Death of a Prominent Citizen

by Cora Harrison

Overview

Money is the root of all evil, according to the Reverend Mother - but is it the motive for her cousin's murder?
Wealthy widow Charlotte Hendrick had always promised that her riches would be divided equally between her seven closest relatives when she died. Now she has changed her mind and summoned her nearest and dearest, including her cousin, the Reverend Mother, to her substantial home on Bachelor's Quay to inform them of her decision. As Mrs Hendrick's relatives desperately make their case to retain a share of her wealth, riots break out on the quays outside as the flood waters rise ...
The following morning, a body is discovered in the master bedroom, its throat cut. Could there be a connection to the riots of the night before - or does the killer lie closer to home? In her efforts to uncover the truth, the Reverend Mother unearths a tale of greed, cruelty, forbidden passion ... and cold-blooded malice.

Product Details

ISBN-13:	9781780296944
Publisher:	Severn House
Publication date:	05/31/2022
Series:	Reverend Mother Series , #7
Edition description:	Main
Pages:	224
Product dimensions:	5.40(w) x 8.40(h) x 0.60(d)

About the Author

Cora Harrison turned to writing historical fiction after she retired from teaching to live on a farm near the Burren in the west of Ireland. As well as the Reverend Mother mysteries, she is the author of the new Gaslight mystery series, and the 'Mara' series of Celtic mysteries, set in 16th century Ireland.

Editorial Reviews

Sparkling descriptions of life in 1920s Cork and fascinating historical details combine to ably support a clever plot and an intriguing cast

Booklist on Murder at the Queen's Old Castle

An admirable heroine, vivid characters, and an inventive plot, combined with intriguing insights ... make for a captivating read

Booklist on Death of a Novice

★ 05/18/2020

Set in early 1920s Cork, Ireland, Harrison’s seventh Reverend Mother whodunit (after 2018’s Murder at the Queen’s Old Castle) stands out as her trickiest yet. For many years, wealthy Charlotte Hendrick has declared that her estate will be divided equally among her seven nearest relatives, including her cousin the Reverend Mother, who intends to donate anything she might receive to her convent. Then Mrs. Hendrick’s attorney informs the seven heirs that she has had a change of heart—his client intends to disinherit six of them and leave everything to the one who proves him- or herself most worthy. The seven agree to make their best case to Mrs. Hendrick at her house, spend the night, and hear her announce her choice the next morning. In the middle of the night, someone slashes Mrs. Hendrick’s throat in her bedroom. Harrison adroitly combines the Reverend Mother’s clever investigation with a sympathetic portrayal of the plight of Cork’s poor. Fans of historical puzzle mysteries will be delighted. Agent: Peter Buckman/Ampersand Agency (U.K.). (July)

Publishers Weekly

2020-04-13
A nun uses her sleuthing skills to solve the murder of her cousin in the 1920s.

Ireland may be free from English rule, but there’s unrest among the poor, who live in shocking conditions. At a slum clearance meeting, the Reverend Mother’s cousin Charlotte Hendrick, a slumlord, is represented by her companion/housekeeper Julie Clancy, another cousin, who begs the Reverend Mother for help influencing Charlotte, who has announced plans to change her will. Instead of dividing her wealth equally among seven close relatives, including the Reverend Mother and Charlotte, she now proposes that whichever of them makes the best case for their use of the money will get the lot. The bishop insists that the Reverend Mother attend a meeting at Charlotte’s mansion to make a pitch even though she thinks Charlotte’s already made up her mind. On that same night, the Reverend Mother’s former pupil Eileen MacSweeney gets roped into minding the megaphone at a college demonstration that ends in a riot and the murder of a landlord not far from Charlotte’s house. When Charlotte’s throat is cut in a locked room the morning after the cousins make their pitches, the Reverend Mother calls in her old friend Inspector Patrick Cashman. Charlotte’s open window suggests the possibility that she was the victim of an outside killer. But except for the Reverend Mother and the wealthy cousin who shared her room, the others are all suspects, especially poor Julie, who might have been left penniless by the new will. Patrick follows the evidence, but the Reverend Mother has her own opinion.

A classic golden-age mystery whose shocking solution will appeal to fans of Christie and Sayers.

Kirkus Reviews