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A review by ellelainey
Death Shall Come: A Country House Murder Mystery by Simon R. Green
4.0
Death Shall Come, by Simon R. Green
Ishmael Jones, 04
★★★★☆
185 Pages
1st person, single character POV
Themes: murder, science fiction, aliens, secret organisations, forced proximity, mummies
Triggers: mentions of violence and supernatural beings, Alzheimer's
Genre: Contemporary, Murder Mystery, Science Fiction, Crime
Death Shall Come is the fourth book in the Ishmael Jones series and harks back to the essence of Book 1 – a locked house mystery with some very personal stakes.
This time, the Colonel – Stuart, as we learn – asks for Ishmael's help privately, outside of official Organisation business. His father-in-law has acquired a supposedly rare mummy – the very first Cleopatra of Egypt, wiped from historical records – but the Colonel fears that he could never have done so financially or legally, and he wants to protect his wife, Chloe, from any fallout by having Ishmael get hard evidence before he admits his suspicions to the family.
It's an intriguing concept, as there's high stakes for Stuart, the Colonel, and because he and Ishmael have a professional reliance on each other, so they both have reason to make sure this all goes well. The two of them, and Penny, make up the only recurring cast members, but there are a host of other players in the game:
George and Marjorie – Stuart's father-in-law and Chloe's father, and his second wife.
Bernard and Susan – George's parents. Bernard has Alzheimer's and Susan is more his carer than wife, lately.
Chloe – Stuart's wife, and a paper-pusher for Black Heir
Nicholas and Caroline – Chloe's brother and his wife
Professor Samuel Rose – there to catalogue and research the collection of artefacts
The dynamics of the family are strained. Because of Bernard's Alzheimer's, George took over the family, the house and the collection of historical artefacts passed down from previous generations. There's definite resentment about that between Bernard and George, though Bernard's Alzheimer's is also a sticking point for various members of the family, as his wife Susan has become his carer, George keeps them in the house when Bernard really needs medical and nursing care, and the family can't agree on what needs to be done. But George rules over them all with an iron fist. Worse, George has only recently re-married, just months after his first wife died, which creates tension between him and his two children: Chloe and Nicholas. Nicholas' wife is also quite a gold-digger and is pushing Nicholas to demand information about whether they've been written out of the will, while working hard to get him put back in, if that's the case.
On top of all that, Stuart – the Colonel – is like one of the family. He's an orphan who only ever had the Army as a family until he met Chloe and her family have welcomed him, which means he has a lot to lose if the family fractures. Though, I loved the fact that he and Ishmael started bonding over their shared lives and experiences.
As usual with the series, the story starts off just immediately before events begin although it's a little more reflective and distant than the others. I also noticed that there are some phrases and catchphrases, if you will, that recur throughout the series, usually said by the same characters as well. It gets a little annoying and roll-your-eyes when you're reading them one after the other, but if you were just dipping into one at a time you probably wouldn't notice as much.
As always, Ishmael and Penny are my favourite characters, though I certainly warmed up to Stuart, seeing his softer side here. Penny was fantastic as always, and it was nice to delve a little deeper still into the complexities that make Ishmael so unique and unusual.
Overall, the plot was clever and intriguing. I love a good Mummy, like Penny, and this one didn't disappoint with the layers upon layers of suspects, motives and twists.
Ishmael Jones, 04
★★★★☆
185 Pages
1st person, single character POV
Themes: murder, science fiction, aliens, secret organisations, forced proximity, mummies
Triggers: mentions of violence and supernatural beings, Alzheimer's
Genre: Contemporary, Murder Mystery, Science Fiction, Crime
Death Shall Come is the fourth book in the Ishmael Jones series and harks back to the essence of Book 1 – a locked house mystery with some very personal stakes.
This time, the Colonel – Stuart, as we learn – asks for Ishmael's help privately, outside of official Organisation business. His father-in-law has acquired a supposedly rare mummy – the very first Cleopatra of Egypt, wiped from historical records – but the Colonel fears that he could never have done so financially or legally, and he wants to protect his wife, Chloe, from any fallout by having Ishmael get hard evidence before he admits his suspicions to the family.
It's an intriguing concept, as there's high stakes for Stuart, the Colonel, and because he and Ishmael have a professional reliance on each other, so they both have reason to make sure this all goes well. The two of them, and Penny, make up the only recurring cast members, but there are a host of other players in the game:
George and Marjorie – Stuart's father-in-law and Chloe's father, and his second wife.
Bernard and Susan – George's parents. Bernard has Alzheimer's and Susan is more his carer than wife, lately.
Chloe – Stuart's wife, and a paper-pusher for Black Heir
Nicholas and Caroline – Chloe's brother and his wife
Professor Samuel Rose – there to catalogue and research the collection of artefacts
The dynamics of the family are strained. Because of Bernard's Alzheimer's, George took over the family, the house and the collection of historical artefacts passed down from previous generations. There's definite resentment about that between Bernard and George, though Bernard's Alzheimer's is also a sticking point for various members of the family, as his wife Susan has become his carer, George keeps them in the house when Bernard really needs medical and nursing care, and the family can't agree on what needs to be done. But George rules over them all with an iron fist. Worse, George has only recently re-married, just months after his first wife died, which creates tension between him and his two children: Chloe and Nicholas. Nicholas' wife is also quite a gold-digger and is pushing Nicholas to demand information about whether they've been written out of the will, while working hard to get him put back in, if that's the case.
On top of all that, Stuart – the Colonel – is like one of the family. He's an orphan who only ever had the Army as a family until he met Chloe and her family have welcomed him, which means he has a lot to lose if the family fractures. Though, I loved the fact that he and Ishmael started bonding over their shared lives and experiences.
As usual with the series, the story starts off just immediately before events begin although it's a little more reflective and distant than the others. I also noticed that there are some phrases and catchphrases, if you will, that recur throughout the series, usually said by the same characters as well. It gets a little annoying and roll-your-eyes when you're reading them one after the other, but if you were just dipping into one at a time you probably wouldn't notice as much.
As always, Ishmael and Penny are my favourite characters, though I certainly warmed up to Stuart, seeing his softer side here. Penny was fantastic as always, and it was nice to delve a little deeper still into the complexities that make Ishmael so unique and unusual.
Overall, the plot was clever and intriguing. I love a good Mummy, like Penny, and this one didn't disappoint with the layers upon layers of suspects, motives and twists.