Seven Dead by J. Jefferson Farjeon

I quite enjoyed Thirteen Guests and was excited when another Farjeon book came up on Edelweiss as an an ARC of the re-release of this book by Poison Pen Press. Thomas Hazeldean is back again to help solve a mystery when he is, conveniently in the right place to see a burglar tearing out of a house after discovering seven bodies in a room. There is a note that points towards a mass suicide but both the inspector and Hazeldean are suspicious.
The burglar is almost immediately cleared of suspicion but this is a case that will take Hazeldean across the sea. He’ll also get to meet a young girl who may or may not (probably not) have something to do with the deaths. Or maybe her uncle. Or perhaps even the truculent woman who owns the pension where the girl and her uncle fled to after a mysterious cricket ball was lobbed through the living room of their house. The same house where the bodies were found.
The ending was a bit... out of left field. 2/3 of the book was really good and the ending wasn't bad, just weird.

Three and a half stars
This book comes out February 6

Thirteen Guests by J Farjeon

I requested this novel on a whim from NetGalley and liked it well enough but it's definitely not one of my favorites. There were definitely some parts in the middle that dragged for me and I had some trouble keeping characters straight.

The whole story is set at a weekend hunting party hosted by Lord Aveling at his country house, Bragley Court. We follow along as the guests (and two more people) arrive at the local train station. One of the uninvited guests is a young man who hurts his foot at the station and is invited to the house by one of the guests. The other lurks mysteriously in a hotel across from the station and watches the guests roll in.

There were supposed to be 12 guests but the injured man brings the number to an unlucky 13, the last to arrive being Mr. Chattery when he follows his wife in. Mysterious events begin to occur-whispered meetings between unmarried people, a sinister threat overheard, a dog stabbed, and then people start dying. What is the purpose of these murders and why were they committed?

This didn't hit my sweet spot but if you enjoy classic mysteries, it may hit yours.