The Murder at World’s End: A Stockingham & Pike Mystery by Ross Montgomery

The setting for this locked room mystery is Tithe Hall off the coast of Cornwall in 1910, featuring the dramatic return of Halley’s Comet.

Viscount Conrad Stockingham-Welt, along with five relatives, a German scientist, and household staff, await the return of Halley’s Comet. At high tide, the manor house is cut off from the mainland. A worldwide panic has begun as the comet nears. According to the Viscount, the comet’s tail is full of poisonous gas. He predicts floods, hailstones, and electrical storms.

The house and each bedroom, including the servants’ rooms, will be hermetically sealed, with oxygen tanks placed in each room. The brand-new second footman, Stephen Pike, finds himself assigned to a foul-mouthed old lady, Miss Decima Stockingham, the Viscount’s aunt. She uses a Bath chair to be wheeled around. After the comet passes and the world hasn’t ended, someone is found murdered in a locked and sealed room. Stephen and Temperance, a maid, assist Miss Decima in investigating, when not busy with their other duties.

Besides careful detecting, much adventure and mayhem occur, and old secrets are revealed. None of the Stockingham family members are likeable, although Miss Decima is fascinating. A will reading is entertaining, and there’s never a dull moment.

Suggested for fans of historical British mysteries, readers of locked room mysteries, and those fascinated by phenomena like Halley’s Comet. A sequel, The Shadows of Kensington Gore, will be published in January, 2027.

Brenda