The lean years following World War I can lead to desperate acts—even in the quiet English village of Walmsley Parva. When a series of burglaries seems to culminate in murder, brash American Beryl Helliwell and proper Brit Edwina Davenport are eager to solve the case . . . World-renowned adventuress Beryl Helliwell cited for “reckless” motoring? Why, the very idea! Constable Gibbs just has it in … in for her. The solution? Charm the magistrate, of course. But days after Beryl’s appearance before the bench, she and Edwina pay a visit to the magistrate only to find his home ransacked and the man himself lying dead at the bottom of a grand staircase. Given the state of the house, his death appears to be connected to a rash of robberies in the village. Declan O’Shea, the handsome helper Beryl hired to assist their aged gardener Simpkins, falls under suspicion after having had his own run-in with the magistrate—but mostly, Beryl believes, because he’s Irish. While unofficially looking into the magistrate’s murder, the ladies are hired in their official capacity as private inquiry agents to find census reports that have gone missing. Is someone trying to hide something from the census takers—and could that theft have anything to do with the magistrate’s death? Beryl and Edwina are once again in fine form as they engage in a little reckless sleuthing to bring these assorted mysteries to a speedy conclusion. . . .
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Nothing quite beats Beryl and Edwina when it comes to finding adventure. The two sleuths step into a mystery the way other people step into having fun, and in Murder Comes to Call, they step into a lot more than usual. They can’t seem to go very long without someone hiring them to solve a murder or another crime. This time they have landed squarely in the middle of a murder investigation and a theft.
Beryl is fun-loving, up for the next adventure, and seriously curious. Edwina is a thinker; she has an analytical mind and uses her brain to solve complex problems. Both characters are easy to like. They compliment each other in all ways. Being a female sleuth that has distinctive ideas about the world and a women’s place in it isn’t always easy in the world these characters live in, and most of the time, it can be downright dangerous. But nothing stops Beryl or Edwina. However, there is a great deal of inner thought rambling through this book, and readers who have not read the others in this series may have a hard time becoming engaged.
The murder of a well-known magistrate has the characters hopping, then the theft of census paperwork makes things even trickier. There is no end to the possible suspects. Motives range from prejudice to money, to relationships, and back again. It takes time and effort to ferret out the villain, but the two sleuths are ready and willing to take on all comers in this new adventure.
Murder Comes to Call is the fourth book in this series; it has all the necessary components for a good mystery with impressionable characters. The two women are great sleuths who live in an era of the total man’s world, yet thrive in the environment. Readers will not be disappointed by this adventure and will enjoy hearing more about Beryl, Edwina, and the wonderful Simpkins.
MURDER COMES TO CALL by Jessica Ellicott is the fourth book in the Beryl and Edwina Mystery series. It’s the well-crafted story of Beryl Helliwell and Edwina Davenport and their great adventures as they continually gain clients as private inquiry agents in the quaint little English town of Walmsley Parva. While it keeps them busy, helps with the finances and it’s a help to others, it also proves that being elderly doesn’t mean it’s time sit around drinking tea and eating crumpets all day.
Beryl is aghast that she, world renown for her feats of speed, has been summoned to court after receiving a ticket for reckless motoring from Constable Doris Gibbs. While there she happens to see Declan O’Shea, an Irish immigrant, rather badly treated – not for his crime, but more for his nationality. She takes it upon herself to see if she can help the young man who she feels was treated unjustly by offering him a job as labor in their gardens, per Simpkins’ approval, in order for him to pay his fines. When a rash of burglaries occur, the official seem determined to pin them also on O’Shea which leads Beryl and Edwina to do a bit of investigating on their own into his character in order to continue to vouch for him as their employee. Their investigation lead them to the magistrate’s home only to find the front door open, the house ransacked and the magistrate found dead. Are the two events connected? Was his death caused by an accident or a case of murder? Will they try to frame O’Shea for this too?
With the arrival of an unexpected visit by Gerald Melton, district registrar, they have their next job as private inquiry agents looking into some missing census paper. There is great need for their solving the case swiftly and the whole investigation kept very confidential so that no word is leaked to The Triple Alliance, which would stir up more anti-government furor. Is it possible that the missing census papers and the other crimes are related? When it brings more legal troubles for O’Shea, he reaches out to them asking for help to prove his innocence. Can they investigate both cases at the same time?
With two clients, Beryl and Edwina are working overtime following leads and searching out clues. Can they connect the dots making a connection between the burglaries and the death of the magistrate? With so many with ill feelings for the magistrate, how big will their list of suspect grow? Why was a person with so little regard for the importance of the census hired to do the job to start with? Was it all really just a way to cause friction for the government? Will Beryl actually see another side to the constable? Can they work together for a common cause? Will solving one crime solve them all?
