1927 — England after Boer War + WWI — aristocratic + ordinary people — many turns okay —

February, 1927. The remains of an unidentified middle-aged man are found beneath the snow in the grounds of Maxtead Court, home of the wealthy Scroope family. Meanwhile, Margaret Rees-Talbot is preparing for her wedding to the Rev Symon Scroope - to the disapproval of some residents of the small market town of Folbury, who think it's too soon after the death of Margaret's father Osbert, found drowned in his bath a few months previously. An accident - or was there more to it than that?

A Dangerous Deceit by Marjorie Eccles is a murder mystery set in the English countryside of Folbury in the 1920s. Margaret Rees-Talbot is excited about her approaching marriage to Simon Scroope, who is both a Vicar and a member of the British aristocracy. But her happiness is overshadowed by her grief over the recent death of her father, Boer War hero Osbert Rees-Talbot, whom she had idolized. There is deep concern that her father might have committed suicide.

And in a strange coincidence the body of an unknown man is discovered buried on the family estate around the same time. When a third suspicious death of a local businessman occurs, it can no longer be brushed aside as coincidence. Arthur Aston had been Osbert Rees-Talbot's personal servant during the Boer War. Detective Inspector Herbert Reardon and Sergeant Joe Gilmour have their work cut out for them to discover if the deaths are connected.

A Dangerous Deceit centers on a long-buried secret from the Second Boer War, with dishonest business dealings, aristocracy, spendthrift heir, an ambitious journalist and policemen taking the story back and forth. The characters are enjoyable though a bit sagging. The plot is a little too slow-paced. Mystery lovers will still find a lot of pleasure out of it. ( )