Author: Claudia Riess
Amateur sleuths, Erika Shawn-Wheatley and Harrison Wheatley, are at it again! Erika, an art magazine editor, and Harrison, an art history professor, are in a Zoom meeting of individuals whose goal is to return African art looted during the colonial era. Olivia Chatham, a math instructor at London University, is speaking about a journal penned by her great-granduncle, Andrew Barrett, an active member of the Royal Army Medical Service during England’s 1897 “punitive expedition” launched against the Kingdom of Benin.
Olivia is about to disclose the task she hopes the sleuthing duo will accept when the proceedings are disrupted by unusual movement. Frozen disbelief erupts into a frenzy of calls for help as the group watches the murder of Timothy Thorpe, assistant curator of the British Museum, — witnesses to the brutal murder who can do nothing because they are on the other end of a worldwide conversation.
The opening pages are well written, with the scenes moving along vividly. The Zoom call was described with great detail, and the conversation among the guests flowed well. Then, the murder. It happened so quickly and within the same seamlessness without any buildup, leading to that paragraph needing to be read again.
While this is book fourth in the series, it is not necessary to have read the other books first. (The previous books in the series reveal how the couple grows and develops in their relationship.) Erika and Harrison are now married with an infant son. The interactions between the couple can be felt — they still act like newlyweds. The love scenes are vivid enough to show their love for one another without being too graphic. And in the scenes with their infant son, Erika’s love changes to that of motherly love. The author does an excellent job at describing both types of love.
Even as the couple begins to study the Barrett journal, the reader can feel the couple’s interest in going on another adventure. To bring some lightheartedness into the scene, Jake, Harrison and Erika’s chocolate Lab, requests a belly rub before resigning himself to the desk’s knee hole.
The author does well introducing more about Andrew Barrett through three journal entries, and separating the entries with conversations and note-taking by Erika and Harrison. The prologue was a scene from 1897 with Andrew Barrett discovering his first Benin treasure, and the first journal entry shows him having a handful of the treasures. Claudia Riess did an excellent job of intertwining the prologue with the information in the journal entries so that the reader can get to know Andrew Barrett better, as the second journal entry shows Andrew being infatuated with the barrister’s daughter.
This book is extremely well written, with scenes being created vividly and interactions occurring effortlessly. This author is gifted in storytelling. It was difficult to put this book down.
Thanks so much for the positive and thoughtful review. Much appreciated!