In the third book in the Mitford Murders series, lady’s maid Louisa Cannon accompanies Diana Mitford into a turbulent late 1920s Europe. The year is 1928, and after the death of a maid at a glamorous society party, fortune heir Bryan Guinness seizes life and proposes to eighteen-year-old Diana, most beautiful of the six Mitford sisters. The maid’s death is ruled an accident, and the newlyweds … and the newlyweds put it behind them to begin a whirlwind life zipping between London’s Mayfair, chic Paris and hedonistic Berlin. Accompanying Diana as her lady’s maid is Louisa Cannon, as well as a coterie of friends, family and hangers on, from Nancy Mitford to Evelyn Waugh.
When a second victim is found in Paris in 1931, Louisa begins to see links with the death of the maid. Now she must convince the Mitford sisters that a murderer could be within their midst . . . all while shadows darken across Europe, and within the heart of Diana Mitford herself.
more
Read 1.20.2020
The first of these books was really good. I was pleasantly surprised and looked forward to book 2. Which was NOT really good. It was just okay. But it was good enough that I was willing to read this when I got the ARC of it. Sigh.
Once again, Louisa is the main character and once again, she is back in service to The Mitford Family, this time as a Lady’s Maid to Diana, who has married Bryan Guinness [of the beer family]. The book starts in 1928 [with a party and a murder] and ends in 1932 [with a declaration of love, a murderer caught and Louisa making a rather rash decision], with a LOT of jumping around to different places and times. One section could start in a month and then the next section will start a new year and there was a lot of empty space and time that was just left hanging. It was hard to get into the cadence of the story when it is jumping around like that it makes it hard to really get interesting or really *KNOW* the characters when this jumping around is going on. Even all that was going on with Louisa was hard to get interested in because I was just trying to keep track of where they were, who they were with and just what bloody year it was.
AND [and this might just be a nitpicky thing on my part], how many ways can “we” dramatically end a chapter? Plenty, if this book is any indication, though after 6 or 7 of nearly the same dramatic sentences, it became quite eye-rolling and tediously repetitive.
THAT said, the mystery [even with the jumping around and such] was good. Once you figured out that there was actually a mystery and what that might be [I am not sure that DS Guy Sullivan would truly have been given that much freedom to continue to pursue the avenues of questioning years after the events happened], it became a decent read. Though, again, I felt it was about 100 pages too long [there is just only so much about the “bright young people” that one wants to read about], it was, for the most part, a decent read, once you figured out that there was an actual mystery.
And I will say that all I learned about Diana [both here and what I later read online about her] was both a bit shocking and sad. I don’t think that she was a particularly nice person.
IF there is another book, I may read it because, even with my complaints, I like Louisa Cannon very much. She is a great character that almost deserves a better story-line than the Mitford Sisters. And I like her and Guy’s story together as well. We shall see if there is another book.
Thank you to NetGalley and St. Martin Press/Minotaur Books for providing this ARC in exchange for an honest review.
This is the third in a series of mysteries featuring Louisa Cannon, employee; and the Mitford sisters, part of the wealthy and famous of Great Britain at the height of the roaring twenties. The mystery here is complete within this novel and there is sufficient information about the relationships between characters to understand how their lives are interconnected. That said, the book can most likely be best enjoyed by reading the series to experience how characters and situations develop.
The mystery itself is well crafted and various situations, characters and events have been inspired by historically true events. At the end of the novel there are explanations for those who are interested regarding the real-life cases that were used to develop this story. This is an added bonus for anyone who may have an interest in the era and desire to do their own research.
Ms. Fellowes does an excellent job of creating the atmosphere of the age such that the reader has no difficulty creating pictures in their head as they read of fabulous parties, magnificent homes, and travel. In addition, Fellowes has effectively pulled back the curtain on people to give her interpretation of moods, ideas, and activities. In short, it is only a short leap to imagine this book series becoming a mini-series for television much in the same vein as Ms. Fellowes’ previous works.
While it is possible to put the book down when other activities interrupt reading, the images are likely to remain with the reader and draw them back to the book as soon as possible. Louisa Cannon is sympathetic and likable, and the reader can easily become engaged in wanting to follow her personal activities above and beyond the mystery of why members of the ‘bright young things’ set keep dying. There is ample opportunity to see life in the 20’s from both the servants point of view and that of the idle rich.
As for the mystery itself, it begins with the death of a maid and then goes on to involve the deaths of several wealthy young people, members of Louisa’s employer Diana’s set. While the story is largely viewed from Louisa’s point of view, along with her policeman friend, Guy, there are glimpses of the glamorous parties and the decadent lifestyle led by Diana and other members of her social escheleon. While the murderer is basically in plain sight through most of the novel, there are a couple of twists that, if the reader has not been carefully attending to information provided, will come as a surprise. A veteran reader of mysteries will have an advantage if they want to solve the murder, and the book is also enjoyable for anyone who simply wants to slip back to another place and time and experience a bygone era.
I would recommend this book to anyone who likes to read historical fiction as well as anyone who likes as well-crafted mystery. The characters are fully formed and their appearance, the description of places, etc. is skillfully woven in throughout the story in a way that makes the entire work move effortlessly from beginning to end. The only issue that brought me out of the story were the few occasions when Fellows would end a chapter, or mention within the story something to the effect that “things are about to happen”. When I came upon these phrases it was as if I was being reminded there is a modern day person who is penning this story, which momentarily took me out of the tale itself. Except for those occasions, I could have easily spent several hours immersed in the late ‘20’s and early ‘30’s. My thanks to St. Martin’s Press and NetGalley for providing me with an advanced digital read copy of this book in exchange for an unbiased review.
historical-novel, historical-places-events, historical-research, historical-figures, mystery
As a travelog, sociological study, and fictionalized history of a particular family and time period in Europe, it is excellent. As a mystery with a side serving of romance it is far less so. Perhaps it’s just because it is not to my personal taste, as I am certain that a large audience would be absolutely delighted with it.
I requested and received a free ebook copy from St Martin’s Press / Minotaur Books via NetGalley.