Judith L. (jlautner) reviewed on 8/7/2021 + 105 more book reviews

Another richly embroidered plot, with characters and twists aplenty. At the center is Mathilda Gillespie, an older woman who had a fondness for her Scold's Bridle. She is found dead in her bathtub with the bridle on her head, adorned with flowers. Who would do such a Shakespearean deed? There is question at the start about whether the death is suicide or murder, because Mathilda was just odd enough to have considered leaving this world in such a dramatic way.

But there are reasons suicide does not make sense, and the primary detective, Sergeant Cooper, investigates it as murder. Dear Mathilda is a mystery herself, he finds. Many consider her cruel, unkind, while a few others see something else in that witty personality.

Among those who actually liked the old lady is her doctor, Sarah Blakeney. Sarah has been coping with the infidelities of her artist-husband Jack, and is therefore not in top emotional shape. She needs to find out who did the murder because she herself is soon under suspicion.

Sarah looks at Mathilda's daughter Joanna and Joanna's daughter Ruth and what she sees is lives gone awry, probably because of Mathilda's behavior toward them. Little by little we get to know Sarah, Jack, the neighbors, the missing husband, and the couple who "did" for Mathilda. Not all of the alibis hold up, and some have no alibis. With so many people disliking Mathilda, the field is wide open.

While Sarah emerges as the primary character, others step up and reveal what they are made of as well. It is up to the perceptive, likable Cooper to learn the secrets and land upon the answers.

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