Newport

Adrian De la Noye and his young associate, Jim Reid, have been summoned from their Boston law firm to Newport by an elderly client who wishes to revise his will on the eve of his marriage. Not surprisingly, his two children – the never-quite-sober Lady Chloe and especially the threatening and overbearing Nicholas – object vociferously, openly questioning their father’s state of mind. Initially Adrian attributes this to their objection to the marriage generally, but when he discovers that his client is communicating with his long-deceased first wife by séance, and that he believes his first wife has explicitly chosen the decades-younger Catherine Walsh to be his new bride, even Adrian begins to ask questions.

Part Twenties Girl, part Agatha Christie, Newport is a delightful little read. The characters are well drawn and the story is entertaining to no end. Interspersed throughout the present day action Adrian’s memories of the last time he was in Newport , and though this tactic can sometimes be quite distracting, in this instance it worked well. 

Newport should appeal to a wide variety of audiences, from historical fiction fans (I picked it up because I was in Newport recently and hoped for a glimpse of its gilded age past) to cozy mystery and quirky fiction fans.