Potpourri Book Club explores mystery in Kenya

Potpourri Book Club members met for the final book review of the club year recently, and it did not disappoint. “Intriguing Scandals and Mysteries” was the club’s year-long theme, and the books that were reviewed offered glimpses into lives of fascinating people, with an emphasis on great wealth and insanity.

For the final review, Martha Hayden gave a review of “White Mischief” by James Fox.

As Hayden explained, “You have the murder of an English nobleman that is never solved, a decadent lifestyle that is almost unbelievable, and set it all in a country as mysterious as Kenya – how can you miss?”

“There were many suspects to this murder, frankly because there were so many people who were happy to see Hay dead,” Hayden explained. “The primary suspect, Sir Henry Broughton, was tried and acquitted of the crime.”

“White Mischief” is actually written in two parts, according to Hayden. One part deals with the lifestyle of this group and the murder, and the second part deals with research into the murder conducted by Fox and others several decades after the event. Hayden explained that Fox offers several possible answers to the mystery, but there is no credible evidence --- yet – to prove who killed Hay.

The gathering was held in the lovely north Monroe home of Joy Loomis. Loomis – together with co-hostesses Denise Smith, Allison Cattar, and Lisa Nelson – offered an afternoon menu that had something for everyone. The ladies centered the dining table with twin arrangements of roses, baby’s breath, carnations, and mums in hues ranging from rosy pink to pale tangerine. Included among the food temptations were spicy cheese straws, petite lemon shortbreads, and clever iced cookies sporting question marks, magnifying glasses, and fingerprints as decorations. Tea infused with fresh mint and coffee completed the offering.