Christine Spindler
Rhythm Of Revenge
An Inspector Terry Mystery
1999
The biggest mystery is often what goes on in the heads of the characters of a book. In this one, the author makes real the members of a dance troupe in London and their significant others as they spill their guts to each other, and to the police, after one of them goes missing.
Jessica, a young and talented tap-dancer, is first missed on the morning of a dress rehearsal which everyone is fairly sure she would not miss voluntarily. Still, there is a concern that difficulties in her marriage to a man twice her age, complicated by the recent revelation of her affairs with members of the dance troupe, may have caused her to run off. The picture painted of Jessica by those interviewed by Inspector Terry in the wake of her disappearance is not a pleasant one. Even her best friend doesn't mince words regarding her worst traits.
Still, her absence has consequences in terms of the success of the dance show. Her dance partner and former lover, David, refuses to dance with the understudy. He is still in love with Jessica, and his attempts to rekindle their relationship shortly before her disappearance casts suspicion on him, as well as on his wife, who revealed the affairs to Jessica's husband. Other members of the troupe fall under suspicion one by one as the story unfolds.
Inspector Terry seems a fine character who will stand to be better developed in subsequent books if this is to be a series in his name. He seems to be able to effortlessly get people to say much more than they intend to, and goes above and beyond the call of duty when dealing with some of the victims of circumstance in this book. The inspector, however, takes a backseat to the other characters in this story.
Ultimately, this story is less about the mystery than how it affected the people involved, and this is one of the qualities that is well exploited in series, which take the time to develop characters throughout different circumstances. I will be looking forward to the opportunity to read the next Inspector Terry mystery.
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