BelEdit Book Reviews
The Murder at World’s End is a well-written and entertaining lark set in 1910 at Tithe Hall, known as world’s end, on a tidal island off the coast of Cornwall. It’s a spirited, classic locked-room mystery. The (real) historical panic around Halley’s Comet is a key element of the story, creating the setup for an ‘impossible’ murder. The sometimes farcical humour in no way detracts from the interest of the mystery.
The butler, the maid and the elderly aunt
Tithe Hall is home to the eccentric Viscount Stockingham-Welt, who is convinced the comet’s tail will poison the air and end civilisation. His solution is to seal the house completely and lock everyone inside their rooms for the night. By morning, the Viscount is dead in his locked study, killed by a crossbow bolt.
The immediate top suspect is Stephen Pike, a young under-butler recently released from borstal, who arrived at the Hall shortly before the murder. To clear his name, he finds himself investigating the murder in alliance with Miss Decima Stockingham, the Viscount’s elderly, wheelchair-bound and hilariously rude great-aunt, and a clever maid named Temperance.
Stephen is an endearing main character, decent, observant, and quietly brave. Decima is fiercely intelligent, irreverent, and funny. Their dynamic drives the story: she throws out bold theories and cutting remarks, while he grounds the inquiry and often spots crucial details. Their investigation is a race against time: once the island is accessible again, Stephen is bound to be arrested by the bumbling Scotland Yard inspector officially tasked with solving the case.
The Murder at World’s End has many of the ingredients of the classic Golden Age crime novel: the country house setting, upstairs-downstairs tensions and suspicions, and of course a murder in an actual locked room! The comedy is affectionate rather than parodic, stemming from the peculiarities of the circumstances and the dialogue between Stephen, Decima and Tuppence.
The novel is skillfully paced and plotted, and there’s a strong sense of place. You can really imagine the characters surreptitiously hurrying through the corridors and secret passages, with their muffled noises and shadowy corners. And the resolution to the mystery feels both surprising and right.
A classic with modern appeal
For all its period detail, The Murder at World’s End is not pretending to be true historical fiction; it’s a homage, not pastiche. The sharp dialogue, the brisk pace, and the social mores have the hallmarks of a contemporary faux-historical TV series, designed to appeal to an audience looking for entertainment rather than historical accuracy. And as in TV, most of the supporting characters are paper thin (confusing metaphor no doubt, but whatever!).
Overall, it’s a confident venture into adult fiction for Montgomery, recommended for readers who like locked-room mysteries, historical crime with a comic edge, and unexpected sleuthing partnerships. It’s being marketed as the first Stockingham and Pike mystery, promising more fun to come!
My thanks to Netgalley, the publisher and the author for giving me a free copy of this book. All my reviews are 100% honest and unbiased, regardless of how I acquire the book. And they are written by me, not AI.
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