Amory Ames is a wealthy young woman who regrets her marriage to her notoriously charming playboy husband, Milo. Looking for a change, she accepts a request for help from her former fiance, Gil Trent, not knowing that she’ll soon become embroiled in a murder investigation that will test not only her friendship with Gil, but will upset the status quo with her husband.Amory accompanies Gil to the … accompanies Gil to the Brightwell Hotel in an attempt to circumvent the marriage of his sister, Emmeline, to Rupert Howe, a disreputable ladies’ man. Amory sees in the situation a grim reflection of her own floundering marriage. There is more than her happiness at stake, however, when Rupert is murdered and Gil is arrested for the crime. Amory is determined to prove his innocence and find the real killer, despite attempted dissuasion from the disapproving police inspector on the case. Matters are further complicated by Milo’s unexpected arrival, and the two form an uneasy alliance as Amory enlists his reluctant aid in clearing Gil’s name. As the stakes grow higher and the line between friend and foe becomes less clear, Amory must decide where her heart lies and catch the killer before she, too, becomes a victim.
Ashley Weaver’s Murder at the Brightwell is a delicious mystery in which murder invades polite society and romance springs in unexpected places.
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This title is the first of three charming period mysteries I discovered on Book Bub. I highly recommend them for their Nick and Nora protagonists and frothy social settings, delivered in plenty-good-enough prose. The sequels are “Death Wears a Mask,” and “A Most Novel Revenge.” I see that a new title is due in September. “The Essence of Malice.” Sign me up!
I love such entertainments to read in bed before sleep. Murder is fine, but no torture, please, nor anything bad at all happening to animals. The writing must be on a civilized level. My needs are simple enough, right?
Tana French, for example, is just too good to read at night. I consider her a true genre-buster. Yes, she writes about homicide detectives, but her prose is too good to fall asleep over, IMO.
I’m now four books into this series and really enjoy all of them. Amory and Milo are a dashing wealthy couple who double as amateur sleuths. Weaver is able to skillful maintain the romantic tension between her protagonists–not usually easy to sustain–and has you rooting for their relationship every step of the way. Would make a great television series.
I really enjoyed this first in the series! It was nice to start over at the beginning since I inadvertently read the third one before I realized it was a series. Amory and Milo are interesting characters, both separately and as a couple. Looking forward to reading more!
Amory Ames is at a crossroads. Five years ago she was swept off her feet and married the ever charming Milo. Yet their marriage has become distant and frequently featured in the gossip columns. When the man she passed over Gil comes asking for a favor Amory decides to take a trip to the seaside. The holiday turns into a nightmare when not one but two murders occur. Amory and the rather unexpected Milo set out to investigate much to the chagrin of Detective Inspector Jones. Danger seems to lurk around every corner and secrets are everywhere. Amory has quite the task if she’s going to unmask the murderer at the seaside.
A delightful period mystery. The world of the past comes alive through the enjoyable and rag tag group of characters. Amory is a wonderful combination of upper class Brit and modern woman. I absolutely adored this story!
Murder at the Brightwell
Ashley Weaver
I just love a great murder mystery and this is book #1 of the series, set in 1930’s as Amory Ames our amateur sleuth gets involved in a deeply webbed intrigue and matters of the heart. I enjoyed reading this time frame and Weaver delivers a wonderful mystery full of characters I love reading about, the luxurious sceneries and the captivating plot.
You can’t help but adore Amory Ames – too bad for her unfortunate marriage to a playboy named Milo, who Is off jet setting in far away places living the life, while she stays home with the servants. Gil Trent, Amory’s ex-fiance shows up after many years for a favor to accompany him on a seaside holiday. But of course, nothing goes as planned and Gil gets accused of murder and Amory, our wealthy socialite incredibly transforms into an amateur sleuth to save Gil.
I love how it all comes together in this fun cozy mystery I enjoyed.
This was an entertaining cozy. Loved the setting of the Brightwell Hotel. Old world hotel on a cliff overlooking the sea. Lots of rich vacationers just killing time lunching and playing cards, dancing etc. until one of their own is killed. Amory Ames is with the party affected and tries to solve the mystery but the bodies start piling up. Can Amory figure it out before it’s too late. Will her marriage survive this little sojourn? Very good read!
I received a free copy of this book from Netgalley and the publisher and voluntarily chose to review it.
