by Marjorie Eccles
Release Date: May 6, 2025
2025 Severn House
Ebook ARC; 287 Pages
ISBN: 978-1448316014
ASIN: B0DB5GDVW6
Genre: Fiction / Historical / Mystery
Source: Review copy from publisher
3.5 / 5 Stars
Summary
1935, Templewood, Worcestershire. Judge
Waring’s glamorous wife Emilie is mysteriously missing and no one knows
where she is – until she’s found the morning after a party at
neighbouring Falquonroy Park, in a clearing in Templewood’s grounds,
strangled yet neatly laid out next to two pieces of matching luggage.
What could possibly have brought Emilie to the site where the family’s new home, The Spinney, was about to be built, equipped for travelling? Was she planning to leave with someone she knew? Who was determined that she should meet such a terrible end? As Detective Chief Inspector Herbert ‘Bert’ Reardon and Sergeant Jago discover more about the enigmatic Emilie, they unravel terrible lies and devastating secrets stretching back years . . .
What could possibly have brought Emilie to the site where the family’s new home, The Spinney, was about to be built, equipped for travelling? Was she planning to leave with someone she knew? Who was determined that she should meet such a terrible end? As Detective Chief Inspector Herbert ‘Bert’ Reardon and Sergeant Jago discover more about the enigmatic Emilie, they unravel terrible lies and devastating secrets stretching back years . . .
My Thoughts
A Fatal Necessity is the next book in the Herbert Reardon Mystery series, and I enjoyed this descriptive murder-mystery set in the politically tense days of the late 1930s before the world erupted in war. While set in a fairly peaceful part of Britain, events in Germany were still affecting the citizens in subtle ways, and the author blends this exceedingly well into the story.
I thought the story was very well told; the plot lines were subtle and well done. The author did a great job misleading the reader into thinking that Emilie’s disappearance was one thing, only to discover it was something completely different. As someone who taught WWII history for years, I love how the story brings a lot of the elements of the late 1930s into this book. The threat of Hitler and what was happening in Germany was certainly leaving a pall over the lives of everyone in the village, some taking completely polar sides over whom they supported causing a lot of tension and issues, including the rise of the Socialist and Communist Parties, most of which had to be secret, leading to increased tensions within households and police forces trying to tamp down secret meetings and spying. I found the discussions around these topics fascinating and the author really had a knack for bringing it all to life. The mystery was subtly woven in between all of this tension and conflict.
Because there was so much focus on the political tension, I did feel like there was a lot of repetition and there were times I felt the story dragged. If this was simply a fiction book about this time period, I would have had a different reaction, but this was also a mystery book so I would expect the tension to be a bit higher, and it really wasn’t. And while I liked the ending, there was little to no suspense. And I had to go back to my notes to remind myself what actually happened as it was not memorable so that says something to me when it comes to tension and excitement.
Reardon and Jago were interesting characters and I really liked how they were developed, especially Jago who was new to this book. I liked him so much, in fact, that I hope he will appear in future books as I feel like there is so much more to develop with his character. And while the other characters were quirky and each had distinct voices, they were much more one-dimensional in nature and all blended together.
Verdict
A Fatal Necessity had a good story, and I did enjoy it overall. The author has a subtle story-telling method which I appreciate as it is not about throwing in useless red herrings and also allows the reader to discover things as they go. However, I did feel like you can go too far and forget that mystery novels also need to have that suspense and tension in them to make the reader turn the page, and I thought this one was lacking that element, concentrating more on the historical details. However, there is still a lot to recommend in this book and if you enjoy historical mysteries, this one may be for you.
I thought the story was very well told; the plot lines were subtle and well done. The author did a great job misleading the reader into thinking that Emilie’s disappearance was one thing, only to discover it was something completely different. As someone who taught WWII history for years, I love how the story brings a lot of the elements of the late 1930s into this book. The threat of Hitler and what was happening in Germany was certainly leaving a pall over the lives of everyone in the village, some taking completely polar sides over whom they supported causing a lot of tension and issues, including the rise of the Socialist and Communist Parties, most of which had to be secret, leading to increased tensions within households and police forces trying to tamp down secret meetings and spying. I found the discussions around these topics fascinating and the author really had a knack for bringing it all to life. The mystery was subtly woven in between all of this tension and conflict.
Because there was so much focus on the political tension, I did feel like there was a lot of repetition and there were times I felt the story dragged. If this was simply a fiction book about this time period, I would have had a different reaction, but this was also a mystery book so I would expect the tension to be a bit higher, and it really wasn’t. And while I liked the ending, there was little to no suspense. And I had to go back to my notes to remind myself what actually happened as it was not memorable so that says something to me when it comes to tension and excitement.
Reardon and Jago were interesting characters and I really liked how they were developed, especially Jago who was new to this book. I liked him so much, in fact, that I hope he will appear in future books as I feel like there is so much more to develop with his character. And while the other characters were quirky and each had distinct voices, they were much more one-dimensional in nature and all blended together.
Verdict
A Fatal Necessity had a good story, and I did enjoy it overall. The author has a subtle story-telling method which I appreciate as it is not about throwing in useless red herrings and also allows the reader to discover things as they go. However, I did feel like you can go too far and forget that mystery novels also need to have that suspense and tension in them to make the reader turn the page, and I thought this one was lacking that element, concentrating more on the historical details. However, there is still a lot to recommend in this book and if you enjoy historical mysteries, this one may be for you.
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