Jessica Ellicott manages to accurately portray the post WWII era while captivating us with delightful characters and keeping us on our toes as she weaves out clues as we try to figure out the whodunit and why. This story is like a well-crafted quilt. Each piece with its fine details is a work of art, but they may not appear to go together until the crafter pieces them all together into one magnificent masterpiece. Jessica Ellicott is definitely a master of her craft and MURDER COMES TO CALL is one of her masterpieces!
Although part of a series, MURDER COMES TO CALL, can definitely be read as a
standalone book. I will tell you though, that once you get intrigued by Beryl and Edwina that you will be checking out past books and be looking forward with great anticipation the next book in the series. I give it my big FIVE STARS!
Reading one of Jessica Ellicott’s Beryl and Edwina mysteries is like sitting down to a cup of tea with an old friend. I love the relationship between these two independent women, Walmsley Parva’s best known (and only, lol) lady detectives, and also the continually developing relationships that they have with the other residents of their small English village. When the duo finds the magistrate dead at the bottom of his stairs, they set off to prove who did it, and to determine if there’s a connection between his murder and the rash of burglaries plaguing Walmsley Parva, including the theft of very sensitive census documents! And absolute joy to read, I adored Murder Comes to Call! 5 stars!!!
It’s always fun to spend time with Beryl and Edwina. Beryl came to Walmsey Parva to slow down a bit and reconnect with her school chum, Edwina. Beryl’s life was larger than life full of adventure but life in a small village with a friend sounded like a good plan. As for Edwins, life in post WWI Walmsey Parva was short on money and Beryl had the solution. It was a good plan, sort of. Neither Beryl nor Edwina foresaw becoming private inquiry agents and solving crimes, especially murders. They have a talent for detection.
This time around there is a hint of deja vu in the opening chapter. Beryl really likes snazzy cars, fast ones and she prides herself on being a very good driver. When we first met her she was dealing with a rather large fender bender. This time she has been given a citation for reckless driving. She was speeding….at 45 MPH. Off to meet the local magistrate and try to work her charm on the gentleman. While waiting her turn she encounters a young Irishman who is in a bit of a sticky situation. In order to avoid jail time he has to come up with a sizable fine in a short period of time. Beryl offers him employment working in their garden, doing the heavy work to help out their gardener. Soon there is a rash of burglaries and, being an Irish immigrant, the police focus on him. When a death occurs, he is in even more need of the services of Beryl and Edwina.
The setting, the characters, the time period plus a very well crafted puzzle all come together to give the reader a most entertaining read. I like to read series in order but this works fine as a stand alone.
My thanks to the publisher, Kensington and to NetGalley for giving me an advance copy in exchange for my honest review.
This was a fun read. I’m new to the series but had no trouble following along. An English village is always a good setting for a cozy. Edwina & Beryl are delightful private enquiry agents. They are an odd pair of friends but work really well together. The mysteries were good ad kept you guessing. The characters in the village were great. You can just see the women glancing out their shop windows and bustling out to see what is going on. Really good cozy.
I received a free copy of this book from Netgalley and the publisher and voluntarily chose to review it.
When Beryl Helliwell goes to court for reckless driving, she meets Declan O’Shea, an Irish immigrant trying to start a life for himself in the English village of Walmsley Parva. However, being Irish, he is viewed with suspicion, and the string of thefts happening in the village only make things worse. When the police start to question him about the thefts, he hires Beryl and Edwina Davenport to clear his name. The stakes are only raised when a dead body turns up at the scene of the latest burglary. Couple that with another client who needs his case solved right away, and Edwina and Beryl have their work cut out of them. Can they figure out what is really happening?
While this is the fourth book in the series, you could easily jump in here. You would miss out on the growth in the characters and their relationships, which is definitely part of the charm of the series. Plus these are just great characters to spend time with. Fans will be delighted to check in with these friends and catch up with the latest going on in their lives. The plot seemed to be a bit scattered early on, but I suspected that events would tie together, and my faith was rewarded. In fact, I was impressed with just how everything came together by the end. The setting, both location and historical, come to life well. We get a great feel for the impact of World War I on this village without it ever slowing things down. I was fully absorbed in another time and place as I read, and if you are looking for a great historical mystery, you will be, too.
Wow! This book is so good! It is entertaining, adventurous, fun, witty, and cozy-mysterious! Whenever I picked up “Murder Comes to Call”, I found myself engrossed in quite a few intriguing mysteries, and did not want to put the book down!
