PRELUDE TO MURDER: A Rex Graves Mystery

by C. S. Challinor

  Beneath her heated words he heard the door ease open and turned his head to see who it was. In that instant, Daniel burst through, shouting, “Look out!”

  Rex, glancing back, ducked in time to avoid a wrought-iron lampstand striking his neck, but he lost his balance and crashed into the twisted wood banister, which gave way under his weight. His feet left the landing as he slipped through the broken railings. He grabbed on to an intact pole at the last moment and, swinging in the air fourteen feet above the marble floor of the hallway, doubted it would hold. Paula lifted the upside-down lampstand above her head in both hands and bore down hard on him.

  “Jump!” Daniel yelled over the scrape of furniture below. Peeking down, Rex released his grasp just as the iron base connected with the remaining section of balcony and cleaved the railing in two. Rex landed on the spongy sofa, his knees buckling.

  He reached down and steadied himself. Daniel helped him to the floor. “One of yours?” Rex asked.

  Daniel nodded. “Sturdy product, yeah? Saved you from breaking some bones.”

  “Could have been my neck,” Rex said, examining the red imprints of twisted pole on his sweaty palms. “Thank you.” He pulled the young man towards the front door, in case the madwoman on the landing decided to aim something at them, but when he looked up she had disappeared. Daniel must have scared her off.

  “She tried to kill you,” the young man said. “Why?”

  “She thought if the police found out what I've ascertained about Lydia and Tom's deaths, the life insurance carrier won't pay out. Not to mention the salacious scandal that would erupt.”

  “Well, I’m calling the police now.” Daniel did so, supplying the necessary details and urging them to hurry since he had no idea what the assailant might do next.

  “Should we wait until they arrive or go up and apprehend her?” Rex asked Daniel. He could hear Paula sobbing hysterically upstairs.

  “The police said not to attempt to approach her. And I don’t think she’d get far if she tried to escape. Especially with a flat tyre.” Daniel drew a large building nail from his suit pocket. “I knew the blood-sucking parasite would try to make off with everything she could get her hands on, so I came prepared.”

  “She’s made a good start judging by the pile upstairs.”

  “Are you sure she didn’t murder Tom and Lydia herself?” Daniel asked.

  Rex shook his head. “I’m sure. For one thing, I don’t think she planned to bring Hannah up on her own.”

  “She’s not fit to! Natalie can take Hannah, and she can grow up with her half-brother. That’s a far better arrangement. I mean, look how Lydia turned out!”

  Happy families, Rex thought cynically, looking about the elegant entrance hall as the wail of a police siren grew progressively louder. The Gladstone case had been a complex one. The victim had turned murderer and the murderer had ultimately become a victim. In the end, both husband and wife had complied with their wedding vows, being parted only by death. But perhaps death had not parted them yet, and their spirits were still at war in the house on Barley Close.

  Please be kind, review!

  BOOKS IN THE REX GRAVES MYSTERY SERIES:

  Christmas Is Murder

  *Starred* Review from Booklist:

  The first installment in this new mystery series is a winner. The amateur detective is Rex Graves, a Scottish barrister, fond of Sudoku puzzles and Latin quotations. In an old-fashioned conceit, Challinor begins with a cast of characters, along with hints of possible motives for each. Although set firmly in the present, this tale reads like a classic country-house mystery. Rex and the others are snowed in at the Swanmere Manor hotel in East Sussex, England. Being the last to arrive, Rex immediately hears of the unexpected demise of one of the other guests. By the time the police arrive days later, additional bodies have piled up and motives are rampant, but Rex has identified the murderer. At times, it seems we are playing Clue or perhaps enjoying a contemporary retelling of a classic Agatha Christie tale (And Then There Were None, or At Bertram’s Hotel) with a charming new sleuth. A must for cozy fans.

  Murder in the Raw

  Mystery Scene Magazine:

  In Murder in the Raw, Scottish barrister Rex Graves must expose—and I do mean expose—the killer of Sabine Durand, a French actress who goes missing one evening from a nudist resort in the Caribbean... Set on an island, Murder in the Raw is a clever variant on the locked room mystery, and Rex discovers that everyone in this self-contained locale has a secret when it comes to the intriguing Sabine. Who, though, would benefit from her disappearance or murder? With a host of colorful characters, a dose of humor and a balmy locale, you will want to devour this well-plotted mystery. I won't spoil your pleasure by divulging the solution, but suffice it to say that Challinor provides a most compelling answer.

  Phi Beta Murder*

  Foreword Magazine:

  Readers meet up once again with Rex Graves in the third mystery to follow the Scottish barrister with a knack for getting involved in the ultimate crime. Rex is on his way out of the beautiful Scottish countryside leaving behind Helen, his new woman friend and his mother to visit his son on the campus of his American college. Campbell Graves is supposed to be enjoying life at Hilliard University in Jacksonville, Florida, but lately on the phone he's sounded rather distant, and Rex wants nothing more than to see his son and make sure everything is all right. Unfortunately the day he steps on campus is the day a young man is found in his locked room hanging from the ceiling. Soon Rex must split his time between worrying about his son, solving a crime that seems to involve a million people with a million different agendas, and trying to balance his love life without losing people in the process. Humor and well-written characters add to the story, as does some reflection on the causes of suicide. A wonderful read and great plot for cozy mystery lovers.

