A murder and a theft have been committed at Rudhall Manor. A box of jewels has vanished and Lord Sedley, a lusty old aristocrat, has been stabbed six times in the chest.
It is all very mysterious, and the Sedley family and the servants have decided that Miss Lucy Anne Trotter, a recently employed governess, is to blame for the unfortunate events.
The legendary and wickedly handsome Marquis, Lord … Marquis, Lord William Adair, learns of the matter and decides to uncover the truth.
Lucy, however, has little faith in blue blooded creatures—even if they possess dashing good looks— and, accompanied by two naughty pugs and a moody raven, decides to investigate and unmask the killer herself.
But the hunt for the killer turns out to be far more complicated than she anticipates—what with snooty servants, warts in odd places, mixed up love affairs, agitated chickens and dreadful disguises ruining her plans.
Soon she begins to wonder if, for once, she is in over her head….
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Let’s turn the clock back to the early 19th
century Regency period. Here we will meet
Miss Lucy Anne Trotter as she leaves the
Brooding Cranesbill orphanage and school
for underprivileged girls.
This is where Lucy was raised. Now she is
going to Blackwell to become the governess
for Lord Robert Archibald Cuthbert Sedley’s
family. They reside in the Rudhall Manor,
a dark old mansion.
Lucy goes down into the village one afternoon.
She is in the village when an object comes
down from the sky. It is an air balloon
containing the Lord William Ellsworth Hartell
Adair, the Marquis of Lockwood.
After watching the balloon set down and
Lord Adair get out of the balloon, Lucy scurries
back to Rudhall Manor. Never expecting to
discover she has been accused of jewel theft
plus the murder of Lord Sedley.
What’s Lucy to do now?? She finds herself
alone as the family and servants all believe her
guilty. Lucy is the outsider to them and very
disposable as she came to them from an
orphanage.
Lucy also discovers that Lord Adair has been
asked to search for the murderer and to find
the missing jewels. He requests her trust that
he will uncover the culprit and clear her name.
But can she trust a blue blood?
Lucy decides to investigate which leads to all
sorts of humorous and disastrous shenanigans.
Having been alone, scared and lonely all her
years, Lucy has developed an very active
imagination which is vividly described
throughout the story.
The mystery is very well plotted and the characters
are artfully created while quirky, vain with attitudes.
Even the servants have snobbish attitudes. There
are mixed up supposed love affairs and plenty of
secrets within the walls.
The reader will also meet two feisty small pugs, a
moody raven named Spinoza, a red tailed baboon,
an crazy, cranky Egyptian crane plus chickens.
Aunt Sedley, the ghost communicates with Lucy
throughout the story.
An enjoyable read.
I volunteered to read Murder at Rudhall Manor.
Thanks to the author for the opportunity. My
opinion is voluntary and my own.
Hijinks for a young lady just out of the orphanage school room off to see the world and make her place in it. Who knew murder could make me snicker, laugh and snort like that? I swear if Alice’s Wonderland got loose in an English country manor house then this story is what it would look like- insanely fun characters, situations, and exotic animals thrown in for bonus thrills. I thought this author’s Madcap series was high amusement, but this latest release rivaled them. In fact, there was a cameo appearance of Philbert’s poetry present.
The story opens with Miss Lucy Anne Trotter accepting the position as governess to the niece and nephew of Lord and Lady Sedley of Rudhall Manor. Just a few months in, Lucy is bored and wishes for something- anything- to happen, but what transpired next was not exactly her idea of pleasant excitement. After she watches the landing of a hot air balloon onto the village green operated by the famous Lord Adair in a shocking robe and slippers, she makes her way slowly back to the manor just knowing she would be scolded by Lady Sedley for being late. To her surprise, she is accused of stealing the Sedley jewels and if that were not enough she becomes the prime suspect in the murder of Lord Sedley. Lord Adair is asked to investigate with the priority being to find the jewels, but Lucy doesn’t trust him so determines to do her own detecting since it is her neck in the noose.
So detect she does. Spying at keyholes, running about in disguise to stalk the family, ransacking rooms, avoiding Lord Peter’s menagerie of pets, taking the accusing looks from the other servants and running across the suave, handsome Lord Adair at every turn when her detecting efforts get her in worse trouble reminding her that she can trust him. Maybe, but maybe not. There is still a murdering thief on the loose after all.
I found Lucy a splendid comic heroine and enjoyed getting the story narrated by her. She had this trick of blurting something off the wall out of her mouth when she wished for a subject change and she let her imagination run wild when she didn’t want to hear someone prosing on in a boring fashion including the dashing yet enigmatic Lord Adair. For all the craziness going on, there was still a strong plot thread that kept moving through it all. It’s not a terribly difficult murder mystery, but it offers a bit of a challenge with Lucy’s own antics causing the distractions and the fact that pretty much everyone had motive and somewhat the opportunity. The other characters were so colorful and engaging too even the ones that weren’t likeable. Lucy’s detecting methods were off the hook. The only niggle I really had was that the story ended abruptly. It was finished in the sense that the case was over, but I guess I was waiting for a bit something more than what did finish the last page. Maybe there will be more installments as Lucy hones her detecting talents and I would love more from the capable and charismatic Lord Adair.
All in all, it was a delight through and through. Those who enjoy their mysteries laced with humor and don’t mind a historic backdrop should grab this one up for a light fun cozy mystery that will have you laughing in no time.