This is the first in Challis's Daphne Du Maurier mystery series. Having previously read "Villa of Death," I can venture to say that the "mystery" aspect of the series improves as the series progresses. I enjoyed the character of Daphne Du Maurier. Having read a bit about her life and being familiar with some of her work, I think that Challis does an excellent job of portraying the writer's personality. As for the story itself, I feel like there were some weak areas, although the atmosphere was great and I loved Ewe, Daphne's mother's old nurse, whom Daphne stays with when she visits a small Cornish village in order to gain access to some historical documents in a local abbey.
While out walking on the beach toward Padthaway, the home of the local aristocrats, Daphne comes across the dead body of a beautiful woman, dressed in a nightgown and shoeless. I mention the lack of shoes because it is brought up several times during the course of the story as if the shoes are an important clue to the murder, but I don't quite get why. Daphne also finds a teenage girl, Lianne Hartley, daughter of the Hartley family of Padthaway, looking at the body. Lianne's brother, the handsome Lord David, was set to marry the deceased in a few days. The victim, former kitchen maid Victoria Bastion, has died of causes unknown. It could have been an accident, but was it, in fact, a murder? There was no love lost between Victoria and her future mother-in law, and Lord David himself seem unusually complacent about the loss of his fiance. It was a bit disconcerting that Daphne immediately began imagining herself as Lord David's future wife before the body was even cold, and he seemed to be interested in her as well (quick recovery from his grief). One thing I did enjoy about this novel was Daphne and her references to her future novel, "Rebecca." I'm not sure I would recommend reading this for the mystery, but it might be interesting if you are a fan of Du Maurier!
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