Poisoned Heart by Jason Blacker
My rating: 2 of 5 stars

A rather simple murder mystery, that could be read in just over an hour. The story starts and ends in the Abernathy Castle of England, whose owner Godfrey Apleby is in deep financial crisis after the World Wars. The small get together arranged by the Aplebys inviting the famous lady detective Frances Marmalade and Mr. Mountbatten, the future representative of the British Crown to India, leads to the murder of the housemaid Christine through cyanide poisoning. Frances, with the help of the Police Inspector Pearce cleverly investigates the brief encounter of Christine’s son and ex-husband along with the butler to dig out a secret relationship between Christine and Godfrey, which resulted in Christine blackmailing Godfrey for huge money. Godfrey ultimately confesses that he was the one who killed Christine because of her pressure to shell out more and more money.

Pros: It’s quite a simple story that involved only few characters and moreover the solution was predictable. The story portrayed the English way of living.
Cons: Did not like the way Indian climate and their habit about drinking tea even in hot summers was being looked down upon by the British, forgetting the fact that Indian tea is world famous and soothing even in hot weather. Can be read once but not a library stuff.

My rating is 2 out of 5


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