Unquiet Spirit
""… a very pleasing little gem of a book." "
Synopsis:
A team of Psychic Investigators has been invited by St. Thomas' College in order to reach a conclusion about a possible haunting on a staircase in the compound. A student mysterious died in one of the dorms leading off the staircase and it is this student who supposedly haunts the area. While this investigation is taking place one of the tutors (one of the main opponents of the experiment), is killed on the staircase whilst all the investigators are surrounding him. Was it the ghost of the student seeking retribution or was the man killed for past sins?
The new Master of St. Thomas', Joseph Zuylestein, asks Dr. Nathaniel Gye to look into the matter. Is it really a spirit taking revenge on the college and it's tutors or is the perpetrator of the crime far more human? With a multi-million pound benefaction in the offing, Zuylestein wants Gye to investigate quickly and reach a solution in the minimum of time. As Gye begins his investigations he finds that the student wasn't the angel he was made out to be and someone who is still very much alive wants Gye to drop his research - or put his family in peril.
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Review:
This tight, economical novel is a very pleasing little gem of a book. The main investigation takes place within the twelve days of Christmas and leads Nathaniel Gye into a web of malice, deception, blackmail and sex. The mix of the supernatural element with the high handedness of the college is especially reminiscent of a favourite classic crime writer of mine, Gladys Mitchell. Much of the action takes place 'off stage', a move that was also often used to great effect by Gladys Mitchell. Wilson sticks closely to the main characters and, without endless pages of ramblings, concentrates on the nucleus of the mystery itself. The solution is given at the end and, as Wilson wraps it up so well, you can forgive the author for not really supplying the reader with all the salient facts. This is a great little find and certainly would not be unwelcome in any crime reader's Christmas stocking!