Rina Martin joins with her friend Detective Inspector MacGregor in solving several murders at Aikensthorpe, a country house converted into a conference center and wedding venue – murders with their roots in two murders, one in 1870 and another in 1872, and an 1872 séance. In The Dead of Winter [ISBN 978-0-7278-8034-5] Rina Martin [former lead actress in the 11-season television program Lydia Marchant Investigates], accepts the invitation of her protégé, Tim Brandon, to join him and his fiancé, Joy, at a weekend conference at Aikensthorpe, a former, palatial country house. Tim has told the women that the other participants will include magicians and experts in the esoteric, and that there will be lectures on the links between circa nineteenth-century stage magic and the rise of spiritualism. What he does not tell them is that, on Saturday night, there will be a séance.
Click here to see the rest of this review...
Tim is there because his old friend from college, Toby Thwaite, has asked him to help with the filming of the weekend events. Other people at Aikensthorpe during the weekend are: Melissa [who manages the center]; Professor Simeon Meehan; Viv Grieves and Robin Hill [Toby's students]; Professor David Franklin [expert in early photography and magic tricks]; Gail Perry [David's Ph.D. student and the medium for the séance]; Edwin Holmes [“the good old man of psychic research”]; Rav Pinner [physicist and “debunker”]; Jay Statham [magician and cameraman]; and Terry Beal [internationally known action hero]. At the end of the weekend three of these people are dead
Aikensthorpe, which was built in 1854 by Mr. Albert Southam, a rich mill owner, has a troubled history. In 1870, the gamekeeper, Mr. McCreedy, was found dead. Albert hired experts to investigate; the official conclusion was that it was an accidental death – Mr. McCreedy tripped over his own gun, the gun went off, and he was shot in the abdomen. Not everybody agrees; some people believe the gamekeeper was murdered. In 1872, Albert's exquisitely beautiful and much younger wife, Elizabeth, organizes a séance which, she feels, will flush out the murderer; she is the medium. As she dresses, her husband [who is completely smitten with her] places a priceless diamond necklace around her neck.
Because of Elizabeth's naivete [she accuses the Rev. Spinelli, who is present and who is actually guilty, of killing Mr. McCreedy] the séance goes terribly wrong; Albert is very angry with her. The pregnant Elizabeth flees from Aikensthorpe [and England] early the next morning [without taking leave of her husband or, even, telling him that she is going] to live in the family villa in Italy. After she leaves, the body of Mr. Pym, one of those present at the séance, is found in the woods; it is said that he fell off his horse, but he, too, has been murdered. Seven months later she has a baby daughter. Alfred thinks that Elizabeth will beg forgiveness and return to him; in fact he never sees his wife again [she dies in childbirth], and never meets his daughter. Five years later, Alfred dies, but before he dies he establishes a trust for his daughter, Grace.
While Rina and Joy are skeptical about going to the conference [they do not think the will enjoy it -- they agree to go to be supportive of Tim] they are pleasantly surprised, until the séance on Saturday night. As is usual, the medium, Gail, mentions things she thinks the participants have experienced. Finally, she speaks of a tragedy in Joy's family [her mother and brother were killed in an automobile accident]; Joy is devastated and runs from the room. Both she and Rina want to leave the next morning. Rina calls her old friend Detective Inspector Sebastian McGregor [“Mac”], to come to get them. He agrees that he will be there with his partner and girlfriend Miriam.
The next morning, Simeon Meehan is found dead in his bed; what seems to be a natural death [he had a heart condition] is actually a murder; Simeon was smothered.
Mac and Miriam arrive but the police cannot get to Aikensthorpe because the roads are blocked by the snow. Mac and Miriam [a forensic scientist] organize the investigation until the local police arrive.
Within a few more days, two more people are dead: Edwin and Tony.
As is often the case jealousy and greed are the motives for all of the murders. Everyone wants part of the Aikensthorpe legacy. Melissa is, actually, a descendant of Albert's and Elizabeth's through their, daughter, Grace. She feels that she has been cheated of her birthright. Toby is a descendant of Albert's through his illegitimate son. Toby and Melissa are cousins; she is devoted to him and has been selling off valuable books and other collectibles from Aikensthorpe to pay off Toby's considerable gambling debts. In the process, she makes some very unsavory connections. Unknown to anyone else, Melissa finds Elizabeth's diamond necklace in the séance room; however, she considers the necklace to be part of her birthright, so she will not sell it to Toby's advantage. She finds another buyer – a buyer who tries to steal it from her, and who has been responsible for many of the problems at Aikensthorpe. He is shot, as he tries to escape, by Rina.
Best part of story, including ending:
I did not find the story to be very engaging. Several of the characters were very emotional, sniping at each other for trivial reasons, and going into hysterics, all of which I found to be very annoying.
Best scene in story:
My favorite scene comes at the end when Rina, who has not used a gun in several years, shoots the culprit with a perfect shot, at great distance, with the one remaining shot left in the shotgun.
Opinion about the main character:
I did not like Rina Martin very much. I found her to be self-righteous and dull.
