1920’s LondonRosemary Lillywhite only wanted to be left alone to mourn her husband in peace, but when a desperate woman knocks on the door of her dead husband’s investigative office, she’s forced to make a choice: come out of hiding or turn Grace Barton away.Working cases with Andrew had been fulfilling, but she couldn’t solve this case by herself—or could she? When Rosemary discovers that Grace … Rosemary discovers that Grace is from the same village where her family lives, and that they’re all invited to a party at Barton Manor, she knows it’s a proposition she can’t refuse.
With her best friend, bright young thing Vera Blackburn at her side, Rosemary heads to the country and finds herself embroiled in a murder investigation.
The plot thickens when she’s forced to defend her brother Frederick’s good name, and is confronted with romantic feelings towards handsome CID detective and old friend Max Whittington. Will Rosemary solve the crime before the murderer strikes again?
Book one in The Mrs. Lillywhite Investigates series. Are you ready to escape to the roaring twenties? For fans of Beth Byers, Leighann Dobbs, Lee Strauss, and cozy historical murder mysteries. A light, cozy mystery with no swearing, graphic scenes, or cliffhangers.
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I enjoyed The Case at Barton Manor, a 1920s Mrs. Lilywhite Mystery, Book 1 by Emily Queen. In this book, the author sets us up for a wonderful cozy mystery adventure series with great characters, lovely British manors, and hints of romance to come. I liked Mrs. Rosemary Lilywhite. I liked her dead husband Andrew. I will be reading more of her adventures.
Welcome to fellow mystery writer, Emily Queen, and the first book of her new series – The Case at Barton Manor: A 1920s Mrs. Lillywhite Investigates. If you love my 1930s Mona Moon Mysteries – just go back 10 years and discover Mrs. Lillywhite. You’ll be glad you did.
Author Emily Queen has done a great job recreating the Roaring Twenties in England in this book. This was a period of changing manners, changing fashion, changing ways of living, and not everyone was happy with it. We meet Rosemary Lilywhite, a young widow of a private investigator who died untimely. Rose is just coming out of a year of mourning when this story takes place. She intercepts a young woman who is insistent on speaking to her husband and has a case for him to solve. Rosemary decides she will take on this case, and together with her best friend Vera journeys home to begin her investigation. It turns out that Rose and Vera are neighbors of the young woman and manage to get themselves invited to a party at Barton Manor. I enjoyed reading this book.
Love the cover! It draws you in! Enjoyable clean read. A fun light read! Entertaining brisk pace. Well written. Great story. Memorable characters.It had some hold your breath, edge of your seat moments! Wow! Fun read. Enjoy!
Not very exciting but readable with some moments of drama. a few ends were left loose, Marjorie’s story, Herbert’s story, what was the investment they were tied up in? in the end a surprising murderer who killed for an even more surprising reason. otherwise a clean, calming read despite the murders.
In places the plot seemed to be off track.
Great
An English society novel beautifully done. Great fun.
Dollycas’s Thoughts
Still in mourning after the death of her husband, Rosemary Lillywhite is ready to make some changes. She had decided to close down her husband Andrew’s investigation office. She enjoyed helping him with his cases but can’t imagine solving a case on her own. Then Grace Barton arrives at her door seeking help. After hearing her story and realizing their families have a connection Rosemary agrees to attend an upcoming party at Barton Manor to see if she can assist Grace in some way.
Rosemary and her friend Vera Blackburn head to the country never imaging a little investigating would turn into a full-blown murder mystery with her very own brother Fredick as a primary suspect. The CID detective assigned to the case is Max Whittington, a friend of both Rosemary and her now deceased husband. It feels good to have him on the scene but she is not going to let him cart her brother away even if he does make her heart race just a bit. She will ferret out every clue to catch the real killer.
I did enjoy meeting both Rosemary and Vera. The characters are as different as can be but are best friends who have each other’s back. Due to the short length of the book, these characters were not as developed as I had hoped the main characters would be by the end of the story. We also don’t get to know any of the vast number of other characters in the book at all below the surface. It is hard to get engaged in character’s lives without more development. One thing we do know about Rosemary is that she adored her husband so I was surprised to have a romantic element introduced so quickly. I just can’t see Rosemary being interested in a relationship with Max but the set-up is there.
The murder mystery started out great with several suspects. Rosemary has many theories. Then a big clue unexpectedly falls into place setting up the reveal of the killer which just felt off. The whole thing wrapped up too quickly for me.
This story doesn’t read as a real 1920’s English mystery. I guess I expected more pomp, more splendor, more high-brow characters. That aside I was entertained by the story and the theme of a woman detective set in that timeframe is intriguing. It was a nice light-hearted little story. I may give the second book in the series a chance to see if the author ironed out any of the issues I had.
A perfect read for historical cozy mystery fans – I loved it!