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Grace Hollister, teacher at a prep school in the US and Byron scholar, has extended her sabbatical in England to act as adviser to the Innisdale production of The Vampyre a play written by Lord Byron's doctor. She is currently hiding in the local cemetery, because Peter Fox received a phone call from a woman telling him to meet her there. Grace isn't sure of her feelings toward Peter, but she wants to see what happens. Peter appears, walks a short way out of her direct line of sight, returns, goes to his car and leaves. Then, Lord Ruthven, a London producer who is helping with the production, wearing a long black cape, emerges from a crypt. Grace thinks she sees another person in the graveyard, but before she can find him, they all vanish. The next day she is late arriving to her job at Rogue's Gallery, Peter's antique shop. After some discussion about the Hunt Ball and the 'sport' of fox hunting, Mrs Mac, Peter's char comes in. It is raining heavily, and Mrs Mac, who resembles one of Macbeth's witches, (the little round one) tells them that there is a problem in the village. One of the crypts has been disfigured by a painted message. A sharp bolt of lightning accompanied by a loud clap of thunder follows this pronouncement. Even though the rain remains heavy all day. Grace goes to the playhouse that night to meet the members of the theatre company, including Derek Derrick, an out-of-work actor, Roy Blade, a biker and librarian, Lady Venetia, the local expert on the Romantic Poets, Lady Theresa Ives, wife of the local baronet, who is also the Master of the Foxhounds, and Catriona Ruthven, the much younger wife of Lord Ruthven. After yet another discussion of why Polidori's THE VAMPYRE was chosen as the play instead of one by Byron, Catriona falls through the trapdoor on stage and is only just saved from falling into the basement by her own quick reflexes. Grace's landlady warns her that she is being stalked by the local witch. Grace takes this statement with a grain of salt. When she gets to work, Peter is being questioned by a local policeman about a series of local jewel robberies. Peter insists he is a changed man and knows nothing of the crimes. The problems in the village escalate until, finally, someone is killed at the Hunt Ball, and Grace has to work to clear Peter and find the murderer. Even if you don't usually care for cozies, this light satire on the genre is fun and a fast read. The characters are engaging, as well as the situations.
Reviewed by Barbara Franchi, November 2004
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