Agatha’s homespun sleuth!

-

Murder at Mallowan Hall (Phyllida Bright Mystery #1) by Colleen Cambridge           

⭐️⭐️⭐️⭐️




Fascinating beginning of a Cozy Mystery series where the sleuth is Agatha Christie’s housekeeper.

Weaving in and of aspects of Christie’s personal life, her literary characters and books, this quirky use of Agatha Christie the person as the backdrop for a new suite of cozy mysteries is rather brilliant.

A body is found in the Christie’s library, stabbed with a fountain pen. The house is fill of recently arrived guests and their various staff members for a house party at Mallowan Hall.

The murderer could be anyone. When a second death occurs things are really shaken up.

Phyllida Bright, Mallowan Hall’s housekeeper, realises she will have to take charge of finding the murderer, particularly as her friend and employer Agatha has asked it of her. (And the whys and wherefores of that friendship will be interesting!) 

Of course there’s the requisite Inspector who’s maybe a tad like Pirot’s Inspector Japp.Phyllida has a touch of Jane Marple combined with Pirot’s love of using our little grey matter.

Then there’s the mysterious chauffeur. I keep seeing the chauffeur from Upstairs Downstairs.

A cast of characters that I’m sure will bloom, all stereotypes with ingenious twists.

First rate action, some comical twists and interestingly modern thoughts, all combine to make this a series I’m looking forward to reading more of.


A Kensington ARC via NetGalley 

Comments

Post a Comment

Popular posts from this blog

Things aren’t as they seem!

-
Image
A Murderous Tryst  (Beatrice Hyde-Care Mystery #11) by Lynn Messina    ⭐️⭐️⭐️⭐️ Oh my! Bea certainly has a lot to contend with. Bea’s rattled! The Duke has been missing from their bed for a night. When a distraught Bea come downstairs the next morning she finds her beloved husband Damien clasped in the arms of a glamorous female. A female who turns out to be Kesgrave’s first mistress, Mrs. Penelope Taylor! What?! Of course Bea’s heart sinks and she falls back on her painful memories of Aunt Vera’s responses to such a situation. Bea is both shaken and traumatised, but determined not to show it.  It seems Penny has been accused of murder. Actually  Penny’s desperately trying to avoid Newgate.    As a former mistress Penny does the unthinkable thing in society’s eyes. She asks for help from Bea. Bea’s response is just as shocking. She says yes. Kesgrave is as usual inscrutable. Of course this is the beginning of a harebrained chase, complications between Bea  and Amien,  and an investiga
Read more

Women in war—Internment by the Japanese 1942-45.

-
Image
Sisters Under the Rising Sun  by Heather Morris    ⭐️⭐️⭐️⭐️⭐️ A fitting tribute to the women interred by the Japanese in Indonesia and Malaya during 1942 until liberation in 1945. Amongst the internees are a group of Australian Army nurses who were not given recognition by the Japanese as members of the armed forces and therefore not prisoners of war according to the Conventions of war.  Sister Vivian Bullwinkle is the only survivor of the massacre of a group of soldiers and nurses on Radji Beach, Bangka Island near Sumatra  in 1942, after the sinking of  HMS Vyner Brooke. There are a number of civilian prisoners in the camps like Norah Chambers and her sister Ena.  Combined, the story of these women interred under terrible conditions, their struggles and achievements are monumental.  Their gifts to their fellows beyond speech. Music plays an important part in uplifting the prisoners’ spirits. It’s truly a privilege to read about their plight, their vows to each other, and their braver
Read more

The Three Muscateers—three widows, three sets of different circumstances

-
Image
The Widows' Wine Club  by Julia Jarman    ⭐️⭐️⭐️ Different enough to be interesting but I kept losing which character was which. I almost feel I need to read it again to follow who’s who. I do know that three women came together to form a support group, going to the pub for lunch etc. Better than the local widow’s group in the church hall.  All three had recently lost their husbands and now had to find a way to face their new lives. Viv Halliday is a knowledgeable gardener. Zelda Fielding is setting herself up with internet dates and searching the web for her unknown father. Janet had a controlling husband who it turned out was having affairs, and their son is just as controlling. How their lives unfold is the new challenge. A Boldwood Books ARC via NetGalley.                                               Many thanks to the author and publisher.
Read more