The imminent coronation of Elizabeth II has got most of the country in high spirits, but for DI Edgar Stephens and Max Mephisto the celebrations are somewhat hampered when they find out their wartime commander has been murdered. Whilst Max is busy rehearsing for his television debut, Edgar is left to do much of the investigating alone.
When Sergeant Emma Holmes finds some similarities between the Colonels case and the death of Brighton fortune-teller Madame Zabini, the team are lead towards an anarchist group that are planning to set Coronation Day off with a bang.
Can Edgar, Max and Emma get to the bottom of the plot before the day becomes memorable for all the wrong reasons?
Once again Elly Griffiths has written a good book, but for me it wasn’t a great book. Unlike its predecessors, which were fast paced throughout, I felt this story lacked momentum. Within the mid-section I found myself not bothering to pick it up, even when I had the time I would choose to do something else. The only reason I did eventually power through this lull was due to the characters.
Edgar and Max’s friendship is getting better with each instalment, their little quips to each other often make me laugh aloud. Ever so slightly less focussed on is the camaraderie between Bob and Emma, they have a very love/hate relationship but it adds a certain lightness to the darker times in these novels.
Although I didn’t enjoy this book as much as the previous ones, I am still very much looking forward to the next one. Especially after those closing few lines!
** Thank you to Quercus Books, via NetGalley, for this ARC **