the train from leaving?" - Bruce
Liam's received an invitation to a weekend getaway from his beloved sister at her country estate. Undoubtedly it was from her since her husband, Roderick, does not like him. Making a very, very last minute plus one Liam drags Bruce along for the show. Because if Liam knows anything it's that there will be drama at the Endicott estate just not the kind he's normally used to.
Upon arriving Liam finds he wasn't the only one to make changes to the guest roster list. Tea will be served hot tonight as tensions rise upon hearing everyone's dirty laundry at the dinner table. Thanks to one stink of a man named Oscar Maxwell. A well-known decorator and scoundrel/all around arse who no one mourns when he mysteriously dies. The only problem is an innocent man is accused of foul play, and Liam cannot stand for it! He will get to the bottom of this mess even if he has to potentially cross his sister.
I grew up with Agatha Christie books, and this read honestly gave me those vibes being set in 1951 and the way the author worded things and wove together the story. I will confess much like Christie this book does have some long-winded dialogue here and there and some lengthy descriptions. I think this to be an intentional creative element the author did in order to showcase writings from this time period. Many authors around Christie's era were paid by the word, so of course their word count would be high!
Liam is such a unique character, and I loved how he was written. I was laughing quite a bit with him and the fun banter between him and others. Liam doesn't back down from verbal jousting and will give better than he gets. I was fascinated by how his mind worked. Being a professor he's very intelligent but I chuckled a lot when he seemed to have short term memory loss or just played the fool. He can remember details of people and who entered a room when but then conversations he had with Bruce he will tilt his head and ask if he really said this or that.
I love how this read stuck true to the time period. Giving little history lessons slipped into the narrative subtly and smoothly. Also, how sadly if you were gay, you'd be blackballed from society and your career field. Or much worse since being gay was illegal. I did like how the author conveyed this and even wrote in allies who didn't care who one was sleeping with, but characters directed the narrative to help keep people safe. No matter where in history or how illegal it was people are people and some see nothing wrong with others and who they fancy. Historians will still say that they were simply very good friends and roommates saving on expenses of the times.
This read does contain some mild language of the era. Mention of past abusive parents, affair with married woman, violence, bloodshed, and death. Treatment of servants and what was appropriate of the time, upper class vs lower class standards, mention of womanly time of the month, public verbal mistreatment of loyal employee, and more.
I really loved this mystery and just how everything played out. I did not get all of the twists and enjoyed some of my guesses to be wrong! The witty, catty banter is something I fully enjoyed and just the craziness of it. There are some slight tones of romance but it's a relationship possibly beginning. Was interesting to also see the dynamics of established couples play out at dinner and how they supported their partner or didn't. We do get conclusions and some HEAs. The author spoils us greatly with history lessons at the end along with Book Club discussion points! And if you go to his author page, he has floor plans of Liam's place and Endicott Estate!
Do enjoy the read and don't forget to give the author some stars!
Thank you, NetGalley and Bold Strokes Books, Inc.!
A Death After Dinner | Barnes & Noble®
A Death After Dinner by David S. Pederson | Bold Strokes Books
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