Very Katherine Hepburn meets Agatha Christie feel. A fast-paced 1930s mystery that was just delightful!
Murder at Brightwell, by Ashley Weaver, was originally published in 2014. I started with book 7, Deception At Thornecrest. Although the mystery was well enough I was very, very curious about the marriage between Amory and Milo Ames. It’s a strange one, even for the 1930’s. Divorce in America wasn’t as difficult as in England so I understood why she would stick around for awhile but not 5 years. Milo is not a good husband, faithful I couldn’t say. He does what he pleases, goes where and when he pleases and never thinks it’s a big deal. I kept wondering how it all began so I went to my local library for an e-book loan. I’m still confused. Amory is a doormat, won’t say what she thinks or feels. I’m beginning to see why she stayed, somewhere deep inside her she must like the misery. I personally now don’t like either one of them.
A Seaside Holiday is Filled With Murder
This is the first book in an English classic mystery series. The series begins in 1932 with all of the glory of the roaring twenties still intact. The mystery is laid out in a classic manner. I had no idea who the culprit was until the glorious climactic scene. The fun part is the couple who are the center of the story. He is somewhat of a ladies man and she thinks that he no longer loves her. Together, they are quite the pair. I have read more books in the series and I do think that they would be better read in order. I received this ARC book for free from Net Galley and this is my honest review.
I purchased this book because I first read the 7th book in the series, A Deception at Thornecrest, and very much disliked the character, Milo. That book was supposed to be after the playboy Milo had reformed and settled down, so I wanted to see the beginning – I am NOT a fan of reading of infidelity. Yes, I understand this is supposed to be a historical mystery – but I need a good romance along with my mystery and I just have a really hard time understanding why our female lead, Amory, would continue to put up with the stuff Milo dishes out. I was looking for some grand scene where a contrite Milo would realize the error of his ways and beg for forgiveness. Well, it didn’t happen. NEVER was there an apology – at least not from Milo – Amory made a couple of apologies for not believing him when he told her something.
The series is touted as a being witty and clever – a fun romp as in the Nick and Nora Charles style from the old movies. I didn’t see the slightest sign of any of the wit and humor found in those old movies and there certainly wasn’t any evidence of the love and respect Nick and Nora had for each other. As a child who grew up on those old movies, I can assure you that Nora wouldn’t have put up with Milo’s crap for 5 minutes much less 5 years. The series is set in the 1930s, but the only thing in this book that really evokes that era is the descriptions of the clothing – especially Amory’s. Those descriptions seem limitless and in the most minute detail.
To make matters worse for me, I listened to the audio version of the book. It may not be the worst narration I’ve ever listened to, but it is close. The narrator’s voice range seemed very limited. There just wasn’t any flow or smoothness to the delivery. It was as if the narrator was slowly reading the words for the first time – it was stilted and emphasis was placed on words that wouldn’t have been emphasized. If you saw the movie, Galaxy Quest, just picture the aliens in that movie delivering the narration to this novel. On the brighter side, I did notice that this is the only book narrated by this artist – there is a different narrator for the rest of the books. That is certainly a good move on the publisher’s part.
The mystery was well done with lots of red herrings to throw you off the scent. I did suspect who the villain was almost as soon as I met them on the page, but that didn’t keep me from enjoying the rest of the investigation – because – well – I could have been wrong.
Believe it or not, I will be reading the second book in the series, Death Wears a Mask, because I do want to see if there is any repentance on Milo’s part. The writing and story development have definitely improved by the 7th book in the series, so I’ll be interested in where the next book goes.
‘Amory Ames is a wealthy young woman who regrets her marriage to her notoriously charming playboy husband, Milo. Looking for a change, she accepts a request for help from her former fiancé, Gil Trent, not knowing that she’ll soon become embroiled in a murder investigation that will test not only her friendship with Gil, but will upset the status quo with her husband.
Amory accompanies Gil to the Brightwell Hotel in an attempt to circumvent the marriage of his sister, Emmeline, to Rupert Howe, a disreputable ladies’ man. Amory sees in the situation a grim reflection of her own floundering marriage. There is more than her happiness at stake, however, when Rupert is murdered and Gil is arrested for the crime. Amory is determined to prove his innocence and find the real killer, despite attempted dissuasion from the disapproving police inspector on the case. Matters are further complicated by Milo’s unexpected arrival, and the two form an uneasy alliance as Amory enlists his reluctant aid in clearing Gil’s name. As the stakes grow higher and the line between friend and foe becomes less clear, Amory must decide where her heart lies and catch the killer before she, too, becomes a victim.’
