W. J. Burley. Wycliffe and the Quiet Virgin (1986) A re-read. A noir plot about family secrets, sexual and other rivalries, obscure and obscured relationships, and determined attempts to bury the truth and the bodies of the people who know it.
Wycliffe’s Christmas holiday hosts are deeply implicated, which complicates his work. The virgin of the title is a girl who plays the Virgin in the Christmas pageant, and then disappears. That sets the plot in motion. Her discoveries about herself form the core of the puzzle and the motives for the murders.
I like this series, the writing is competent, and Burley plays fair, with characters are real enough that we care about their fates. The TV series was pretty good, too; many episodes are available on YouTube. Recommended. ***
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