An invitation to a garden party. The perfect opportunity for Eliza to snoop around her childhood home … until she comes across more than she bargained for…August 1901: Oak House was once Eliza’s home. It was a place of memories, some good … some not so good. Revisiting the place had never occurred to her … until the invitation to the party arrived. And then she couldn’t keep away. Being told … arrived.
And then she couldn’t keep away.
Being told to stay in the garden wasn’t going to stop Eliza and Connie from finding their way indoors. But when the master of the house is found with a bullet wound in his head, they have questions to answer…
The victim’s family have their own ideas about the murder. But who had the most to gain from Mr Hartley’s death?
In a world where secrets and lies are the norm, someone is playing games. Unfortunately for them, they haven’t bargained on Eliza’s past.
Can she use her childhood knowledge of the village to identify the killer before they strike again?
Set in a quintessential, English village, Dying for a Garden Party is the fourth standalone story in the Eliza Thomson Investigates series. If you like Miss Marple-style, historical murder mysteries, and amateur sleuths with attitude, you’ll love this step-back-in-time cozy series.
Get your copy today!
Books in the Eliza Thomson Investigates series:
•A Deadly Tonic
•Murder in Moreton
•Death of an Honourable Gent
•Dying for a Garden Party
•A Scottish Fling
•A Christmas Murder
•The Palace Murder
NB. This series is written in UK English
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Another great turn-of-the-20th-century cozy mystery!
This cozy mystery series is great! I downloaded and read the first book of this series as part of a cozy mystery authors’ giveaway promotion. I am so glad that I did. I enjoyed it so much that I am downloading the remaining books in the “Eliza Thomson Investigates Murder Mystery” series to my KU library. The development of each character as the series progresses is wonderful. I can picture these people in my mind. I feel as though I am living in the story with them.
This book is set in the late summer of 1901. Eliza, the main character, does not observe the behavioral restrictions society has placed on a gentle woman of this time period. She is outspoken, unyielding to tradition, and determined to do as she pleases. And it pleases her to investigate murders. Connie, her widowed best friend, is always close at hand. There are plenty of red herrings in this well-written, entertaining murder mystery. The author provides just enough clues so that, if you pay close attention, you will be able to determine whodunit before the big reveal.
Written in UK English and set in 1901, some American English readers may find following the story confusing at first. However, I assure you that it is worth reading on to the finish. It is an intriguing cozy mystery. A clean, fun, and witty read. I recommend “Dying for a Garden Party” for anyone who loves reading a good mystery.
Once she’d devised a way to get her friend Connie invited to the Oak House Garden Party, Eliza was set for intrigue. It was bound to be an interesting afternoon and Eliza was fully armed with gossip.
A murder, however, was more than she bargained for! As she works her way through the twists and turns to uncover the true murderer, Eliza has no time for the plodding sergeant Cooper. She’s determined to get to the bottom of things herself!
An enjoyable read with familiar friends and a few intriguing new personalities, just enough to keep Eliza guessing. Heartily recommend it!
[I received a copy of this book from the author, for an honest review of the book. The opinions expressed herein are entirely my own.]
An entertaining and thoroughly enjoyable read!
September 23, 2019
Format: Kindle Edition
Well depicted, true-to-life characters… flaws and all. Strong plot line and an ‘I-never-saw-it-coming’ solving of the mystery. I can highly recommend this one to all cozy mystery lovers. Read as an ARC but this review is my voluntary and honest opinion.
Eliza Thomson and her best friend, Connie Appleton are known to the local police department and Scotland Yard. An invitation for a garden party is extended to Archie and Eliza Thomson as well as Eliza’s father and the widow, Connie Appleton. Eliza is ecstatic since it is being held at the Oak House in Moreton-on-Thames, her childhood home. The party is to celebrate the birthday of Edward Hartley by his wife. The day of the party is one of extreme heat but since the party is a surprise party it is held in the garden behind the home. Eliza has an itch to attempt to get inside the home to see if it is still the same as when she lived there as a child. Using a staircase meant for the servant’s she and Connie quietly climb them to the 1st floor. While investigating the floor, they must find a place to hide due to the approach of someone. While hiding they hear an argument and also a gun shot. Eliza’s investigative response takes over and she abandons her hiding place. The author, VL McBeath has once again developed the characters well and the plot even more so. At a time when women are supposed to be demur and back down to things that only a man is supposed to do, Eliza pushes forward to show a woman is just as reliable as a man. This is the 4th book in this series.
April 1901: Doctor Archie and Eliza Thomson
are invited to a garden party along with Mr.
Bell (Eliza’s father) and her best friend and
neighbor, Connie Appleton who is a widow.
The garden party is to be held at the house
where Eliza grew up.
As the guest are awaiting the family to present
to the garden, Eliza can not resist sneaking
up the staircase to her old nursery even though
the guest were told the house was off limits.
Eliza convinced Connie to accompany her.
BANG!!!! A gunshot rings out. The house owner!
Mr Hartley is found shot in the head.
A house full of well defined, colorful, suspicious
cast of characters siding one side of Mr Hartley’s
family against the other. Mr Hartley had two sons
by his first marriage. His first wife decided to
attend the garden party uninvited. His second wife
has a son and daughter when they married. They
lived at Oak House.
An extremely well plotted, well written murder mystery.
It will keep the reader guessing until the culprit is
captured.
This is book # 4 in the Eliza Thomson Investigates
Mysteries Series. It can be read as a stand alone.
I volunteered to read Dying for a Garden Party.
Thanks to the author for the opportunity. My opinion
is voluntary and my own.
Almost everyone has a motive. Not everyone has a good and credible alibi. Eliza, we need your help.!
Excellently written as usual. I could picture the scenes and was transported to the garden party and the events that ensued. It appears that everyone has a motive for killing Mr. Hartley but the clues are there to spot the identity of the culprit. Compulsive reading and a good whodunnit. Next book please!!
Eliza is an irrepressible character and gets herself in some interesting spots, her best friend Connie right by her side. But in 1901 that makes her pretty cool. She’s smart and persistent and even the Inspector respects her judgement. That she gets to explore her childhood home is a draw she can’t resist. I enjoyed this book and look forward to the next one.
I received a free copy of this book in exchange for an honest review.
Birthdays and murder!
Eliza is invited to a birthday party at the house she grew up in. The party is supposed to be in the garden, but Eliza can’t resist snooping in her old home and dragging Connie along. They both get much more they they bargained for when the master of the house is shot. Can Eliza figure out who had the most to gain and who the guilty party is before someone else it murdered? Plenty of twists and turns to keep you guessing!
I received an ARC. This is my honest review.