Aiding and Abetting by Muriel Spark (2001)

Two patients of a psychiatrist each claim to be an aristocrat who 25 years earlier killed his children's nanny and attempted to kill his wife; the psychiatrist too has a secret from a previous life, which the patients threaten to expose. The game is afoot! 

Book Review:  Aiding and Abetting was written when Muriel Spark was 82, and here she still retains much of the spark that made her great, writing a comedic mystery adventure that addresses the moral ambiguity of the characters' actions. The book, partially based on an actual murder allegedly committed by the seventh Earl of Lucan in 1974, weaves in ineffectual searches for the Earl, a stigmatic con-woman, a double, love, and the wealthy and upper class aiders and abettors who financed the Earl's escape and exile. The Earl, if he is the Earl, has been on the run for decades, assisted by those of his class who seem to have no compunction that an innocent girl died in a massively bloody mess. The stigmatic con-woman actually cured some believers through the validating blood of her miracles. Blood is the bond between the man who killed and the woman who healed. Then the psychiatrist too goes on the run and into hiding. Conflict emerges between the two Earls. Muriel Spark orchestrates an intricately intellectual cat-and-mouse game, with the identities of cat and mouse interchangeable. Swirling around the periphery of Aiding and Abetting are those chasing the Earl, those still alive who knew the Earl then, and the psychiatrist's baffled patients. Although a quick and enjoyable read, I'm not sure I'd place Aiding and Abetting in the top tier of Muriel Spark's books. But it contains enough of her talents and virtues to recommend to any reader who succumbs to the wit and brilliance of this great author. [3.5 Stars]