A missing author and a sleepy English village rife with secrets . . .September, 1923. Despite closing her first case, high society lady detective Olive Belgrave hasn’t found a new client. She’s taken a job as a hat model to pay for her poky boarding house room. But then a job offer comes her way—make discreet inquiries about a famous author who’s disappeared. Olive travels to the English … disappeared.
Olive travels to the English countryside to hunt for the missing mystery author. But soon after she arrives in the sleepy village, a body is discovered. Then a second murder focuses the police’s attention on Olive, and she must clear her name before the murderer pens a plot that frames her.
Murder at Blackburn Hall is the second book in the High Society Lady Detective series, a lighthearted cozy historical mystery series set in 1920s England. If you love novels that take you back to the Golden Age of detective fiction with interesting plots, posh settings, and twisty mysteries, you’ll love the High Society Lady Detective Series from USA Today bestseller Sara Rosett.
September, 1923. Despite closing her first case, high society lady detective Olive Belgrave hasn’t found a new client. She’s taken a job as a hat model to pay for her poky boarding house room. But then a job offer comes her way—make discreet inquires about a famous author who’s disappeared.
Olive travels to the English countryside to hunt for the missing mystery author. But soon after she arrives in the sleepy village, a body is discovered. Then a second murder focuses the police’s attention on Olive, and she must clear her name before the murderer pens a plot that frames her.
Murder at Blackburn Hall is the second in the High Society Lady Detective series, a lighthearted cozy historical mystery series set in 1920s England. If you love novels that take you back to the Golden Age of detective fiction with interesting plots, posh settings, and twisty mysteries, you’ll love the High Society Lady Detective Series from USA Today bestseller Sara Rosett.
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Sara Rosett has created a woman private eye in 1920s England who is intelligent and believable for her background and time period. The daughter of landed gentry, now struggling to make her own way in the world, she’s hired by a publisher to find the publisher’s star author, who has gone missing, along with the completed manuscript for his latest book. The story moves at a nice clip, and both the country village setting and the stately home where much of the action takes place are lushly drawn. It’s the second I’ve read in this series, and it won’t be the last.
In 1923 high society lady detective Olive Belgrave hasn’t found a new client. She’s taken a job as a hat model to pay for her poky boarding house room. But then a job offer comes her way about a famous author who’s disappeared.
Olive travels to the English countryside to hunt for the missing mystery author. But soon after she arrives in the sleepy village, a body is discovered. Then a second murder focuses the police’s attention on Olive, and she must clear her name before the murderer pens a plot that frames her.
This is a nice historical fiction cozy mystery that take you back to the Golden Age of with interesting plots, posh settings, and twisty mysteries.
historical-fiction, cosy-mystery, amateur-sleuth, women-sleuths, 1920s
Olive needs a job very badly and a friend directs her to a publisher who can’t find his author of best selling books. He arranges to have her stay for a few days in the area he thinks that the author might be, but the cover story is that she is there to vet a book on etiquette. The lady of the house is a real gorgon, her sister is a scientist, the son is a golf maniac Olive knows from debutante days, and the policeman is unimaginative. Until the next murder.
I loved it!
Elizabeth Klett is perfect for narrating as a perky young Londoner of the time.
I love the early 1900’s. The witty banter between characters are fantastic. They really make me laugh out loud. I can actually picture each character speaking to one another from the author’s description. The protagonist, Olive, along with her cousins, seem to be a handful. Read and escape to a time of simpler life, no technology, and get caught up in the mayhem and mishaps that seem to find Olive in.
Had a bit of trouble getting into the first book of this series, but turned into a wonderful read. The author seems to have found her groove and this book has good character development and was a very enjoyable read.
Olive, unsuccessful in offering her services as a discrete investigator, finds another opportunity to display her skills when she is asked to find out why an author hasn’t turned in his manuscript.
In line with the previous book, this one is clean as well. There is a suspect that people wonder if he is a homosexual, but since this book is based in the 1920s, it is discussed as it would have been then, meaning hardly at all. And the wound on the victim is described as horrible, but nothing that I would consider gory
The Twenties are always exciting to read. So much went on as we now read about them and that makes for a great read if well done.
I consider the Twenties to be the beginning of women out of the kitchen, just not very widely done but happening.
I recommend this book for information and escape.
This was a bit slower than some mysteries, but it is a good read
Dollycas’s Thoughts
Olive Belgrave is back and off on the trail of a missing author thanks to her friend Jasper. The publisher of a hot series is concerned when the author misses their deadline. R. W. May is a recluse living in the guest house of Lord and Lady Holt and communicates completely through a solicitor. Since Lady Holt has contacted Hightower Books about a book of her own the publisher would like Olive to meet up and go over her manuscript while doing some discreet inquiries about May. Lady Holt keeps her very busy with the manuscript and social dinners. She never expected to fall into the middle of another murder investigation and certainly not two. The author she was sent to find is dead and another murder happens right in front of her. In fact, she is considered a suspect. She has very little time to get herself out of this mess and her investigation uncovers some very interesting things.
Our main character, Olive is a strong, independent woman trying to keep a roof over her head and food on her table. This time she runs into another strong woman in Lady Holt. Lady Holt rules over Blackburn Hall with an iron fist. Her way is right, everyone else’s way is wrong. She keeps the dinner conversations under her control and tries to keep her grown son under her thumb. She has written an etiquette book more than 500 pages long with “proper” illustrations and she is still adding chapters. Murders in her home or on her property are not tolerated, they need to be declared accidents immediately. It’s 1923 and roles of woman are changing and Ms. Rosett has created two women of very different status and the interplay between them is extraordinarily fun to read.
The characters are twisted up in a delightful mystery. Olive makes a shocking discovery that turns things upside down. Jasper arrives in time to help her sort things out and to try to keep her safe and out of trouble. She has a real keen sense that usually has her not thinking things entirely through before she leaps, but I did enjoy the way they worked together.
Again, the author’s writing style was very comfortable for me. The descriptions of the people, time, and places created clear pictures. Ties, pocket squares, a cottage, a pub, Blackburn Hall and all its residents and visitors truly came alive. I felt as if I was right there with Olive each step of the way.
The author’s tale kept me guessing and totally engaged. Entertaining and fun set in the roaring ’20s. The info about book 3 has me very intrigued. The Egyptian Antiquities Murder will be out April 15 and I have saved a spot on my reading calendar. I can hardly wait.