(8/10 stars)

“But everybody adored Miranda.” I repeated mechanically an article of faith I was beginning to question.

“Everybody admired her,” he corrected me. “Miranda was the woman on the pedestal. The trouble with pedestals is you’ve got to stay there. You can’t relax.”

Jane and Dagobert Brown are enjoying their American road trip, until Dagobert suggests looking up his old flame Miranda Ross, as they just happen to be in New Mexico. Jane is less than enthused. At first it appears that Miranda doesn’t want to see them, either, until she unexpectedly changes her mind and invites them to visit her ranch.

It quickly becomes obvious that relations are strained at the Palo Alto Ranch. And why is it taking so long for their hostess to appear? “She said you’d be interested in Palo Alto because—well, because she says there’s going to be a murder.” Miranda’s prediction comes true, in ways no one could have expected. Continue reading “Murder Begins at Home (1949) by Delano Ames”