This time the path to finding the killer is particularly circuitous and nearly fatal for the intrepid Amory. An excellent addition to the series, this could also be read independently. The period setting is as always meticulous and the main characters riveting ... Fans of Carola Dunn's 'Daisy Dalrymple' books might appreciate this series, despite the differences in tone and character. Fans of light period mysteries with fashion and flair will be caught up in Amory's latest adventure.
An Act of Villainy’s plot commences immediately ... The proceedings unfold so smoothly that readers will almost forget that they’ve been challenged to find any of those proceedings rote. Is the letter-sender the same person who later graduates to far worse offenses? Is that person the aggrieved wife of Gerald Halloway? The gone-to-seed old actor in The Price of Victory? Any of three other distinctly predictable suspects? In any case, readers will know to expect a thoroughly delightful hour of escapist fiction ... It’s so easy to feel affection for Amory and Milo and their cast of supporting characters that we hardly want to think of that brutal future intruding on them. Here’s to many more simple murders—predictable or otherwise—before the series ever gets that far.
Replete with the trappings of 1930s whodunits (with the equivalent of a drawing room confrontation and jaw-dropping red herring), An Act of Villainy is a delightful romp. With a resolution that is surprising not only in revealing the identity of the murderer but also in the reason for the crime, Weaver’s novel is a worthy throwback to the classic murder mysteries of what many call the Golden Age of Detective Fiction.
An Act of Villainy, the fifth in Weaver’s Amory Ames series, sees Amory and Milo finally working more in tandem than at loggerheads, which is refreshing. For much of the series, Amory has spent as much time doubting Milo as the suspects. And while she has moments of frustration over her husband’s lothario ways and casual manner, the two have plenty of moments to shine together. Fitting, since fidelity is the dominant theme here ... As with the previous Amory adventures, there are colorful characters abound and more than a little melancholy: for lost loves, soured relationships, and great talent cut off far too soon. Amory herself remains a relatable and understandable narrator ... The plot itself unwinds at a steady pace. Weaver does a masterful job of sprinkling in breadcrumbs and muddying the waters just enough that the last act will almost certainly take you by surprise, even if you’re a well-read armchair sleuth.
Weaver brings in a Nick-and-Nora dynamic with her high-living, slightly flawed detective couple. The combination West End backstage and upper-class drawing room proves equally winning.
Socialites Amory and Milo Ames have had their share of marital problems because Milo’s carefree manner and stunning good looks draw women like flies to honey. Luckily, their involvement in solving several murders...has brought them closer even though Amory’s still insecure ... All the usual 1930s charm combined with a mystery whose ending is a stunner.
...elegant ... When it comes to theater folk, the best way to uncover a killer is to put on a show, and with the collaboration of Milo and canny Detective Inspector Jones, clever Amory devises a drama to force a confession. Lovers of classic, twisty British mysteries will have jolly good fun.
