A Lovely Day to Die and Other Stories

"Celia Fremlin's excellent English mysteries always center on some apparently average, "normal" family situation gone terribly awry," said Publishers Weekly in praise of her novel With No Crying. Certainly no less may be said of the latest book by this Edgar Award-winning writer - thirteen new short mysteries from a modern master of irony. In the title story, a woman must come to terms with her senile, bedridden mother, and the promise made to her years before, to choose for her "A Lovely Day to Die" - a day that turns to nightmare. "Dangerous Sport" tells of a cynical mistress who decides to play a few games of her own with her duplicitous lover, only to discover that the stakes are somewhat higher than she'd anticipated. "A Case of Maximum Need" aptly demonstrates one of the deadlier disadvantages of modern communications; while "Etiquette for Dying" outlines the finer points of dropping dead at dinner. These and the ten other meticulously crafted stories are sure to frighten and delight-with each one featuring the special psychological twists that have become Celia Fremlin's trademark.