Blood From a Stone (A Jack Haldean Mystery)
Elderly Constance Paxton sets the village of Topfordham talking when she travels to Paris with her n’er-do-well nephew. But the trip is not the only thing that has tongues wagging. Rumor has it that Mrs. Paxton has gone to Paris to meet her son, who supposedly died in WWI. When she is murdered shortly after returning home, and her nearly priceless sapphire necklace and earrings go missing, the villagers are sure her nephew killed her and made off with the jewelry. But when Major Jack Haldean is called to investigate a grisly death on a train and finds a set of sapphires in the carriage where the victim died, he concludes there must be a link between Mrs. Paxton and the dead man on the train. But the more he tries to make sense of the story, the murkier it becomes. A byzantine plot, plenty of surprising twists, a debonair hero, and a shock ending make this classic British whodunit an entertaining and enjoyable read for all mystery buffs. --Emily Melton