September 26, 2011
In Oldfield's (Betrothed) latest light, but satisfying, mystery, set in 1904 London, Lydia Daye's elderly father and young son consume her time and energy, while her adored husband John (supposedly working in a top secret government job) is rarely home. Two miles away, unwed and six months pregnant Dolly Ellerway, lives in crimped circumstances with her mother and sister. She happily accepts her lover Don's offer of marriage, though Don can only afford a private ceremony without family or friends. Alleged salesman Don is rarely home, so newlywed Dolly moves into lodgings that she must share with Don's brother Sid. When a letter written by Lydia to her husband arrives at Dolly's home (with a fictitious office number), Dolly returns the letter to Lydia along with her own note, which worries Lydia, and arouses the suspicions of the young policeman boarding with the Daye family. Ever-ambitious, the policeman diligently pursues connections between several jewel thieves and the missing husband (or husbands) in this fast-paced tale of deception.
October 1, 2011
The prolific Oldfield's latest straddles the line between low-key suspense and humor as a career thief and his gang implode. In 1904 London, Lydia Daye, her husband John, and their young son live with Lydia's father, who's slowly sinking into dementia. Lydia believes her husband is working for the government, which causes him to be gone from home often. Across town, Donald Wickham, claiming to be a traveling salesman, proposes to pregnant Dolly. After Lydia rents a room to policeman Leonard Phipps, and her letter sent to her husband's business address is returned with a note from Dolly saying no such person exists, both women are in for a big surprise. In addition to investigating a recent robbery in which a bystander dies, Leonard looks into Lydia's confusion about the letter and finds that the two very different women are linked. As Oldfield's closely knit plot unscrolls, readers will be gently amused by her all-too-human characters.(Reprinted with permission of Booklist, copyright 2011, American Library Association.)