Jill Paton Walsh. The Whyndham Case (1993)

     Jill Paton Walsh. The Whyndham Case (1993) The title turns out to be a pun. As the scene of the murder, a library of sixteenth century books, is also called the Whyndham Case, after the donor. Actually, the first death is a sorry accident; but the next is a murder to conceal the negligence that led to the first death. The amateur sleuth is Imogen Quy (rimes with why), nurse at St Agatha’s College, Cambridge. The puzzle satisfies, both in its complexity (not too ingenious, thank goodness), and its solution (psychologically sound). Imogen is a pleasant and kindly woman, and the whole story has a gentleness and decency about it that makes it appealing. The first victim was an only son, and his mother grieves not only for him but for the daughter-in-law and grandchildren she will never have. Well, it turns out that there will be a grandchild, so there will be some joy to compensate for the grief. The style is straightforward, moving the story along and sketching in enough of the characters that we care for their fates. I haven’t been able to find any more Imogen Quy books, unfortunately. **½ (2003)