An Act of Villainy: A stylishly evocative historical whodunnit (Amory Ames Mystery, #5)

by Ashley Weaver

Walking through London's West End after a night at the theatre, Amory Ames and her husband Milo run into old friends, the wealthy investor and former actor Gerard Holloway and his wife Georgina. When Holloway invites them to the dress rehearsal of a new play he is directing, Amory readily accepts.
However, she is shocked to learn that Holloway has cast his mistress, actress Flora Bell, in the lead role. Furthermore, the casual invitation is not what it seems-he admits to Amory and Milo that Flora has been receiving threatening letters, and he needs their help in finding the mysterious sender. Despite Amory's conflicting feelings-not only does she feel loyalty to Georgina, but the disintegration of the Holloways' perfect marriage seems to bode ill for her own sometimes delicate relationship-her curiosity gets the better of her, and she begins to make inquiries.

• ISBN10: 0749023139
• ISBN13: 9780749023133
• Publish Date: 4 September 2018
• Publish Status: Out of Print
• Out of Print: 3 June 2021
• Publish Country: GB
• Imprint: Allison & Busby
• Format: Hardcover
• Pages: 352
• Language: English

Reviews

[MurderByDeath]

A bucket full of meh.   It's been 5 books now, since Amory decided to take her rogue of a husband back, and frankly, I'm sick and tired of wallowing with her in her anxiety about her marriage.  Trust him or don't; keep him or kick him out; fish or cut bait.  I don't actually care either way, though I suspect the series would be a lot better without her lifeless husband around.  That's right: the 'rogue', the ladies man apparently nobody can resist, is about as exciting as white paint.   The mystery this time around wasn't enough to distract me from the angst, as it was set in a theatre (which trope never appeals to me), and the mystery might have been clever, except it was just too ridiculous.  The author set her plot for stun, but over geared it and overshot the mark, landing somewhere in between incredulous and you've-got-to-be-kidding-me.   It's not a bad book, it's just not a very good one either.  Everything about it felt like an example of stretching a point too far.  The series started strong, so this might just be the runt of the litter and the next one will improve.  But I'm not rushing out to buy it.

[annieb123]

Originally published on my blog: Nonstop Reader.

An Act of Villainy is the 5th book in the Amory Ames mystery series by Ashley Weaver. Released 4th Sept 2018 by Macmillan on their St. Martin's press imprint, it's 309 pages and available in hardcover, ebook, and audiobook formats.

I've been a fan of this series from the first book. My favorite genre is classic mystery especially in the interwar period. This one ticked all the boxes for me. Amory and her bounder(ish) husband Milo are drawn into the theatre world via a couple with whom the Ames' are social friends. There is drama on and off stage and murder soon follows.

This book (and the series) are well written and entertaining. I like Amory's sensibility and grit. She's quite sophisticated and social but there are subtle hidden depths to her strength and intellect. She's nobody's fool.

I liked that the Ames' mostly managed to support one another and cooperate through the book. Their recently strengthened marriage is played out in counterpoint to their friends the Holloway's, and when Gerald Holloway's mistress turns up murdered, Amory turns to detecting to help solve the murder and maybe help her friends at the same time.

The dialogue is well written and though it reads well to modern readers, it's fairly true to the period in which the book is set. In fact the series reminds me a lot of Hammett's Nick and Nora. Weaver isn't Hammett, but these books compare favorably and the author is still alive and still writing, long may she continue to do so!

Four stars, well worth a read.

Disclosure: I received an ARC at no cost from the author/publisher for review purposes.