
Breath of Suspicion by Elizabeth Ferrars was first published in 1972. The setting is London and later on Madeira.
Richard Hedon is in partnership with his brother, they own a bookshop which deals with rare books. Richard’s sister-in-law is always trying to pair him up with possible wives, she believes he has an aversion to commitment.
When Richard meets Hazel Clyro at a party he falls into a sort of relationship with her, she’s often stand-offish though. Her husband Paul had been a scientist and a few years previously he had just disappeared, so she didn’t know if he was alive or dead. One of Paul’s work colleagues had turned out to be a spy. Had he been kidnapped or murdered?
Richard decides to follow some clues which lead him to Madeira and danger.
This is an enjoyable read, it’s the sort that you can’t say too much about in a review though.
Elizabeth Ferrars is for some reason known as E.X. Ferrars in the US. She was born in Burma into a Scottish family and lived in Edinburgh in later life. So far I’ve enjoyed all of her books, not that I’ve read them all, she was quite prolific as you can see from her Fantastic Fiction page.
I’d never heard of her, thanks. I’ve added “Give a corpse a bad name” to my TBR đŸ™‚
Iza,
I hope you enjoy it when you get around to reading it.
I am surprised to see there is a copy of this book at my very own childhood library. I wonder if my mother has read any of her books. She certainly was prolific – the Greater Boston system seems to own dozens. As you observe, it is unusual for the American editions to be published under the author’s initials rather than the UK editions!
Constance,
You are so lucky to have lots of her books available to borrow. The libraries here have none! They get rid of any older books nowadays, which is very annoying. I hope you like her writing if you read any of them.
I have only read a few books by Ferrars, but I have liked every one of them. I have a few more unread, then I will look for more.
tracybham,
For some reason her books very rarely turn up in Scottish secondhand bookshops, I bought this one in an Oxfam bookshop in England. I think I’ll have to buy some from the internet.