New Release: MURDER A LA CHRISTIE (Marilyn Levinson)

Synopsis:
Professor Lexie Driscoll is conducting the first meeting of the Golden Age of Mystery book club in her best friend’s swanky mansion when another friend is murdered. More members are knocked off as Lexie unravels secret after secret, leading her to believe she's living in Christie's novel, And Then There Were None. Using Miss Marple’s knowledge of human nature and Hercule Poirot’s cunning, Lexie reveals the murderer.


Review:
Agatha Christie fan?  Murder a la Christie is set in a small town, with Lexie Driscoll, college professor, visiting old friends and house sitting for the summer as she deals with financial issues.  Because she and others in  Old Cadfield are fans of the tried and true mystery, she is asked to lead a book club and starts with some of the classics of Agatha Christie.  Although not a resident of Old Cadfield  she has met the members of the book club before through her friend Rosie.  She is startled to hear Gerda threaten Sylvia before the first meeting about a book Sylvia has written.  Sylvia dies before the first club meeting is over, and all but Lexie attribute it to Sylvia’s poor health.  Lexie may have been reading too many Agatha Christie murders or not.  She contacts the detective in charge and advises him of her concerns despite the admonitions of her friends.  So now she is not just an outsider, but basically accusing various members of the small community of murder, one at a time, in true Christie fashion.  So who kills first Sylvia, then Gerda and then Anne?  Is the other newcomer to Old Cadfield really interested in Lexie or does Allistair have ulterior motives to romancing her?  Levinson spins a mystery with multiple twists and turns, complex and multi-dimensional characters, and potential romance.  Whether you are an avid Christie fan or not, this is an enjoyable read that keeps you guessing to the end.