  * This title has not been endorsed by the Phi Beta Kappa Society. The Phi Beta Kappa fraternity depicted in the novel is in no way affiliated nor associated with the Phi Beta Kappa Society.

  Murder on the Moor

  BellaOnline:

  Scottish Barrister and amateur sleuth Rex Graves purchased Gleneagle Lodge so that he and his girlfriend, Helen D’Arcy, could get away to spend some private time together. Now he wonders why he had agreed to host a housewarming party. When one of the guests turns up dead, her body found in a nearby loch, the finger-pointing begins. Graves cannot help but put his sleuthing skills to work as he tries to find out who killed his house guest while he also gathers clues as to who is committing the so-called Moor Murders. He is wondering if the two are tied and if he is hosting the killer. When a storm prevents anyone from leaving, Rex and Helen do their best to keep everyone calm during their forced confinement. Set in the Scottish Highlands, Challinor successfully utilizes the atmosphere of the countryside to enhance the tension going on inside the Lodge. The characters seem typical of the type seen in many mysteries written by such authors as Agatha Christie, and are a welcome diversion from today’s style of writing. The writing is crisp and the story fast-paced. The inevitable gathering of the guests in the library comes with a twist or two, and the ending is a satisfying conclusion to a solid whodunit.

  Murder of the Bride

  Buried Under Books:

  Rex Graves is back, this time visiting his fiancée, Helen d’Arcy, so they can attend the wedding in Aston-on-Trent of one of her former students. Polly Newcombe is very pregnant and her groom, Timmy Thorpe looks a bit peaked, but is it just the dreary day leading Rex to think the success of this marriage is doubtful? Perhaps not, as the reception at the bride’s family country home in Derbyshire soon turns from a pleasant celebration to a scene of mayhem when Polly collapses, looking more than a little green. Leaving the reception and heading to Aston-on-Trent, Rex learns a great deal more about the secrets of the Newcombe and Thorpe families. Is jealousy behind the attacks? Greed? Infidelity? Overbearing mothers? Rex and the local police have an overabundance of clues and evidence, and
getting to the solution to the case will require much thought and cooperation. This latest case for Rex Graves is every bit as charming and entertaining as those in earlier books and readers will not be disappointed. The setting, an English country home, is as much a character as the people, and many of those characters are a delight, especially Police Constable Perrin (and the cast of characters provided by the author is very much appreciated).

  Murder at the Dolphin Inn

  Cozy Mystery Book Reviews:

  Scottish barrister, Rex Graves, and his fiancée are on a cruise to Mexico. When they disembark at Key West, Florida, they hear of a bizarre story surrounding the local B&B. The owners, Merle and Taffy Dyer, were killed during the Key West's October Fantasy Fest. Rex can't resist a mystery and can't wait to abandon the cruise and dive head first into solving this mystery. It's going to take all of Rex's sleuthing skills to find out who out of all the seemingly innocent family and friends killed the owners. The premise of this mystery reminds me of the traditional mysteries I read in my teens. It is very much reminiscent of M.C. Beaton and Agatha Christie, with a quaint inn and a sleuth determined to find the truth. From their first discovering of the murders to the final revealing of the murderer, Rex and Helen are an outstanding sleuthing duo. They reminded me so much of Agatha Christie's Tommy and Tuppence, hunting down clues and uncovering killers. With numerous twists and turns, Murder at the Dolphin Inn provides a first class whodunit, and I absolutely can't wait to find out what adventure Rex and Helen go on next.

  Murder at Midnight

  Booklist:

  On a stormy New Year’s Eve, Rex Graves, an Edinburgh barrister, and his fiancée, Helen d’Arcy, are hosting a Hogmanay gathering at his Highlands retreat, hopeful that this party will be uneventful, unlike the housewarming last summer that ended with murder. All seems to be well, with the Frasers explaining the legal maneuverings undertaken to reclaim their family history and cement their right to Gleneagle Castle, the estate next door, and their certainty that Jacobite treasure will be found in the ruins of the Keep. Then, with a stormy crash, the lights go out. As the party regroups, they discover that the Frasers are dead. While they await the arrival of the police—and the electric company—Rex leads the discussion about how the deaths might have occurred. Once Chief Inspector Dalgerry arrives, the investigation begins in earnest. The sixth in the series, this is a classic country-house mystery, with modern day twists and turns adding to the fun.

  Murder Comes Calling

  Available for pre-order; release August 2015:

  Who’s at the door? Best not answer with a killer at large in the neighbourhood. When a spate of murders takes place in the quiet riverfront community of Notting Hamlet in south-central England, Rex Graves is called upon to lend his investigatory expertise. So far, four residents have perished in their homes, apparently at the hands of a sadistic serial killer. The only obvious link among the victims is that they all had their homes up for sale. The local constabulary have detained a shady house agent, but letters written in blood on the bodies tip the Scottish barrister off to an altogether different kind of killer. For the first time in his sleuthing career, Rex finds he is not up against a lone operator and has good reason to fear for his life.

  ABOUT THE AUTHOR

  C.S. Challinor, born in Bloomington, Indiana, was raised and educated in Scotland and England. She now lives in Southwest Florida.

  Visit the author at www.rexgraves.com .