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Murder at the Brightwell is the first book in Ashley Weaver’s debut series, The Amory Ames Mystery Series, and is a historical mystery set in the 1930s.
I have had the first four books in this series sitting on my bookshelf for over a year now. When I saw them at the bookstore, I knew they were something that I would enjoy, so I snatched them up. Without meaning to though, I kept pushing them down onmy TBR list because I knew I would want to ready them back to back and didn’t want to take a break from my other books for that long. But with the senventh in the series about to be released, I decided it was the right time. Now that I finally started reading them, it turns out that I was right to buy them because just with this first book, I’m fully on board.
I really love the way the author unfolded the mystery and wove in the red herrings. Some seemed to be trying to distract from the real villain whereas others seemed to muddy the waters and expand the number of possible suspects in a way that made it more difficult to decide who the guilty party was. I found it really well-done and I enjoyed the book quite a lot.
I love that Amory showed some backbone and was willing to step out of her comfort zone to take this trip in order to reevaluate her marriage. But unfortunately she has quite the weakness where her husband is concerned and so he gets away with quite a lot unfortunately.
I’m very suspicious of Milo, both with his ease in hiding his thoughts and feelings and the hidden nature of his movements. I had such a feeling that he must secretly be a spy and was surprised when that wasn’t a reveal in the book. Perhaps I’m wrong and he’s just shifty or maybe it’ll come about in a later book? Either way I’m looking forward to reading the next book.
A great book to launch a promising new series. Amory and Milo are fascinating individuals who make an even more fascinating couple. Can they put their foundering marriage back together while solving a murder? You will have a lot of fun finding out.
I was excited to discover this delightful new cozy historical mystery series set in England in the 30’s. This book is the first in a series featuring Amory Ames and her husband Milo. They are well to do aristocrats who married roughly five years earlier and have spent much of the time apart with playboy Milo flitting here and there.
Milo has just arrived home from a stint in Monte Carlo, when Amory’s ex fiancé Gilbert unexpectedly arrives and asks a favor-that she accompany him to a seaside resort outside Brighton (The Brightwell) and appear to be with him-to give the impression that she has left her husband. Gil’s sister, Emmeline has fallen for a charming, handsome man in the same vein as Milo as Gil thinks Amory can talk some sense to her as a woman who has lived through a similar situation and has come to regret it. At this point, Amory comes to realize that she is unhappy with her life and her marriage and thinks the trip will help her feeling of malaise.
We meet the rest of the party and then one of them is murdered. And Milo shows up at the hotel. Amory inadvertently implicates someone , who is then arrested and feels she needs to discover the murderer to help them.
What follows is a mystery that kept me guessing. And I enjoyed the romantic tension between Amory and Milo.
Loved this series so much that I have subsequently read the other books in the series.
A Fine Murder
I was drawn to this book by the cover as well as the story. It reminded me of all of Agatha Christie’s mysteries and the film adaptations. The story is told in the first person by Amory Ames. She is a socialite on vacation on a beach resort with her neglectful husband Milo.. Her ex-husband, who is still in love with her, persuades the couple to the beach resort where eventually he is accused of murder. It is up to Amory to prove his innocence before it is too late. I really liked this book. It is well written and brings you into the story. My only complaint is I would have loved a little more description and history of the characters. I felt like they were a little paper-thin. However, I liked Amory a lot and disliked her husband. I would say he was a man of his time but, I’ve realized some men still act that selfishly today. Lol. The mystery was unpredictable. I never could guess what was going to happen. This is the first book I’ve read from this author and will not be last. I will definitely read the rest of the series that follows this one. I received a complimentary copy of this book from NetGalley and the author in exchange for an honest review.
An enjoyable diversion.
Charming mystery. I want to read more.
Ashley Weaver is one of my favorite authors. Does a great job of character building. Always an enjoyable read. My only complaint is she doesn’t write fast enough (LOL).
L loved description of characters clothing. Design of rooms and places ,you could almost feel. The atmosphere
Love this genre. A tale well told with interesting twists and turns.
A different kind of murder mystery.