The Case of the Fallen Hero

The death of the bridegroom on the morning after his wedding has Inspector David Graham and his small team investigating the crime in Orgueil Castle on the island of Jersey. In The Case of the Fallen Hero by Alison Golden, What he finds is a fleeing bride, reluctant parents of the bride and an ex-wife. 

Inspector David Graham left big-city policing behind to come to the Channel Islands. His days are now filled with minor offenses, but on a Sunday visit to the Castle, he hears a woman screaming and finds her kneeling over the body of a man. As he approaches the man, he realizes he is beyond help, and then surprisingly enough, the woman flees.

Complicating the investigation is the disappearance of the musical quartet who had been hired to play at the wedding. Having to split his four-person force to handle both issues is difficult, but Graham and Sergeant Harding take the lead on the death.

George Ross, the bridegroom, appears to have fallen or jumped from the battlements of the Castle.  During the investigation, Graham learns the bridal suite was not used and the champagne was still chilling in the ice bucket. There had to be some unusual reason for this.

Further into the investigation he finds an uncooperative mother and father of the bride and a mentally ill sister who turns out to me the ex-wife of the groom. Delving deeper into their past, he learns the bride's family were neighbors of George Ross' family when he was a child. A long-ago murder-suicide factors into the investigation.

As he delves deeper he learns the secret that has been kept for so long and this points the way to a stunning conclusion. Meanwhile the musical quartet has managed to lose its way deeper into the Castle, and their rescue reveals another stunning event.   

An excellent, well plotted mystery.