Andromeda Fox: Deathbringer

Deathbringer is the first book in the contemporary Andromeda Fox mystery series by author Magda Jozsa. Andromeda (Andy) is the son of wealthy real estate tycoon Chalmers Fox. He lives in a luxury apartment in St Kilda with Mathilda (Tildy) Harris, ostensibly employed as his bodyguard (Thanks to his sister having been abducted and killed some ten years earlier). He's a carefree irresponsible idler living on a generous allowance from his parents and indulging in his passion for art. However, he does possess some redeeming qualities in that when his father is targeted by a killer known only as Deathbringer, he enlists Mathilda’s aid to try and find out Deathbringer's identity and protect Fox Senior before he is murdered. As his father is keeping his problems to himself and not confiding in his family, Andy has to find a way of finding out what is going on. Andy astonishes him by coming to work for him as way of keeping tabs on him and providing an opportunity to search his office for information. They learn that Deathbringer has a pay or die policy with direct threats made against the Fox family unless Chalmers pays up. During the course of their investigation they notice that at every money drop there is an elderly couple, nuns and schoolchildren, with the oldies at the top of the list due to their suspicious behaviour. While Andy is at work, Mathilda keeps surveillance on his father when he is out of the office and despite keeping close tabs on him they still fail to spot Deathbringer during a money drop. Mathilda taks this failure to heart, while Andy tries to reassure her. She is determined at all costs to catch Deathbringer, to prove to Andy and her father that she has what it takes. While seeming to fail at every turn, they soon realize they are getting close when an attempt is made on Tildy's life. It is a mad dash at the end when Mathilda finally figures it all out, leading to a desperate dash across Melbourne to save the lives of Andy's parents. Throughout it all, Andy starts to see each Mathilda in a different light, much to her delight as she is secretly in love with him, while and Andy surprises everyone by becoming a responsible mature adult much to the gratification of his father.