The Body on the Doorstep by A.J. Mackenzie, Book Review
Do you feel you never fulfilled your potential, that you are merely treading water or marking time? Inject some excitement into your life by meddling in a dangerous web of intrigue, stick your nose in where it’s not wanted, like in a dangerous smuggling ring, for example. At least that’s what the Reverend Hardcastle, vicar in Romney Marsh, Kent does. I guess midlife crisis in 1796 affected people in pretty much the same way as it does today. If it makes you reach for the bottle more often than is good for you, if you are disillusioned with your stalled career and are pining for excitement and a way to use your considerable acumen and intelligence, then you and Reverend Hardcastle have much in common. In ‘The Body on the Doorstep’ it’s hard to tell what adds more frisson to our protagonist’s life: the uncovering of a dastardly plot, the discovery of a murdered body on his doorstep or the collaboration with the lively widow Mrs Chaytor. It’s a dangerous business gathering info...