Oh, Sophie Hannah, you’ve done it again. You make ordinary life so very creepy. For anyone unfamiliar with this prolific writer from Cambridge, England, be prepared for a feast when you discover the trove of Sophie Hannah books available at your local library.
Hannah has been writing for more than 30 years and has an extensive assortment of non-fiction, poetry, picture books, and edited collections to her credit. In 2014, she published The Monogram Murders, a new Agatha Christie novel approved by Christie’s family and estate. To date, there have been three more installments to this series which features Christie’s quirky but brilliant Belgian detective Hercule Poirot. This description would also be apt for Hannah’s own creation, the police detective Simon Waterhouse, who, with his police sergeant wife, Charlie Zailer, are the main characters in her best-loved series . The Couple at the Table is the 12th book in this psychological thriller series which began with Little Face in 2006.
The novel is set half a year after a seemingly unsolvable murder takes place at a luxurious but cozy resort built on an old English country estate. The resort consists of individual guest cottages with shared dining and pool areas, as well as walking paths and a nearby swimming pond. Six couples, which include Simon and Charlie, had been enjoying the bucolic pleasures of the sleepy resort when the murder took place. The murder victim had been on her honeymoon and appeared to take pleasure in spewing vitriol at every opportunity, whether warranted or not.
The day of the murder, the unsympathetic victim receives a note warning her of the couple at the next table, a frustrating clue since no table in the dining area is any closer to one as to any other. The victim spends much of her day making enemies of friends and strangers alike, trying to uncover the identity of the note writer, and generally making the day horrible for all. The tension is palpable as the couples sit down to dinner that evening. “[S]omehow the drama felt very much in progress. Simon knew it was a symptom of trauma: waiting for the next bad thing to happen.” The next bad thing ended up being the murder, of course.
One of the most enjoyable aspects of these novels is the character development displayed by Hannah, who takes us on evolutionary journeys with several main characters over the course of this series. The camaraderie and joshing between Simon and Charlie and the other detectives under the “Snowman,” the police station’s frosty chief who takes pleasure in the belittlement of his subordinates, is compelling. Charlie’s saucy personality shines through in statements like: “Give me gin. I need it. Oh, gin, how I love you!” Simon has many peculiarities related to his upbringing and social anxiety, and it is amusing to watch as his wife points these out to him or to herself. “Face it Zailer: you married a weirdo.” At one point Charlie asks to take a different vacation when the murder case is solved since their first was interrupted, and Simon agrees to go abroad. But Charlie is skeptical. Plans are easily upended after Simon talks to his worry-prone mother. “You won’t have a late-night chat with your mother and then ambush me with a load of plane crash statistics?” Charlie’s no-nonsense approach to Simon’s foibles provides much comic relief.
This novel reminded me of the old closed pool of suspects with the detectives actually on-scene at the time of the murder. Despite this, even the gifted Simon Waterhouse takes longer than usual to get to the bottom of the case. In the end, we are treated to a parlor room reveal of the circumstances and motive behind the murder with all players in attendance. The result is satisfying, as always when in the grips of a Sophie Hannah mystery. ◀
Megan McLean is an environmental scientist and mother of four teenagers who spends her free time reading and biking. She lives in Santa Fe.
