Blotto, Twinks and the Dead Dowager Duchess: Blotto, Twinks #2
*Starred Review* In his first Blotto and Twinks novel, Brett upended the conventions of the country-house, body-found-in-the-library mystery, shaking out every one of its hoary traditions like so much loose change. In the second, Brett intensifies the satire and the action, delivering readers absolute barrages of wordplay and one-liners, which make this romp reminiscent of theatrical farces like The Importance of Being Earnest or You Can’t Take It with You. The extremely privileged 1920s brother-sister pair of Blotto (the handsome, brainless scion of a wealthy family) and his sister, Twinks (drop-dead gorgeous and over-the-top brainy), once again embark on solving a mystery that drops into their laps. Blotto has been dreading an upcoming country-house party, with its inclusion of guests with dark secrets, a private detective, and, of course, a murder—sure enough, the hostess herself, the Duchess of Melmont, is shortly dispatched in the garden with a pitchfork. Blotto and Twinks must defend the honor of the chief suspect, the family chauffeur, and are quickly caught up in a zany whirl that takes them through a London opium den all the way to a castle in the Highlands, as they trace the workings of the Crimson Hand (and find the owner of the Crimson Thumb, too). As in his other novels, Brett is a devastating social critic (he nicely skewers his upper-class characters’ blithe acceptance of the suffering of the lower classes) and master of devastating physical characterization. This is the kind of book you’ll have to put down, frequently, as you roar with laughter. --Connie Fletcher