Line Up For Murder
Line Up For Murder by Marian Babson 1980 Warner Books
Years ago I got up around 4 a.m. on Black Friday to wait in line to buy Christmas gifts. It was the one and only time because I hate crowds, but there is a strange comradery in standing in line with people focused on the same goal. This story captures that experience.
This story takes place in England with several characters getting into a queue or line in front of Bonnard’s for their January 4 blowout sale. This allows the author to focus on this group and allows the reader to get to know them.
We have Dorrie who is the veteran line squatter with her sleeping bag, hot water bottle, and children bringing food and necessities. She also knows that they can use the bathroom at the St. Edmund’s Hotel across the street as long as someone saves their spot. Dorrie is there to purchase a deluxe fridge-freezer.
The others in line include a couple looking for furniture; Zoltan, a foreigner looking for fur coats to resell; Lucy Bone who is revealed to be the estranged daughter of Lucian Bonnard, owner of the store; her companion, Sakim, who proves to be a not very nice man; and Tony Adair, a would-be filmmaker hoping to buy camera equipment.
Dorrie enjoys camping out to become acquainted with the others in line, but this group isn’t as sociable as she would like. Lucy doesn’t want anyone to find out who she is, but her father and his fiancée, Maggie, recognize her from a photo and try to make contact with her by hosting a cocktail party for those in line.
Lucian and Maggie think Lucy is going to do something to cause a scandal. She is a spoiled girl who has come between her father and possible wives in the past, and Maggie is worried.
The ending is foreshadowed but not exactly in the way anticipated. The action is presented quickly in the final chapter so don’t peek.
This suspense story hints at trouble early on and builds by letting the reader become acquainted with the characters before revealing the crime at the end.
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