Death in a department store!

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Murder at the Queen's Old Castle: A Mystery Set in 1920's Ireland (A Reverend Mother Mystery #6)
by Cora Harrison    
"Murder [thought the Reverend Mother] was like a cancer. Its tentacles spread out and infected those who had been touched by it." And nothing is truer than for this murder.
A man dead from gas inhalation in the Queen's Old Castle, a grand name for a local department store in Cork. A young boy accused of murder by the distracted widow. A fractured family kept under the thumb by their tyrannical father, Joseph Fitzwilliam, are all disinherited and thrown over for the favorite son.
Detective Patrick Cashman has his hands full, Eileen MacSweeney is in the mix and the Reverend Mother has an eye on all the participants.
There are some wonderful touches including the whizzing around of the money canisters. I remember them from my childhood in an antiquated favorite store. I was just as fascinated as Brian Moloney.
As a side note the practice of apprenticeship and employment in Cork during the 1920's comes under scrutiny. Harrison has once again given us meat to chew on in this murder mystery set in the Ireland of these times. A pleasing read with my favorites out sleuthing. I love the wisdom and compassion of the Reverend Mother.
Things don't quite turn out in the normal way but as Reverend Mother reflects with a quote from Thomas Aquinas: "For the sake of the community, murder must never be tolerated."
Another great Irish historical crime read!

 A NetGalley ARC

*****

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