Mary Westmacott is one of Agatha Christie's pen names. This one is more romantic than most of her mysteries.

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Everyone expected that Isabella Charteris - beautiful, aristocratic, and privileged - would marry her cousin Rupert when he returned from the War. After all, theirs would have been a most suitable marriage between the serene heiress of Castle St. Loo and her gallant knight.

That was until the enigmatic John Gabriel entered Isabella's life. He was a decorated war hero and a vulgar opportunist. That he should appear in her life at all told Isabella everything she needed to know about the final chaos of war.

For Isabella, the price of love meant abandoning a dream forever. For Gabriel, it would destroy the only chance ambition would ever offer. What drew them together was something deeper than love.

I must say - while I enjoyed reading this book for the most part - there was a certain implausibility to the plot that I couldn't quite understand. Even now, I can't put my finger on exactly what bothers me about the book. Perhaps the mystery was slightly more intricate than I was expecting for such a short book. Anyway, I give The Rose and the Yew Tree by Mary Westmacott a definite A!

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