This is the fourth book in Ms. Ellicott’s “A Beryl and Edwina Mystery” series, but the first I have read. While I believe reading the others in the series would help to deepen one’s understanding of the characters’ history and relationships to one another, I definitely think this book can be read as a stand-alone as well. The author does a great job of filling the reader in (without it ever feeling like too much at once), and I now can’t wait to go back and read the first three books. She mixes history with historical fiction quite well throughout the book. Ms. Ellicott’s story-telling is just spectacular, and she also really brings her characters to life brilliantly. Their personalities are so distinct, and from Edwina, to Beryl, to Crumpet (oh the puppy is just so precious!), etc., so many of them are just delightful!
I adore how much Beryl and Edwina bring out the best in each other. It is so fun to watch them solve these cases, and they always have one another’s back. Their dialogue is so witty, and they really balance one another out beautifully. They take their jobs seriously, truly want to help those in need, and do what is right!
I don’t want to say too much about the mysteries in the book, as it would spoil too much of the plot! From the various burglaries, to the censuses being stolen, to the death of the Magistrate, Beryl and Edwina use their sleuthing skills to see if there is anything in common between the crimes, and, if so…what is it? There are definitely clues all along the way, and you will just have to pick up a copy of the book to see!
If you enjoy historical cozy mysteries, I highly recommend this book! It had me reading late into the night to see what was going to happen next! Ms. Ellicott brilliantly weaves the puzzle pieces of the various mysteries together, and I was guessing up until the very end. There were quite a few twists and turns that made my mouth drop. I would love to see many of these characters in future books, and I hope there will be many more novels in this incredible series! Can we please have more of Crumpet in the next novels too? He made me smile so much!
Thank you so much to NetGalley and Kensington Books for the ARC of this novel, and to Kensington Books for sending me a physical ARC as well, I so enjoyed it! All opinions expressed in this review are my own.
Oh, how I love a good British cozy, especially a historical one, and Beryl and Edwina are two of my favorite characters. I always love spending time with them and seeing what kind of trouble they cook up. This series always delivers a few good laughs, an adventurous spirit, and a challenging mystery; this book is no different. (Note: I was provided a copy of this book by the publisher in exchange for an honest review.)
1921 Walmsley Parva. There have been a spate of burglaries in the village with the prime suspect according to Constable Doris Gibbs is the new Irish under-gardener Declan O’Shea of Edwina and Beryl. But then they come across the dead body of the magistrate in his ransacked house. When they are employed to investiage a theft they are pleased to get an official case whereby they then can unofficially investigate the death and the other burglaries. So they join forces with Constable Gibbs.
A well-written enjoyable cozy historical mystery with a cast of interesting people. A good addition to the series
Murder Comes To Call is the fourth book in the Beryl and Edwina Mystery series by Jessica Ellicott.
The Beryl and Edwina series is my favorite historical cozy mystery series. I love the main characters, Beryl and Edwina. They have known each other since finishing school, but that is where the similarities end. Beryl is an adventuress but has decided it’s time to settle down to a calmer life; on the other hand, Edwina has returned to Walmsley Parva to help out her parents and be a prim, proper English lady. Although their lifestyles were different, they work amazingly well together. With their Private Inquiragency, Beryl is more suited to interviewing people, whereas Edwina is better at putting the puzzle pieces together.
This story will be looking into a series of petty burglaries that have been happening in Walmsley Parva. They will also be investigating the death of the local magistrate. Beryl recently appeared before the magistrate on a reckless driving charge, and after having been found innocent, Beryl had offered to take the magistrate for a ride in the motorcar. When Beryl and Edwina arrive at the magistrate’s house, they find the front door ajar and find him dead at the staircase’s foot. The district registrar has also asked Edwina and Beryl to look into the theft of census reports stolen from the taker’s bike while visiting the local pub. Once they get into their investigation, they begin to sense that the three are related.
This story is well-plotted and written with plenty of red herrings that kept me guessing until the end. The characters are all well-developed and believable. I would love to visit Walmsley Parva and its’ residents.
I’m anxiously awaiting the next book in this exciting series.
