"The Magic Chair Murder"

"The Magic Chair Murder" is a 1920's English Mystery by Diane Janes and is so authentic to the period that I thought the author was, too!  However, Diane Janes is a current author and this is the first in a series she's written about Fran Black and Tom Dod and their sleuthing skills.

Linda Dexter is set to make a speech at the Robert Barnaby Society of which Fran and Tom are members.  In fact, it was Fran who suggested Linda as a speaker.  However, Linda disappears the night before the speech from her hotel room along with all her clothes and her automobile.  Her car (with her luggage in it) is found burned on a country road then later her body is found on a little used railroad track after being hit by a train.  Although the police deem it a suicide, Fran and Tom decide she's been murdered and they set out o find out why and by who.

This book reminded me a little of an Agatha Christie murder mystery as Fran and Tod work through clues and come up with suspects then discount them until they come up with a solution near the end of the book.  Although Fran and Tom are attracted to one another, they are both married and choose not to act on their feelings.  However, it appears they're going to team up again to solve a new mystery in Janes' second book in the series.  I look forward to reading it!  pazt