Country House Crime

3 primary works • 4 total works

The Hunt for Sonya Dufrette

by R. T. Raichev

Published 12 May 2005

On the day of the Royal Wedding in July 1981 at a house party by the Thames, a little girl vanishes. Her doll is found floating in the river, but of the child herself there is no sign. Twenty years on and Antonia Darcy, divorcee and assistant librarian at the Military and Naval Club, still puzzles over the disappearance of Sonya Dufrette and the bizarre behaviour of her father, the awful Lawrence Dufrette, his exotic wife, Lena, and the intelligent but austere Lady Mortlock - not to mention the strange absence of the nanny. Ably assisted by her new admirer, Major Payne, Mrs Darcy embarks on a mission to solve the labyrinthine mystery of the long-lost child's disappearance.

The Death of Corinne

by R. T. Raichev

Published 20 July 2007

When death threats start arriving in the post, legendary French diva Corinne seeks refuge at her godmother's country estate. But there's little peace to be had with dominating theatrical agent Maitre Maginot, private detective Jonson and budding amateur sleuths Antonia Darcy and Major Payne making up the house party...And if that weren't enough, why has a bereaved American millionairess turned up to meet Corinne so soon after her son's suicide?

Assassins at Ospreys

by R. T. Raichev

Published 1 January 2008

When one of mystery writer Antonia Darcy's admiring readers, Bee Ardleigh, becomes over friendly, Antonia finds it just a bit of a bore. But when she and husband Major Hugh Payne are persuaded to visit Bee at Millbrook House, they begin to suspect it's something more sinister. Is the lovely Bee, newly wed, really an invalid? Where does her female live-in companion go on her frequent outings? Why would the mortally ill master of nearby Ospreys estate decide to change his will and leave his vast fortune to Beatrice? Hugh and Antonia become embroiled in a gruesome death in their perilous pursuit of the truth.Praise for R.T. Raichev: 'Fascinating and surreal' - Lady Antonia Fraser. 'All so ingenious' - Emma Tennant. 'Clever and complex' - Francis Wyndham. 'Splendidly old-fashioned sleuthery ...skilfully probes the surface smoothness of country houses ...couldn't put it down' - Hugh Massingberd. 'This auspicious first in a new mystery series from Raichev ...Agatha Christie fans will find much to like in this traditional whodunit' - "Publishers Weekly". 'The kind of old-school English mysteries that fans of Christie and Sayers love ...but this will be pleasing to more than traditionalists, because it adds a P.
D. Jamesian subtlety to the comfortable Christie formula. Antonia Darcy is a terrific sleuth, and Raichev is a very clever writer, indeed' - "Booklist".

The Little Victim

by R. T. Raichev

Published 1 January 2009

It promised to be the perfect holiday every modern convenience, exotic terraced gardens complete with an 'English' folly, thirty-eight varieties of ice-cream, cocktails with names like 'Widow's Wink' and 'Mumbay Mule'. Antonia and Hugh Payne never seriously imagined they would encounter anything worse than extravagance in this idyllic setting...

But an uninvited guest at the garden party given in their honour makes Antonia Darcy his confidante. Not only does he claim to have witnessed the strangling of beautiful, wayward Marigold Leighton, he also insists it was their host Roman Songhera, the 'uncrowned king of Goa', who had committed the murder. 'You are the kind of woman who lets her imagination run riot', the Hon. Mrs Depleche warns Antonia - but then the murder witness mysteriously disappears and later turns up dead.

And so, rather reluctantly, Antonia and Major Payne decide to set aside their pleasure-filled days, and investigate.

Praise for R.T. Raichev's Previous Novels

'Fascinating and surreal.' Lady Antonia Fraser

'Clever and complex.' Francis Wyndham

'Splendidly oldfashioned sleuthery ... skilfully probes the surface smoothness of country houses ...couldn't put it down.' Hugh Massingberd

'This auspicious first in a new mystery series from Raichev... Agatha Christie fans will find much to like in this traditional whodunit.' Publishers Weekly