Just when you thought it was safe to go back to Dulwich!
It’s a perfect summer’s morning in the plush south London suburb, and thirty-something Beth Haldane sneaks off to visit one of her favourite places – the world-famous Picture Gallery.
She’s enjoying a few moments’ respite from juggling her job at prestigious private school Wyatt’s and her role as single mum to little boy, Ben, when she stumbles across a shocking new exhibit on display. Before she knows it, she’s in the thick of a fresh, and deeply chilling, investigation.
Just who is The Girl in the Gallery?
Join Beth in adventure #2 of The London Murder Mystery series as she tries to uncover the truth about a secret eating away at the very heart of Dulwich.
Professional Reviews
Well-written mysteries in a traditional style but updated to a modern setting
The Girl in the Gallery is the second installment of Beth’s murder-solving adventures in Dulwich, but you don’t need to have read Death in Dulwich to enjoy it, as the author sprinkles enough information through the plot to update you as you go along.
This installment is actually even better than the first! Alice Castle has settled into her narrative voice, which is a combination of the academic elegance of P.D. James or Colin Dexter and a more modern school-and-parenting style found in books like Gill Hornby’s The Hive. This combination really works, providing a nice balance between the art and history of the city and the struggles of a single mum at the school gate and beyond.
Excellent read
Ms Castle deftly juggles serious social concerns (teenage angst, bullying) with her light-hearted observations of the Dulwich well-to-do community. Her prose flows beautifully and kept me reading The Girl in the Gallery in almost one go. Her characters are perfectly portrayed to the extent that I felt I knew them. By the way, what the author doesn't know about the art world, just isn't worth knowing. On top of the mystery, red-herrings, social issues, and wit, The Girl in the Gallery is also an education.
Another winner
I used to live very close to the setting for Alice Castle’s novels, but I’m pleased to say I never once tripped over any bodies – dead or otherwise. Beth Haldane, on the other hand, seems to be making a habit of it. In this, the second in what promises to be an excellent series, she finds a girl in the art gallery. Beth, as in the first book, is unable to step back and leave matters to others and so gets heavily involved in finding out what is going on. Peer pressure, bullying and the effects these have on teenagers is the underlying theme of the novel. However, Alice’s light touch and gentle humour save this from being a depressing read. I thoroughly enjoyed it and can only hope this will turn into a long series. I am already looking forward to the next one.
In June, 2000, two college students — Amy Shute and Jason Burgeson — were approached by a group of men. Forced into the backseat and driven to a remote location, they were murdered in cold blood.
Following this brutal double homicide, Johnston, RI D
A jaded cold case investigator finds himself trying to solve a thirty year old mystery when the skeletal remains of two missing teenagers are found in a national park.
A jaded cold case investigator finds himself trying to solve a thirty year old mystery when the skeletal remains of two missing teenagers are found in a national park.
