Review: The Corpse With The Silver Tongue by Cathy Ace

The Corpse with the Silver Tongue
(Cait Morgan Mystery) (Cait Morgan Mysteries)
1st in Series
Mystery
TouchWood Editions (April 3, 2012)
Paperback: 240 pages
ISBN-13: 978-1927129098
E-Book File Size: 554 KB
ASIN: B007NLCLXS

Cait Morgan, a criminology professor in Canada, travels to France to present a paper for a colleague unable to attend  a conference. She happens to run into an old boss and can’t escape an invitation to his wife’s birthday party. She can’t stand the man but decides to attend anyway.  When the guy drops dead in the middle of dinner and the necklace he brought his wife as a birthday present disappears her quick trip to France turns into a real nightmare. Her French is not that good but knowing she is a main suspect is not lost in the translation. She wishes her friend Bud was there to help her out of this mess but he is back in Canada up to his neck in an investigation of his own.

Dollycas’s Thoughts
Ace’s first Cait Morgan mystery has that Agatha Christie feel and I was quickly caught up in the mystery. Plenty of suspects seated around the table but who would kill this pompous man and why?

I really enjoyed the location and the travels through the compound where many of the suspects resided. The gardens – beautiful, the underground tunnels – scary and revealing of secrets. The links to the past and the provenance of the necklace was so interesting.

The characters unique, from the gold digger wife to the American writer that lives upstairs. Even Bud back in Canada was easy to connect with through just the phone calls. Cait is an intriguing protagonist with her criminology background and her unusual observation skills. The detectives in France were not sure what to make of Cait Morgan but I thought they were excellent characters. Moreau did not speak much English so Bertrand had to translate. Both stayed as objective as possible until finally realizing Cait may be able to help them but by then it was almost too late. 

This was a captivating debut and look forward to reading more about Cait, Bud, and hopefully Bertrand in the future.

 About This Author
Born and raised in Wales, Cathy Ace worked for many years in marketing communications in London and across Europe, eventually moving to British Columbia, Canada in 2000. Her short story “Dear George” appeared on the UK’s O Level English Language syllabus and, together with another story, “Domestic Violence”, has been produced for BBC Radio 4. Cathy’s second Cait Morgan Mystery, “The Corpse with the Golden Nose”, will be available in March 2013.
 

Disclosure of Material Connection: I received this book free from the author. I was not required to write a positive review. The opinions I have expressed are my own. Receiving a complimentary copy in no way reflected my review of this book. I am disclosing this in accordance with the Federal Trade Commission’s 16 CFR, Part 255 : “Guides Concerning the Use of Endorsements and Testimonials in Advertising.”