Lady Phoebe Renshaw and her lady’s maid, Eva Huntford, encounter an uncharitable killer at a charity luncheon sponsored by a posh school for girls . . . Good deeds build good character, and good character is what the Haverleigh School for Young Ladies is all about. Lady Phoebe—with the tireless assistance of Eva—has organized a luncheon to benefit wounded veterans of the Great War, encouraging … the Great War, encouraging the students to participate in the cooking and the baking. But too many cooks add up to a recipe for disaster when the school’s headmistress, Miss Finch, is fatally poisoned.
The girls at Haverleigh all come from highly respected English families, none of whom will countenance their darling daughters being harassed like common criminals by the local police. So Lady Phoebe steps in to handle the wealthy young debutantes with tact and discretion, while Eva cozies up to the staff. No one is above suspicion, not even members of the school’s governing body, some of whom objected to Miss Finch’s “modern” methods. But Lady Phoebe and Eva will have to sleuth with great stealth—or an elusive killer may try to teach someone else a lethal lesson . . .
“Colorful information on the postwar period is combined with plenty of suspects, all neatly wrapped up in the style of a classic mystery.”
—Kirkus Reviews
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Although I received a copy of this book from the publisher via netgalley, all opinions remain my own.
This historical mystery has just a dash of romance in it, all very proper though. This book is very true to the time period and I was able to feel how life was. The heroines of the story were so different from each other but were really great together. The connection between them, very strong A lady and her house maid helping to solve mysteries. This is book two in a series, but you wouldn’t know that with how the story flows. I loved that I could read this book without having read book one. Although having read book two, I want to read the first book now! Really enjoyed the mystery in this book as well. Kept me guessing over and over “who dunnit” and at the end, it was believable but still surprising.
“A Pinch of Poison” earns 5/5 Madeira Cakes With a Pot of Earl Grey!
The world has been at war, but on November 11, 1918, the armistice between the Allies and Germany ended the conflict. The residents of Foxwood Hall, upstairs and below, find it all bittersweet since many of their own have been scarred and others will never return. Lady Phoebe Renshaw is not immune since the war took her father, and with her mother having died years before that in childbirth, she and her three siblings are under the watchful eye of their grandparents, the Earl and Countess of Wroxly, she lovingly referred to as ”Grams.”
Lady Phoebe Renshaw is the second oldest and quite the modern lady, educated, and not easily pigeon-holed into society’s norms of marriage and aristocratic diversions. She and Eva, the lady’s maid for the three young Renshaw sisters, recognize their individual strengths supported by their position in society creating a unique partnership, and although a thorn in the side of local law enforcement, very successful in investigating why murder has joined them in Little Barlow.
It’s been a year, and I desperately needed a Downton Abbey fix. I found it in Alyssa Maxwell’s “A Pinch of Poison,” the second book in a Lady and Lady’s Maid Mystery series. More than an entertaining mystery, Alyssa has furnished a marvelous look into the aristocracy and life immediately after WWI with the Countess’s traditional views of a woman’s place, the eldest sister’s portrayal of entitlement, Eva’s loyalty and below stairs service, and Lady Phoebe’s ‘modern woman’ ideals. I was delighted in the contrast in the relationship between Lady Phoebe and Eva because, even though the boundaries were clear, their partnership was more of equals sharing responsibilities and respect for each other’s opinions. The dialogue is very realistic and often helps to illustrate the character very well; descriptions are detailed and helps to transport the reader to post-war Britain. I loved this book so much I immediately went to “Murder Most Malicious,” book one in the series set a few months earlier at the holidays. She also pens the Gilded Newport Mystery series which provides an entertaining mystery during the late nineteenth century American-style. Alyssa Maxwell has become a favorite author. She is entertaining, engaging, and offers just the right dose of Downton Abbey to keep me very satisfied.