“The Palace Guard” entertains us, in Canadian Charlotte MacLeod’s much loved series about a young Boston widow and her relatives. It’s rewarding that we know them well. They make us laugh and are identifiable, thus we are mentally involved with the story. Personal thoughts and sidebar observations are peculiar because they are unabashedly astute. Reading Charlotte frequently generates a state of amusement, along with admiration of wordplay and empathy of her eyebrow-raising scenarios.Sarah Kelling is someone who is always enjoyed because she is independent and dignified, although we know she shudders over predicaments she confronts. She is moral, yet a healthy woman free of an ill-chosen marriage. We know she and Max Bittersohn have fallen for one another and it’s nice when literature allows a romance to get moving. Even if they were friends, they make a very good team and I like that she unhesitatingly enlists help from her large, loyal family. As always, this is an immensely creative mystery, not solely in concept but the story of its solution too. It couldn’t have been deciphered by readers, so we are open to watching where events take us.The guard of a pseudo palace, a museum, falls from a balcony in public but no one can imagine why. It must have been murder but it is inconceivable anything was stolen. Sarah & Max happen to know many paintings are bogus. The only step is to understand why he was silenced and where an assailant could have hidden. It takes an enormous cast, all memorable individuals, to contribute details one inch at a time. There are plenty of shady places to go and suspenseful moments. This is my favourite of Charlotte’s very well-crafted mysteries so far. Sarah’s tenants and newly-acquainted uncle are enthralling to observe and hilarious in themselves.
