by Jean Stubbs
First published 1974
Theodore Crozier lies dead in his Wimbledon home in 1889. The neighbors pray it was suicide to spare his wife Laura and brother Titus further shame. Inspector John Joseph Lintott arrives to investigate and discovers the case grows more complex with each interview. Laura presents herself as a devout, submissive wife, but Lintott wonders if this facade conceals something darker. Whispered rumors suggest an improper bond between Laura and her brother-in-law Titus. As Lintott digs deeper into the Crozier household, he must determine whether Theodore met his end by his own hand or fell victim to someone close to him. The investigation forces him to question every relationship in the family and confront the possibility that murder has been disguised as self-destruction. At its heart, this is a story about the hidden truths that fester behind the respectable walls of Victorian society.
Genres: historical-fiction, mystery, crime, thriller, detective, 19th-century
Vibes: dark, emotional, suspenseful, thought-provoking
Tropes: deception, unreliable-narrator
Setting: Wimbledon
Period: 1889
256 pages · Paperback · Penguin
Content warnings: death, murder