Welcome to Murder Week

An unexpected ticket for a “murder week” in England’s Peak District upends the quiet routine of optician Cath Little in this sturdy reworking of classic British country house mysteries from Dukes (The Last Book Party). When Cath’s estranged mother dies, the Buffalo, N.Y., native discovers that she had purchased tickets to a weeklong British murder mystery party. Unable to cancel the trip, Cath decides to go. At the event she teams up with Wyatt Green, who’s at a crossroads in his marriage, and Amity Clark, a divorced romance writer struggling with writer’s block, to try and win the contest. In the process, she unearths previously unknown details about her mother’s past, and falls for sexy bartender Dev Sharma, who’s staffing the party. Mystery-first readers are likely to find the faux whodunit at the center of the plot perfunctory, and the revelations about Cath’s mother lack punch. Still, the breezy atmosphere and Dukes’s deep knowledge of mystery tropes generate a certain amount of fun. It’s a solid if unspectacular pastiche. Agent: Doug Stewart, Sterling Lord Literistic. (June)