Brand New Edition of the first in the Belinda Lawrence Mysteries The old lady's decaying body lay at the foot of the stairs.     The police believe it was simply an accidental fall that killed great-aunt Jane.     But was it?     Young Australian, Belinda Lawrence is convinced it was murder and when she inherits her great-aunt's ancient cottage and garden on the outskirts of Bath, England, she finds herself deep in a taut mystery surrounding her legacy.     A secret room. Unknown intruders. A hidden ancient document. They all contribute to the mounting dread.     A second vicious murder by a ruthless killer intensifies the tension and Belinda, now under threat herself, is befriended by two charming men: her neighbour Jacob and real-estate agent Mark Sallinger. But can she trust them? And what interest has befuddled antique dealer Hazel Whitby in the cottage?     Could one of them be the killer? An excellent example of a time-honoured English village murder mystery with a lively young heroine pitting her intellect against an evil killer, both bent on solving the riddle of an ancient garden.     An inventive puzzle glazed with wit and the first of the Belinda Lawrence series.        Excerpt The roar of the collapsing wall lessened and faded; in the comparative silence of the rain Belinda saw Jacob’s fingers emerge from the mud tomb, tremble, and then relax in death as they were covered by the embracing earth, the earth that he had nourished all his life. Belinda looked wildly around her for escape. Through the barrier of rain she could see the top floor of the cottageand to her astonishment, she saw a light appear in her aunt’s bedroom. As she watched, a shadowy form took malignant shape at the window.

Professional Reviews
FOUR STARS
Now, here's a simple little who done it mystery,at least
I thought so when I first picked up this little story. Now, here a
little book with a little romance to add a bit of dash, a bit of
sweet and of course a dead body to add a bit of chill, a bit of
spice to my day spent in the joy of reading.

I soon found I was very much mistaken.

In fact I was fooled big time, I never saw it coming, I was unexpectedly
surprized.
The formula part one, take one busy beautiful woman,Belinda then
add a mysterious letter from long time no see Great Aunt Jane with a
unexpected invitation to visit, a vacation if you please, and some
important news that must be told, a secret, then mix real good.
The formula part two, Now add curiosity. Belinda Lawrence quickly
schedules a leave from her successful but stressful job and decides
a trip to Bath might be restful and informative, two benefits for the
price of a train ticket.
Next expected event naturally finds Belinda's expected quiet travel
plans unexpectantly interrupted by a bumbling but handsome fellow passenger,Jacob,who is also her coincidentally her new neighbor,but I get
ahead of myself, sorry : )
They meet/collide and we get the expected fireworks.
Last, in this mystery/romance formula we need a dead body,
got to have a body . . . right: ) Old Great Aunt Jane, is
found very dead and now Belinda finds she is unexpectedly
a very wealthy woman,with a very old house and a much desired
piece of property and family murder to solve.
Simple . . . not : ) I found this simple mystery very mysterious.
I was completed fooled, I never fingered the murderer or the
mystery. In fact I not sure even after finishing this short book.
I think I will go back and see what I missed . . . the clues, I
highly recommend you try to see if you can guess who done it.
I willing to bet if you read this book you will be unexpectedly
surprised too.
Copyright © 2000 Linda Nelson All Rights Reserved.



British Mystery Contemporary
Reviewed by: Mary Lynn, MyShelf.Com

Belinda Lawrence is stunned when a great aunt she's only seen once leaves her a cottage in a small, picturesque English village outside of Bath. It soon becomes apparent that no one in the village of Milford is what he or she seems, including her new next door neighbors, the handsome real estate agent intent on getting her to sell her new home, or even the family lawyer.

Everyone Belinda encounters seems to be hiding something. She is soon convinced that her aunt's death, ruled an accident by the police, was actually murder. This conviction is solidified when her next-door neighbor is killed. The house contains a secret someone is willing to kill for. Did the murderer intend to kill the neighbor or was Belinda herself the intended victim? Before she decide, her lawyer disappears and Belinda fears that she herself is in danger.

In the first half of the book, Mr. Kavanagh managed to do what one of my favorite authors, M C Beaton, does so well, incorporate humor within the confines of a credible mystery. I laughed out loud several times. Unfortunately, the humorous element didn't extend beyond those early chapters. Nevertheless, the mystery was sufficiently engrossing to keep me guessing the identity of the murderer. Although the solution came as a shock, I did not feel as if I'd been blindsided, because Mr. Kavangh played fair and the clues were there to be interpreted by the discerning reader.

Although, with their habit of continually snapping and glaring at each other, I found the heroine and her "love" interest to be a trifle trying, overall, I found Capable of Murder to be a very capable mystery.

-----

Mary Lynn is the author of "Dear Cari."


© MyShelf.Com. All Rights Reserved


FIVE STARS
Belinda Lawrence has been invited to spend an afternoon at the cottage of her great-aunt Jane during the weekend.  Jane has something of interest for Belinda, but wishes to tell her what it is face to face.  When Belinda arrives at her aunt’s cottage she finds her aunt on the floor in the hall.   Dead.

The death of Aunt Jane seems to be an accident as the inspector, who's investigating the case, thinks she tripped on the stairs.  Only Belinda isn’t convinced.

What was it that she wanted to tell Belinda that was so urgent?   And above all, how is it possible for Aunt Jane to send a letter to Belinda a few days ago, while she died the Saturday before the letter was written?   It soon seems that Aunt Jane wasn’t really loved in the village…

Capable of Murder is a novel with lot of suspense.   Brian Kavanagh wrote the story down in such a way that you really can’t guess the outcome, it remains a mystery throughout the story…  I loved reading Capable of Murder because it was a very captivating story.   Once you start reading, the story gets a grip on you and you won’t find rest until you know who murdered Aunt Jane and why…  Believe me when I tell you that with Capable of Murder, Brian Kavanagh has written a master piece! The beginning of a new witty mystery series around the life of Belinda Lawrence!
Reviewed by Annick
Euro-Reviews

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