The Family Vault

Charlotte MacLeod

Oct 2012 · The Sarah Kelling and Max Bittersohn Mysteries Book 1 · Open Road Media

About this ebook

An aging stripper’s fresh corpse turns up in an old family tomb at Boston Common in this “first-rate suspense whodunit” (The Cincinnati Post).
 
Like many old New England families, the Kellings live to die. Although their family vault is spacious and comfortable, it will not do for Sarah Kelling’s Great-Uncle Frederick. In his will, he demands to be buried inside the ancient family tomb at Boston Common, which hasn’t admitted a new member in over a century. But when the Kellings crack the old vault’s door, they find a recently built brick wall—and behind it lays a surprisingly fresh corpse, a skeleton with rubies in its teeth.

Her name was Ruby Redd, and many years ago she was the toast of Boston’s burlesque scene. Her murder case is ice cold, but when Sarah begins investigating it, she finds that the fiery passions behind Ruby’s death still burn white hot. With the help of art-fraud investigator Max Bittersohn, Sarah will solve the mystery of the stripper’s murder—or take her own place in the family vault.

Ratings and reviews

An excellent little cozy mystery, but with somewhat different characters than Peter Shandy or Madoc Rhys. Sarah Kelling leaps off the page right from the beginning. Max Bittersohn doesn't make much of an appearance until late in the tale, but ends up being a rather nice character. Caroline comes across as a domineering old bitty. And Alexander is lackluster. The tale is all told around Sarah though. She's the main character and the rest are just supporting. She's brave, but unsure of herself and the people around her. She's also somewhat naive and lucky to get away with her own life at times. What's she's gone through makes her much more of a sympathetic character than Caroline. The twists and turns, the red herrings and uncertainty as Sarah contemplates everyone as a suspect make for an interesting read. Though at times it got to be a little too much, hence the reason I gave it 4 instead of 5 stars. Because she does contemplate everyone. I was also expecting Max Bittersohn to have a more prominent role. The pacing was pretty good except for that little part in the middle where she's suspecting everyone. I'm definitely looking forward to reading more of the series. The eBook was formatted well with no obvious spelling/grammar mistakes. Once again, she expanded my vocabulary. I had to look up "swivet".

historical-fiction, art-fraud, murder, cozy-mystery, situational-humor, verbal-humor Written in 1982, the details rank as historical. The publisher's blurb is somewhat off, but don't let that stop you from enjoying this delightful cozy! The long suffering Sarah and her beloved older husband Alexander have been victimized and swindled for years and didn't even know it. Then things get even worse, but there is plenty of humor to lighten it up. If you've never read this book or others in the series, do yourself a favor and read now!

About the author

Charlotte MacLeod (1922–2005) was an international-bestselling author of cozy mysteries. Born in Canada, she moved to Boston as a child and lived in New England most of her life. After graduating from college, she made a career in advertising, writing copy for the Stop & Shop Supermarket Company before moving on to Boston firm N. H. Miller & Co., where she rose to the rank of vice president. In her spare time, MacLeod wrote short stories, and in 1964 she published her first novel, a children’s book called Mystery of the White Knight.
  In Rest You Merry (1978), MacLeod introduced Professor Peter Shandy, a horticulturist and amateur sleuth whose adventures she would chronicle for two decades. The Family Vault (1979) marked the first appearance of her other best-known characters: the husband and wife sleuthing team Sarah Kelling and Max Bittersohn, whom she followed until her last novel, The Balloon Man, in 1998.