Old Mrs. Camelot by Emery Bonett

"Even from the grave, Mrs. Camelot directed the investigation of her own murder." Not actually, as it turns out.

Intrigued by the tagline, I should have known with characters' grandiloquent names like Hypathia Foley, Ardath Bondage, and Helena Forsythe, there would be a heavy mix of romance. Still, there was a mystery, a murder, and the interesting wartime backdrop kept me going.

Robina Adams was so in love with her college art teacher Alistair that when he went to work in the quaint town of Croome for the war effort, she got herself a job in the same camouflage department. The only home on the terrace willing to open its doors for billet was that of Mrs. Camelot. Seemingly imperious, Robina soon finds she is generous and welcoming, as is her companion, her spinster sister Hypathia Foley. Mrs. Camelot hosts a dinner party for Robina to meet the neighbours - the beautiful Helena from number 16 where Alistair billets, and a voluntary warden of the nightly fire-watch roster; local theatre head, Graham Forbes, too attractive to be true, and some think perfect for Robina; Ardath Bondage, who sunbathes in the nude, thinking no one overlooks her garden; the hat maker Mrs. Creel; and Roger Crisp, family friend and lawyer. The next morning, Mrs. Camelot is found in her bedroom, the gas tap tragically left open. Despite a verdict of accidental death, whispered gossip runs like wildfire after Mrs. Camelot's will leaves her home and fortune to Robina. Some think she killed for the money. To quell the rumors, she pairs with Alistair and Helena to investigate.

Originally titled High Pavement, the wartime setting with the barrage balloons and blackouts held my interest, and the nightly fire-watch patrols gave ample time for Alistair to reveal his feelings for Robina. With the minor grudges of charming people to sift through, this mystery is mostly talk with little momentum. It's not recommended—and I am the type who loves Angela Thirkell's novels of Barsetshire.

Emery Bonett is the pen name of Felicity Winifred Carter, an English writer of four mysteries, with eight more co-authored by her husband John Bonett, who did the planning while she did the writing. This was filmed in the UK as My Sister and I in 1948.

1944 / Hardcover / 274 pages