From Publishers Weekly
In their second appearance, following Hope Against Hope , Nick Trevellyan and Alison Hope find that the sleepy English village of Little Hopford is a hotbed of illicit activity--past and present. When sexually generous 19-year-old Frisco Carstairs is fatally strangled, local police inspector Nick knows who would have liked to have wrung the victim's neck: Dot Lawson, who was vehemently opposed to her son Ben's plan to marry Frisco. Yet inquiries into the private lives of the Lawsons (including Dot's husband, Sam, a petty thief) only cloud the issue. Then Molly Armitage, an elderly woman who Nick believes has deliberately obstructed his inquiries, is attacked and nearly strangled to death. Nick is equally stalled off the job as the fiercely independent Alison, who owns a software business, dismisses his marriage proposals while continuing to host an obnoxious houseguest, Londoner Ralph Squires, who is openly contemptuous of "whatsizname . . . the country bobby." Blending mystery and romance and laced with humor, this portrait of English village life is a delight. In fact, its fluid narrative pace makes it easy to overlook the clues Kelly cleverly weaves into her brisk tale. Mystery Guild alternate. Copyright 1992 Reed Business Information, Inc.

From Library Journal
Kelly's second contribution to traditional village mystery confirms the promise of her first. Police Inspector Nick Trevellyan and companion Alison Hope ( Hope Against Hope , Macmillan, 1991) bounce ideas off each other as he attempts to solve the murder of a pleasantly promiscuous woman who only recently announced her engagement. Nick's hunt for clues uncovers hints of smuggling and various shades of romance--including his and Alison's own. Sturdy prose, recognizable local folk, and efficient plotting characterize a compact mystery that belongs in most collections.Copyright 1992 Reed Business Information, Inc.

FROM THE PUBLISHER

Detective Inspector Nick Trevellyan and his elegant lover, businesswoman Alison Hope, should have stayed longer in Venice. They have just returned from a romantic Italian holiday when Nick must take charge of a murder case that profoundly shocks and disturbs their West Country village of Little Hopford. Eighteen-year-old Ben Lawson has worked hard to pass his exams and qualify for college. Only Frisco Carstairs now stands in his way. The young girl - reputed in the village to be essentially amoral in her sexual inclinations - watches smugly as Ben tells his mother that he and Frisco are engaged. Alison and Nick understand only too well the overwhelming power of sexual passion, especially among the young. They also understand that Ben has broken his mother's heart. Is Ben so besotted by Frisco that he will marry her and relinquish his mother's dreams? The diamond on Frisco's finger suggests his answer. "Over my dead body," says Ben's mother, but it's Frisco's body that is found near an isolated country lane. Strangled with her own scarf, vulnerable in death as she never seemed to be in life, Frisco no longer poses a threat to any of the good citizens of Little Hopford. Initially assuming that he has an open-and-shut case, Nick discovers that Alison may hold the key to a crime of passion that is much subtler and more complex than anyone could have guessed. Nick is the professional detective, but it's Alison who often leads the way to the truth. Witty, romantic, evocative of the richness and eccentricity of English village life, Time of Hope confirms Susan B. Kelly's reputation as one of the most promising and original new talents on the crime-writing scene.

FROM THE CRITICS

Publishers Weekly

In their second appearance, following Hope Against Hope , Nick Trevellyan and Alison Hope find that the sleepy English village of Little Hopford is a hotbed of illicit activity--past and present. When sexually generous 19-year-old Frisco Carstairs is fatally strangled, local police inspector Nick knows who would have liked to have wrung the victim's neck: Dot Lawson, who was vehemently opposed to her son Ben's plan to marry Frisco. Yet inquiries into the private lives of the Lawsons (including Dot's husband, Sam, a petty thief) only cloud the issue. Then Molly Armitage, an elderly woman who Nick believes has deliberately obstructed his inquiries, is attacked and nearly strangled to death. Nick is equally stalled off the job as the fiercely independent Alison, who owns a software business, dismisses his marriage proposals while continuing to host an obnoxious houseguest, Londoner Ralph Squires, who is openly contemptuous of ``whatsizname . . . the country bobby.'' Blending mystery and romance and laced with humor, this portrait of English village life is a delight. In fact, its fluid narrative pace makes it easy to overlook the clues Kelly cleverly weaves into her brisk tale. Mystery Guild alternate. (Oct.)

Library Journal

Kelly's second contribution to traditional village mystery confirms the promise of her first. Police Inspector Nick Trevellyan and companion Alison Hope ( Hope Against Hope , Macmillan, 1991) bounce ideas off each other as he attempts to solve the murder of a pleasantly promiscuous woman who only recently announced her engagement. Nick's hunt for clues uncovers hints of smuggling and various shades of romance--including his and Alison's own. Sturdy prose, recognizable local folk, and efficient plotting characterize a compact mystery that belongs in most collections.

BookList - Angus Trimnell