Franklin Warren has landed in the village of Bethany, Vermont, after a tragedy ended his career as a homicide detective in Boston. He brings a wealth of experience to his new job as a state police detective, but he has a lot to learn about small town life.
It doesn’t take long before Franklin is plunged into the fray. Hugh Weber, a back-to-the-lander, dies in a fire on his farm on Agony Hill. Was it murder or suicide? It might even have been an accident.
Franklin is suspicious, especially because Weber’s pregnant wife, Sylvie, is vague and evasive. Weber himself was prone to drunkenness and bouts of anger and wasn’t well-liked around town. The family seemed to be barely making ends meet.
Then Weber’s’ loud, rude brother, Victor, arrives in town. He wants to know what happened to Hugh’s fortune. Yes, Hugh had inherited a lot of money from their father’s business. But who’s going to inherit now, Victor or Sylvie?
Meanwhile, Franklin’s next door neighbor, Alice Bellows, is doing some snooping on her own. She’s wondering why an old colleague of her husband, who served in the CIA, has suddenly turned up in a nearby town. And she’s on the case when a a package of shotgun cartridges goes missing from the general store. Alice is always ready to help Franklin with back stories on her neighbors, too.
Set in 1965, Agony Hill is a classic mystery with its quirky cast of characters and picturesque setting. Alice has a beautiful garden, and her household help, Mildred, knows everything that’s going on in town. That’s a useful asset for an amateur detective. Trooper Goodrich, Franklin’s sidekick, is a likable young man, nicknamed “Pinky.” He blushes a lot.
Such is the world of the traditional mystery. It’s my favorite genre, and not always easy to find nowadays. This is the first in a new series for Taylor, which is good news. I’m already looking forward to another visit to Bethany, with its quaint village green and its dark secrets.
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