A sleuthing team pursues purloined pigeons—and finds a dead body—in this “captivating” mystery set in a 1920s English village (Publishers Weekly). One would hardly call them birds of a feather, but thrill-seeking American adventuress Beryl Helliwell and quietly reserved Brit Edwina Davenport do one thing very well together—solve murders . . . Sharing lodging in the sleepy English village of … lodging in the sleepy English village of Walmsley Parva has eased some of the financial strain on the two old school chums, but money is still tight in these lean years following the Great War. So when the local vicar—and pigeon-racing club president—approaches them with a private inquiry opportunity, the ladies eagerly accept. There’s been a spot of bother: the treasurer has absconded with the club’s funds and several prized birds.
Beryl and Edwina hope to flush out the missing man by checking his boardinghouse and place of employment at the coal mine. But when they visit the man’s loft, they find their elusive quarry lying in white feathers and a pool of crimson blood—the only witnesses cooing mournfully. Beryl and Edwina aren’t shy about ruffling a few feathers as they home in on their suspects, but they had better find the killer fast, before their sleuthing career is cut short . . .
Praise for Murder in an English Village
“With its strong sense of place and time in post-World War I England, this will be welcomed by fans of Frances Brody’s Kate Shackleton mysteries.”—Library Journal (starred review)
“A spectacular series launch.” —Publishers Weekly (starred review)
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MURDER FLIES THE COOP by Jessica Ellicott is the second book in the Beryl and Edwina Mystery series. It’s a story of the adventures of two elderly old friends, Beryl Helliwell and Brit Edwina. After Beryl moved back to Walmsley Parva, they’ve been sharing accommodations to help with expenses during the lean years after the war.
Edwina is a very reserve and proper English lady that’s never married. On the other hand, Beryl is an America with somewhat of a free spirit having been married and divorces several time and been on just about every adventure imaginable in distant far off lands. Although totally different, they seem to complement each other using their strengths to bring out the best in the other.
When Vicar Wilfred Lowethorpe asked Edwina and Beryl, due to their expertise in solving other mysteries, to check into the matter of the missing pigeon racing club funds and prize birds as well as the sudden disappearance of the club’s treasurer, they decide to start up a private inquiry agency. After all they did have all the necessary equipment – experience, a telephone, an automobile and a pistol – and they really could use the income that it would provide to keep the debtors off their heels.
It’s during their search for the money and birds that they stumbled upon the body of the treasure, Lionel Cunningham turning their investigation into a murder case as well.
They find both help and hindrance from the locals during the investigation as well as shock that two such fine upstanding ladies would entertain opening such a venture. Simpkins, Edwina’s gardener who had been the gardener for her parents as well, proves to be very helpful to them. He not only steered them to the Vicar to start with, but was also helpful in the investigation being a go between with both the classes and the sexes always staying vigilant over protecting and helping them.
MURDER FLIES THE COOP is a wonderful book. One that you will relish if you enjoy cozy mysteries. The author has a way of keeping you guessing about whodunit right up to the very end at which point it then all makes sense. Such a delight to step back and wonder “why didn’t I figure that out before now”. It’s a book that shows how time was back in the day when things were at a slower pace and how women were still perceived as the weaker sex. How it was a great adventure to take a drive in a motorcar and how there were tensions between the classes. It was great to see Edwina and Beryl as two strong women able to keep their wits about them and use their smarts for good to overpower evil.
MURDER FLIES THE COOP can definitely be read as a standalone book. However, if like me, once you read this book you will want to check out the first book in the series and wonder how long the wait for book #3 to come out.
After their successful murder investigation the previous autumn, Beryl and Edwina, short on funds, have decided to form a private investigations agency in their sleepy little village of Walmsley Parva. At first glance, locating the missing pigeon club treasurer seems like an easy task, but once they find him murdered everything changes. Add in a small fortune in missing jewels, adultery, and an Aussie reporter, and Jessica Ellicott has created a perfectly lovely mystery in Murder Flies the Coop. I’m partial to English cozies, especially set during the early 20th century, and adored this perfect cozy mystery! A+++
Quirky adventures of Edwina and Beryl as they start out with their new enquiry agency. Their first case is brought to them by Simpkins the Gardener. The ladies get help from various sources and the mysteries start to add up. Good twists and turns. Love how the ladies’ talents complement each other and they each bring unique gifts to the “agency”.
I always learn something while reading this series, and not in a preachy manner, but in a manner that contributes to the story.
Visiting Beryl and Edwina in their English village is exactly the escape I need from the complexities of the modern world. In Murder Flies the Coop, these two sleuths-of-a-certain-age enter the competitive world of pigeon racing and find that “as the bird flies” isn’t always a straight line. Well-written and witty.
Lifelong friends Beryl and Edwina are still trying to figure out how to earn more income when they hit on the idea of opening an enquiry agency. And their first case comes from the local vicar. It seems a member of the local pigeon racing club has vanished, along with club funds and several birds. Did the man take off with everything? If so, can Beryl and Edwina find him?
It was wonderful to be visiting this dynamic duo again in 1921 England. Beryl and Edwina are such opposites, but their differences really make them a great team, and the third person narration from their points of view show cases that perfectly. I’m loving watching Edwina come out of her shell. I don’t feel we are getting quite as much character development for Beryl, or I’m just not seeing it, but that is a minor complaint. The mystery is strong and manages to bring in some issues from the time period in an organic way without lecturing us. There are some good twists and surprises to the story and a logical climax. The entire thing is wrapped in a sense of fun that comes from Beryl and Edwina themselves, who are enjoying their new vocation.
Murder Flies The Coop is the second book in the A Beryl and Edwina Mystery series.
This is becoming one of my favorite series. The main characters, Beryl Helliwell and Edwina Davenport are a wonderful duo, even if they might be as different as night and day, they work very nicely together. In addition, there is a wonderful collection of personalities that make up the residents of Walmsley Parva. Some of the residents are Minnie Mumford, owner of the local tearoom, Prudence Rathbone, owner of a candy shop and postmistress, Mrs. Plumptree, owner of a boarding house and Mr. Scott, a greengrocer. Minnie and Prudence are the village gossips and they pride themselves on knowing what is going on in the village.
Simpkins, Edwina’s gardener, convinces Edwina and Beryl, that based on their solving a murder the previous autumn, that they should open a private inquiry business and he knows the Vicar Lowenthorpe would probably hire them. What with monies being tight with Beryl and Edwina they decide that may be a way to help solve their financial difficulties. They meet with the vicar and he informs them that Lionel Cunningham, the treasurer of the local racing pigeon club has gone missing, some pigeons he was to be taking to a race and club money have also gone missing. They get a retainer from the vicar and they are in business. Beryl and Edwina start by interviewing the owner of the mine where Cunningham works as a payroll clerk, a Mr. Eccelestone-Smythe. Next, they set out for the allotment where Cunningham has his pigeon coop. As they are about to leave his coop, something tells Beryl to look under the coop and there is the body of Cunningham.
Beryl and Edwina soon get a second client when Mrs. Eccelestone-Smythe to ask to search for some of her valuable jewelry she had given to Cunningham for safekeeping. This also sheds new light on who might have wanted Cunningham dead. They need to look over the members of pigeon racing club and the coal mine where the victim worked, which has been having problems with sabotage.
The story is well-told and plotted with plenty of red herrings and twists and turns. Beryl and Edwina will also provide the reader with quite a few chuckles, especially Beryl.
I am eagerly awaiting the next book in this lovely English country series.