Review by Booklist Review
Fell Dolphin hates his full name of Fellworth and his life: toiling as a waiter supporting his bitter, aged mother. When she dies, he discovers there's a lot of money he didn't know they had. He's outraged at the loss of his youth (he's 37) and the university education he craved. When he finds even more cash hidden in his dead father's possessions, he begins to wonder about a decades-old train robbery connected to his father's name. Throughout a "dandelion summer" (unusually steamy for Britain), and assisted (often masterminded) by a young woman whose charms and loyalty he steadfastly refuses to see, Fell traces that long-ago theft. Along the way, he gets shot at and tossed in the river, spends lots of money on clothes and furniture, and travels to London for the first time. He not only finds true love and pots of money but also uncovers his true parentage and opens a bookshop. With the twists and turns of a Gilbert and Sullivan operetta, this is a nice bit of fluff. --GraceAnne A. DeCandido
From Booklist, Copyright (c) American Library Association. Used with permission.
Review by Publisher's Weekly Review
Taking a break from her two long-running series (Agatha Raisin and Hamish Macbeth), Beaton introduces a pair of engaging misfits whose struggles to cope with overbearing families and overweening circumstances teach them, eventually, to rely on each other. When diffident fortyish virgin Fellworth Dolphin's mother dies, he finds himself surprisingly relieved and freed from a bondage he was only partially aware of. That's nowhere near the astonishment he feels when he learns that, in spite of their penurious existence, he's heir to a large sum. In a moment of panic, when it seems an aunt might assume the tyrannical role his mother once played, Fell pretends an engagement to mousy waitress Maggie Partlett. In fits and starts, Maggie and Fell begin their separate transformationsÄshe to a swan, he to a drake. One catalyst is the money and its questionable provenanceÄperhaps the result of an infamous train robbery that occurred many years ago and that Fell's father might have been involved with. The other is the transformation wrought by their shared investigation and their shared lives, as Maggie falls in with the pretended engagement for her own purposes. Various relatives and villains attempt to derail the couple as they journey, but there's never a question of where the author is taking her odd couple, and never a doubt they will arrive safely. The trip will delight fans of either of Beaton's other series. (Mar. 21) FYI: Beaton's latest Hamish Macbeth mystery, Death of a Dustman, will be published on Mar. 6 (see Forecasts, Dec. 18, 2000). (c) Copyright PWxyz, LLC. All rights reserved
(c) Copyright PWxyz, LLC. All rights reserved
Review by Library Journal Review
Fellworth Dolphin's uppermost emotion is anger when he learns that he is inheriting a great deal of money upon his mother's death. His youth had been one of deprivation; any spirit he may have had was beaten out of him by his parents. Totally dominated by his mother, his main act of rebellion was to get his own house key, made on the sly. In awkward starts Fellworth begins to remake himself into a man, as he tries to find out if his father had acquired the money illegally. These efforts bring him into the sphere of dangerous criminals and a glamorous fortune hunter. Donada Peters, while always an excellent reader, is a surprising choice for a male coming-of-age (even at 40 years old) novel. Fel's point of view predominates, so the listening experience would be enhanced by a male voice. However, the always professional Peters adds a husky timbre to impersonate Fel and generally brings in entertaining accents and pacing for supporting characters. Recommended for mystery collections. Juleigh Muirhead Clark, John D. Rockefeller Jr. Lib., Colonial Williamsburg Fdn., VA (c) Copyright 2010. Library Journals LLC, a wholly owned subsidiary of Media Source, Inc. No redistribution permitted.
(c) Copyright Library Journals LLC, a wholly owned subsidiary of Media Source, Inc. No redistribution permitted.
Review by Kirkus Book Review
In a rare departure from her usual fictional sleuths, Hamish MacBeth and Agatha Raisin, Beaton here introduces Fellworth Dolphin, the painfully shy, insecure, 40-ish son of penny-pinching, recently deceased parents. His father Charles was a signalman at the time of a still talked-about train robbery some years back. When Fell discovers a substantial trove of cash hidden in the house and is told by local lawyers that his mother had left him a small fortune, he begins to explore the details of that train robbery, his interest shared by Maggie Partlett, a waitress hed met while working in the local hotel. Maggie now shares his house, providing protection from his smothering Aunt Agnes, who had threatened to move in. Theres a sudden appearance of Andy Briggs, son of one of the men convicted of the robbery. He wants money from Fell, claiming to have proof of his fathers participation in the crime. The confrontation turns violent; Briggs departs, leaving Fell and Maggie to continue their probing, uncovering in the process the identity of Fells true parents and the source of that long-concealed income. There are more repercussions when Fell begins to suspect retired Inspector Rudfern of complicity in the robbery he was investigating. That confrontation has a tragic aftermath, but it provides some answers even as Fell and Maggies relationship takes fire. Confused plotting and uninspired characters make for an easy-to-read, easy-to-forget excursion: not quite up to Beatons usual standard.
Copyright (c) Kirkus Reviews, used with permission.