I just finished Murder Comes to Call by Jessica Ellicott. It is the latest book in the Beryl and Edwina mystery series, set in England after WWI. I love the contrast between the somewhat brash American Beryl Helliwell and the more proper Brit Edwina. In this installment, there is a rash of break-ins in their village of Walmsley Parva, in addition to the theft of census forms. Beryl and Edwina and their private enquiry agency are hired to look into the stolen census forms. As the story progresses, they work with the local constable to see if there is a link between the burglaries and the stolen census forms; along the way, the local magistrate is found dead. Ellicott does a great job in providing enough possible suspects with plausible motives for all of the crimes. She could have gone in many different directions to explain the crimes, but I was very happy with the ones she chose. I was also happy with Edwina’s further character development, as she continues to move from being somewhat prim and proper to taking more chances and deciding what she wants for herself. The end of the book brings an exciting development for Edwina, and this will give Ellicott the opportunity to continue with Beryl and Edwina. I look forward to reading more of Beryl and Edwina’s adventures! I would definitely recommend this book if you have read any of the previous stories or are interested in this time period of British history.
Another delightful adventure with Beryl and Edwina in the charming village of Walmsley Parva. But all is not right. Seems the village is overcome with multiple crimes and it’s up to enquiry agents, Beryl and Edwina, to figure out if the crimes are related and who is responsible. Like the last book, this one is the best yet as each new book is better than the last. The mysteries come with a great many surprising twists with the biggest surprise coming at the very end. Edwina and Beryl are still growing as individuals and really complement each other, working so well together, each using their individual strengths to make the team better. Jessica Ellicott does such a wonderful job making you feel like you are right there with the ladies for every step of their journey. I couldn’t put this book down and am anxiously awaiting the next adventure.
When former celebrity adventuress Beryl Helliwell and local budding novelist Edwina Davenport are hired to investigate a series of burglaries, one with implications of national importance, they find local magistrate’s home burgled and the man himself dead at the bottom of the grand staircase.
Murder Comes to Call is installment 4 out of 4 in A Beryl and Edwina Mystery series by Jessica Ellicott. The story is set in post WW1 English village Walmsley Parva where inquiry agents Beryl and Edwina are hired to investigate the theft of village census reports when they find the local magistrate dead in his home. Under cover of working on the census case, Beryl and Edwina take it upon themselves to investigate all cases of criminal activity in the village. They suspect all are somehow connected and do not shy away from using slightly unorthodox sleuthing methods to find the culprits.
Main character former celebrity adventuress Beryl Helliwell tends to make somewhat rash decisions. She is a people person and relies on her glamorous and charming appearance to get her out of trouble whenever she colors a bit outside the lines. I find her an amusing character who is my favorite of the story.
Second main character is solicitor’s daughter Edwina Davenport who tries to keep secret that she writes a book in-between investigating cases. She is very concerned with her reputation, but I like her reserved and very proper personality. She seems a very good sleuth which makes me wish she would have better self-confidence.
I read it as a standalone and a first by this author, but I found the main characters so well crafted and relatable, I could have wished them to be my friends in real life. I was drawn in by the amusing parts describing Beryl and Edwina’s thought process as they were investigating. It highlighted their unique strengths and friendship which altogether seems to make them such a strong team. These elements I find make this story memorable.
The writing and dialogue conveyed a slightly old- fashioned vibe. The opulent English countryside setting felt reminiscent of Agatha Christie with a bit of Downton Abbey environments thrown in. The best part of this story was the amusing description of when Beryl and Edwina visited the village gossip lady to get information without revealing anything themselves.
Anyone who enjoys a well written historical cozy mystery set in post WW1 rural England would enjoy this story. As will fans of Jessica Ellicott. I am curious what comes next from this author, and will be on the look-out for any other releases from Jessica Ellicott. Similar authors to explore might be Alyssa Maxwell or Andrea Penrose.
Thank you to publisher Kensington Books and NetGalley for this eARC which gave me the opportunity to share my honest review. All opinions in this review are completely my own.
Conclusion: Murder Comes to Call is the captivating, charming and amusing cozy mystery about Beryl and Edwina as they solve murder and theft in post WW1 English countryside.
England, cosy-mystery, murder-investigation, private-investigators, theft, 1920s, friendship
Edwina is a fibre addict and avid knitter in addition to having a rather British reserve much of the time and owning a rather large home and gardens. Beryl has traveled the the world and has little sense of propriety as she is an American. The women had been at finishing school together and now, years later, are Private Enquiry Agents and have some financial backing from their elderly gardener. There have been burglaries in the village, a burglary with a death probably included in it, and a somewhat contentious constable inclined to listen to local gossip and blame Edwina’s new undergardener simply because he is Irish and new to the village. And then there is the rather unusual circumstance surrounding the theft of the census documents. I think that it is a dandy cosy (or is that just because I share Edwina’s addictions?). This is the first I have read in the series and I think that it stands alone, but I am curious about non-mystery goings on before this one. I loved it!
I requested and received a free ebook copy from Kensington Books via NetGalley. Thank you!