Murder at Mondial Castle

Downton Abbey meets The Cater Street Hangman
This is my first Issy Brooke book and I enjoyed it very much. The characters were well-drawn and the means by which this delightful married couple fall into sleuthing believable enough that I didn’t care that it also seemed a bit contrived. I am along for the ride and it promises to be a continually fun one. Was the murder predictable? Perhaps just a tad, but the historical aspect of the book was just as compelling as the question of whodunnit. This book was brain candy, or a lovely fizzy drink, compared to an Anne Perry mystery, but often that is just what the doctor ordered. I delighted in the descriptions of clothing and surroundings, all painted with a light brush, but deft enough to ground me firmly in Victorian England. There were only a few moments when I felt jarred, from an anachronistic point of view, but mostly it felt very accurate and overall the book left a number of tantalizing loose ends having to do with possible recurring characters. More fun and excitement ahead!

Adelia is the secret, driving force behind her husband, Lord Calaway. He tries his hand at being a doctor to keep busy but his abrupt personality is not the best for bedside manor. Whisking him away to her daughter’s home, Adelia and Theodore find all is not as it should be. The couple becomes embroiled in a murder mystery they never expected.
I enjoyed the characters and almost wished it wouldn’t turn into a murder mystery. Would Miss Lamb find a suitor? Why are certain people acting suspicious? Yet, the murder occurred and the crime solving began. A good regency story with twists and turns. Follow along and solve the crime with Lord and Lady Calaway.

In “Murder at Mondial Castle” by Issy Brooke we meet the Earl of Calaway, Theodore Calaway, and his wife, Lady Adelia Calaway, who have married off their seven daughters to rich men, some with social standings in Victorian England even higher than their own. Theodore Calaway, a brilliant man with a mind filled with scientific knowledge, especially in medicine, has followed his life’s dreams and become a doctor. Although he can diagnose illnesses and often cure people, he has no bed-side manner because he believes that patients must know the truth about their illnesses and does not worry about the consequences of what he tells them. Sometimes, they get even sicker and die because of worrying about what he has told them. His wife Adelia knows the problems he causes when he talks to his patients and constantly reminds him that although his scientific knowledge is second to none, he has no bed-side manner and his words sometimes cause his patients to die of fright. Patients and their families consequently sue him because they believe his patients have died because of his words to them. When another lawsuit arises, his lawyer tells him to pay the person suing him although it will cost a great deal of money, and leave his home until the lawsuit is settled and talk about him dies down. He and his wife of thirty years have a wonderful relationship and after he discusses the current lawsuit with her, she convinces him to respond to a letter from their next to oldest daughter Dido and visit her and his grandchildren since they have not visited them for almost a year. Earl Theodore Calaway does not like Dido’s husband John, the Marquis of Mondial because he feels that John looks down upon him since in British aristocracy, a marquis is of a higher rank than that of an earl. When they get to Mondial Castle, they realize that John Mondial is constant having parties and inviting people of society to see his castle, savor his foods and drinks and look up to him. Parties often last for days. Their daughter Dido has to run the castle full of servants, plan the parties to perfection and be the perfect hostess. She does what is expected of her but really enjoys spending time teaching their two sons. Her husband resents her time with their sons and cannot understand why a governess and servants are not hired to perform the same tasks that Dido is doing with them. When Dido’s young friend is murdered in their garden and John Mondial is with her at the time, he is wounded, Theodore and Adelia do not like John’s explanation of why the two of them were together and who shot them. They decide to solve the murder and turn the murderer over to the police since John did not want a police presence on his property. The mystery of the “Murder at Mondial Castle” by Issy Brooke is an adventure for readers as they join the Calaways in their pursuit of the truth and hope the mystery will be solved to satisfaction.

I absolutely loved the two main characters in this story — long married, seven adult married daughters, and he is a man with flaws of character while she would be the most interesting friend of a lifetime!

The plot is absolutely gothic: a castle, a snappish, pretentious lord, his lady, their daughter, who spends gives her life to her children and rarely leaves the nursery.

Enter a girlhood friend who’d spent many summers among our main characters and then …

No, I refuse to fill you in further and thus, ruin the story for you! To know much more (scary, delightful, character revealing and engaging) you must read Murder at Mondial Castle!

A little slow paced. Interesting main characters. Plot was lacking but was entertaining and funny in places.

Earl Theodore Calaway and his wife Adelia abruptly leave their estate to avoid a lawsuit brought by one of Theodore’s patients. (He is a medical doctor with poor bedside manner.) they travel to the home of Marquess John Mondial who is married to their daughter Dido. The characters of Theodore and Adelia are charming but bumbling. Theodore has no sense of humor and sees everything in black and white; Adelia’s job is to rein in his enthusiasms. When a murder occurs, she encourages her husband to investigate. Thus begins their work as accidental detectives, following clues that are obvious to the reader but incomprehensible to the pair. Gradually, despite a houseful of guests, Theodore and Adelia sort out what really happened, both motive and means. The ending is quite tragic.

A cozy mystery with a different slant on the villain and the motivation for the crime. Even though I did realize who the villain was early on, the story still was intriguing and well worth reading.

Although it was my pleasure to receive this free book, it was completely my choice to share my honest review.

Not the best writing. Improbable story line.

Nice mystery involving Great Britain’s upper class. It is part of a series but it reads easily without having to have read any of the other books in the series.

I found this book to be entertaining and unpredictable right up to the end. I liked the characters and enjoyed all the twists and turns in the storyline. Enjoyable book.