The Hunt for Sonya Dufrette

by: R. T. Raichev

Published by: SohoConstable

Reviewed by Shawn Remfrey

Twenty years previously, Antonia Darcy attended a party where young Sonya Dufrette, a mentally disabled child, came up missing and was presumed dead. They had all been spending the weekend at the Mortlock townhouse to celebrate the wedding of the new Princess Diana. Before the wedding, Antonia had shown a small interest in Sonya, taking her to pick flowers and showing her the river that flowed along the land. When Sonya comes up missing, the police believe she may have drowned in that very river.

Now Antonia is reminded of young Sonya Dufrette and decides it’s her mission to find out what actually happened to her. A small amount of guilt has rested on her shoulders all these years. In an attempt to find out exactly who killed Sonya, she goes back through her journals and starts looking up the party members to investigate.

This book was dry, dull, and dreary. In the very beginning author Raichev tells us the outcome of the mystery, so there is actually no mystery whatsoever to solve. What we find are lifeless characters that we have to follow throughout the book trying to come up with the same conclusion, and without humor. Antonia proves herself an unworthy main character through her bumbling attempts at piecing the puzzle together and her lack of common sense.

I think if the characters had at least had a few humorous moments, it would have helped tremendously. Instead I found myself flipping page after page and trying to remember why I was bothering with it. The entire lack of a mystery in a mystery book disappointed me. The one thing that really bothered me most about this book is that the front cover bills it as an enjoyable book for Agatha Christie fans. Being an Agatha Christie fan, I can tell you that this was flat out not true. This book has nothing in common with the famed Christie books. Antonia is definitely no Poirot.

Overall, a complete disappointment.

Armchair Interviews says: Heed this reviewer’s comments.