The Corpse on the Court (A Fethering Mystery)
*Starred Review* Fictional Fethering is a tiny West Sussex village that, in the best Agatha Christie tradition, has an inordinate number of murderers living there or just passing through and leaving one or two bodies behind. Fethering also boasts two remarkable fiftysomething women—one, Jude, a specialist in alternative healing techniques, and the other, Carole, a brittle and bitter divorcee who could use some healing herself. The two have formed an unlikely but flourishing friendship. They’ve also developed a knack for defying the local constabulary and solving murders. In this, the fourteenth in this series, Jude takes a new lover whose passion is the arcane game of “real tennis” (not court or clay tennis), and who insists she learns the sport. On their first outing to a Victorian country house that has an enclosed court on the grounds, the pair stumbles upon the body of one of the elderly male tennis players. Jude is willing to leave this case to the police, except that all the club members, including her lover, are behaving in ways that cry for a closer look. Meanwhile, Carole has reopened files on a cold case, the “Lady in the Lake,” just to keep her wits sharp. Fethering followers will love the way Brett showcases Jude here, showing new vulnerable bits. For everyone else, Brett performs his magic on the traditional cozy, making the frame rock with laughter at human foibles and quake with well-placed surprises. --Connie Fletcher