The Night in Question

How do you solve a murder? Follow the lessons of the master--Agatha Christie! Iris and Alice find themselves in the middle of another Castle Cove mystery in the sequel to A A Last October, Alice Ogilvie''s ex-best friend, Brooke Donovan, was killed--and if it weren''t for Alice''s unlikely alliance with her tutor, Iris Adams, and her library of the complete works of Agatha Christie, the wrong person would almost certainly be sitting in prison for the crime. The Castle Cove police aren''t exactly great at solving crimes. In fact, they''re notorious for Which is why, on the night of Castle Cove High''s annual Sadie Hawkins dance, Alice takes the opportunity to explore Levy Castle--the site of one of Castle Cove''s most infamous deaths. Mona Moody--­the classic film star--died there almost a century ago, and Alice is pretty sure the police got that invest­igation wrong, too. But before she can even think about digging deeper, she walks right into the scene of a The Castle Cove Police Department thinks it''s an open-and-shut case, but Alice and Iris are sure it can''t be that simple. Park isn''t a murderer--and the girls know all too well that in life, and in mysteries, things are rarely what they appear to be. To understand the present, sometimes you need to look to the past.; Castle Cove is full of secrets, and Alice and Iris are about to uncover one of its biggest--and most dangerous--secrets of all.

Auteur

Kathleen Glasgow is the New York Times bestselling author of Girl in Pieces, How to Make Friends with the Dark, and You'd Be Home Now, as well as The Agathas, cowritten with Liz Lawson. She lives and writes in Tucson, Arizona.

Liz Lawson is the New York Times bestselling author of The Agathas (with Kathleen Glasgow) and The Lucky Ones. Liz lives with her family and two very bratty cats. You can find her on TikTok, Instagram, and Twitter at @lzlwsn.

Texte du rabat

*How do you solve a murder? Follow the lessons of the master—Agatha Christie! Iris and Alice find themselves in the middle of another Castle Cove mystery in the sequel to *New York Times bestseller The Agathas, by powerhouse authors Kathleen Glasgow and Liz Lawson.

A PEOPLE MAGAZINE BEST BOOK OF SUMMER
A READ WITH JENNA JR. SELECTION

Last October, Alice Ogilvie's ex-best friend, Brooke Donovan, was killed—and if it weren't for Alice's unlikely alliance with her tutor, Iris Adams, and her library of the complete works of Agatha Christie, the wrong person would almost certainly be sitting in prison for the crime. The Castle Cove police aren't exactly great at solving crimes. In fact, they're notorious for not solving crimes.

Which is why, on the night of Castle Cove High's annual Sadie Hawkins dance, Alice takes the opportunity to explore Levy Castle—the site of one of Castle Cove's most infamous deaths. Mona Moody—­the classic film star—died there almost a century ago, and Alice is pretty sure the police got that invest­igation wrong, too. But before she can even think about digging deeper, she walks right into the scene of a new crime. Rebecca Kennedy, on the ground in a pool of blood. And standing over Kennedy? Another one of Alice's ex-friends—Helen Park.

The Castle Cove Police Department thinks it's an open-and-shut case, but Alice and Iris are sure it can't be that simple. Park isn't a murderer—and the girls know all too well that in life, and in mysteries, things are rarely what they appear to be. To understand the present, sometimes you need to look to the past.

Castle Cove is full of secrets, and Alice and Iris are about to uncover one of its biggest—and most dangerous—secrets of all.

Échantillon de lecture
CHAPTER ONE

Alice Ogilvie

February 11

9:02 p.m.

“I’m not often bored,” I assured her. “Life’s not long enough for that.”

--Agatha Christie, Murder in Mesopotamia

Brooke Donovan is staring at me from across the room.

She’s wearing the dress we picked out in LA freshman year, when her mom drove us down there to go shopping for prom. The two of us were the only freshmen invited that year, much to the chagrin of our mutual friend, Rebecca Kennedy.

She looks good, Brooke, fresh and happy, smiling and carefree.

I crumple a cocktail napkin into a tight little ball in my hand. Whoever decided to hang a giant portrait of her in here should be stabbed.

Tearing my eyes away from Brooke’s picture, I survey the ballroom. It’s filled with my classmates from Castle Cove High School, all in various stages of celebration, all here for the annual Sadie Hawkins dance. To my left, a group of guys from the basketball team huddle together in a circle, not-so-slyly passing a silver flask between them. To my right, couples are dry humping on the dance floor.

I frown.

We’re at Levy Castle, for god’s sake. Some respect should be shown to its past. The site of elegant balls for almost a hundred years, a place where Old Hollywood used to come and play. Charles W. Levy would be rolling over in his grave if he knew what this room is being used for now.

As Brooke’s best friend, I grew up listening to all sorts of tales about Brooke’s great-grandfather. He spent millions of dollars building Levy Castle. It’s five stories and sixty thousand square feet of opulence. And with eighteen bedrooms, three pools, two kitchens, and secret passages extending throughout, it basically put the tiny town of Castle Cove on the map. It was also where the film star Mona Moody lived for a few short years, until her untimely death on Castle grounds at the age of twenty.

Mona Moody, with her platinum blond hair, baby-blue eyes, and the husky, sexy voice that made her famous. After several years starring in popcorn flicks, she was all set to break out in her first serious film as the titular role in Jane Eyre, but tragically fell off the Castle’s side balcony just before filming started.

According to the internet, she and Charles Levy had a brief but super intense love affair, and he was so broken up by her death that eventually his own life collapsed around him: he lost everything he’d worked so hard for over the years when he was arrested for embezzlement and spent the rest of his days in prison.

Ever since I was little, I’ve been fascinated by Mona Moody’s life and death, and tonight is my chance to sneak upstairs to see her private quarters.

I turn to try to find Iris, when raised voices pull my attention to the massive DJ booth Rebecca Kennedy’s dad had built for the dance. According to Kennedy, it’s the only way DJ Porcini would agree to play tonight.

I pop up on my toes for a better look, and I’m entirely unsurprised to spot the very same Kennedy arguing with my other former friend Helen Park. They’re both wearing this season’s Natasha Matte off-the-shoulder satin gown in blue, the only difference being the obnoxiously expensive necklace around Kennedy’s neck.

I let out a sigh. This won’t end well. Ever since Brooke died last fall, the two of them can’t seem to hold it together to save their lives. Clearly, they forgot to consult with each other about what they were going to wear tonight. Which is, like, Dance Etiquette 101.

Through the crowd, I spot Ashley Henderson. She’s watching them, probably trying to figure out a way to interject herself into the drama. She thrives on this stuff; says it’s good for her craft, since she desperately wants to be an actress. Mostly, though, I think she’s just nosy. I never really meshed with Henderson, so it’s a relief not to have to pretend to be friends with her anymore. Which goes for all…