Take a scenic British residential square in London owned by a wealthy woman, tenants selected for their character instead of their pocketbooks, a set of murders, and the two residents who are tasked with solving the crimes, and you have Nicola Whyte’s fabulous debut novel “10 Marchfield Square.”
Audrey and Lewis, the two residents in the square who set out to investigate the murders, are as different as can be. Audrey is a people-person. She is soft-spoken and seems to always know the right thing to say. She shares an apartment with Mei, an attorney who she met while at university. Now Audrey cleans houses and struggles to stay solvent on her earnings. Lewis, on the other hand, is a bit curmudgeonly. He stays to himself trying to write his fourth novel. While his first novel was a huge success, the two subsequent books flopped. To pay the bills, he has a day job he hates, which takes time away from his writing.
The story is told in alternating chapters from the points of view of Lewis and Audrey. A few chapters also present Celeste’s point of view, and we learn from those narratives her maternalistic feelings about her tenants, how she feels she must protect them and keep the square safe. That’s why she asks Lewis and Audrey to investigate the murders of Linda and Richard Glean. No one is mourning the loss of Richard; everyone in the square knew that Linda was abused constantly by her husband. So when Richard was shot, no one felt bad.
When Linda died a few days later, everyone felt terrible. Poor Linda, dead just when her life was finally about to get better. But how did she die? Was it from natural causes, suicide, or murder?
One of the many fine aspects of Whyte’s writing is her depiction of the various characters. At first, Audrey and Lewis dislike each other. Lewis has stayed aloof in his apartment, working during the day at the job he hates and writing at night. He’s met few neighbors, and he never attends the neighborhood activities like watching fireworks together. Audrey, on the other hand, is warm and friendly. She cleans Celeste’s house and knows the others in their small corner of London.
While Lewis has the smarts to investigate a murder, having written thrillers, Celeste knows that without Audrey smoothing the way, Lewis would alienate all those he needs to talk to in order to investigate the happenings in the square. Celeste is determined to have them prove that none of the residents are murderers.
As they begin their investigation into the murders, through Whyte’s capable narrative, we see the humorous interactions between Audrey and Lewis as she manages to blunt his natural tendency to blurts out questions and thoughts without regard to other people’s emotions. Audrey instinctively knows the right way to entice people to open up and share things; one might say she’s gifted in that way.
As they continue to uncover various motives for the murders, and talk to all the residents of the square, long-buried secrets come to the surface and they realize that some of their neighbors are not who they appear to be. Including Audrey, who has secrets of her own.
The perfectly plotted mystery shows the intrepid duo haring off in different directions and as we follow their lead, we jump to conclusions about who the perpetrator or perpetrators of the murders might be. Whyte is a definite master at leading us down random garden paths, and there are many different paths in the courtyard of this London square. There are a plethora of suspects and many motives for murder. Lewis uses their investigation as the basis of his new novel, and we see through his writing the thoughts he has about different possible perpetrators.
The the fall setting with the leaves falling into the central garden, the misty, chilling fog creeping through the square, and the old fashioned street lights dimly lending an orange glow to the courtyard, all serve to give an appropriately spooky feel to the scenes.
I loved the fact that once we think we have the various tangled threads to the murders unraveled, there’s a final twist to be had. One last surprise. Also, my heart went out to the sweet, homeless dog Muffin, who was an important part of the mystery because of Linda’s decision to adopt him and show him the love he never got. Linda, like Muffin, was deserving of a happy ending, and it’s heartbreaking that neither got their happy ever after.
Whyte definitely left an opening for a sequel featuring the investigative team of Audrey and Lewis, with the clever, manipulative Celeste pulling the strings. Whyte also brilliantly shows how the relationship between Audrey and Lewis, originally like oil and vinegar, two very disparate liquids, ends up like a fine vinaigrette, taking the best of both liquids and becoming something different, something delicious and desirable. Audrey and Lewis, each with their own set of talents, learn to trust each other and become a fine investigative team.
If you’ve ever wanted to move to a small, picturesque corner of London and meet the characters who reside therein, here’s your chance. “10 Marchfield Square” is the ideal setting for a murder mystery, or even a series. Whyte’s writing, her ability to draw us into the lives of the characters and feel real empathy for them, her complex weaving of motives and events to confuse us, and her brilliance in dropping clues that make us wonder what is really going on, make this a novel that is hard to put down.
This review was first posted on Bookreporter.com.