The Railway Detective’s Christmas Case by Edward Marston

The Railway Detective’s Christmas Case by Edward Marston

The Railway Detective's Christmas Case is the first I've read in the series. It works fine as a stand-alone, but I wonder if I would have enjoyed it more had I been more familiar with the characters. Colbeck's family is featured often, mostly hoping he gets home in time for Christmas and, for me, those interludes were distractions from the plot, but if I cared more about the characters I might have been more interested. Colbeck and Leeming are charged with finding the killer of a well-respected man, Cyril Hubblesday. Hubblesday was not a nice man though and there are a fair number of suspects, from employees at the works to his daughter's former suitor. The clues the pair dig up point in several directions, and it turns out there is more going on than was originally suspected. I don't know. The case was interesting and I enjoyed the historical details, but it dragged a bit. There were a lot of...
Read More
A Most Efficient Murder by Anthony Slayton

A Most Efficient Murder by Anthony Slayton

The very private, bookish Earl of Unsworth hosts his first party in over a decade, but it goes awry when an unknown young woman is found murdered in the garden. When the police arrive, they quickly start asking questions of Lord Unsworth and his aristocratic family, which of course they don't appreciate. Mr. Quayle, Lord Unsworth's secretary, is asked to keep an eye on the investigation while also conducting an investigation of his own. Mr. Quayle's primary goal is to keep any scandal away from the family. Secondly, he does want to discover who the murderer is, regardless of his or her social position. He also knows the lead detective on the case - they served together in the war - which helps a little. I have to admit to a fondness for mysteries set on old English estates and a cast of interesting characters. The Unsworth family is an interesting set of characters. They are each well aware of their...
Read More
The Mystery of Montague Morgan by Karen Baugh Menuhin

The Mystery of Montague Morgan by Karen Baugh Menuhin

I have been reading/listening to this series since the beginning and always enjoy them. Lennox, our sleuth, is a war hero who is now one of those gentlemen who have money but not a job, so of course, he solves mysteries. This time around he's helping his friend, retired Scotland Yard Detective Swift. Swift's family makes whiskey, but their broker has disappeared, with their money. The mystery leads the pair to an island where they get snowed in with a group of people - one of whom is a murderer. Oh, and they have to solve the case quickly so Lennox can make it to his Christmas Eve wedding. I enjoyed the story, but I'm already invested in Lennox and Swift. There are a lot of characters, from the friends staying at the house to the staff, and the plot was rather convoluted. We got love affairs and murder and smuggling and plenty of secrets. I guess there was maybe too...
Read More
Death and the Conjuror by Tom Mead

Death and the Conjuror by Tom Mead

It's no surprise Death and the Conjuror caught my eye. It's set in London in 1936, the Golden Age as far as mysteries are concerned. It features a locked room mystery, something I've been reading a lot of lately, and our sleuth is a magician, which is a fun touch - after all, who would be a better person to solve the impossible? A psychologist seeing three rather unique patients is found dead in his locked study. Inspector George Flint is in charge of the case, but he knows he needs help and calls his friend, magician Joseph Spector. There are a fair number of suspects each with his or her own secrets. Actually, there are all around a lot of characters involved - the dead man's family and clients, the folks from the show Spector is helping put together, the cops obviously - and two mysteries, the murder and a stolen painting, taken from a locked chest in a locked...
Read More
Murder at the Mansions by Sara Rosett

Murder at the Mansions by Sara Rosett

It appears that there has been a murder in Olive's building and it seems highly likely that someone on her floor is dead. The trouble is that there is no body and no one seems to be missing. Olive's friend, Minerva, is not one to imagine things though. She's practical and intelligent and she saw a foot sticking out of the end of a wrapped rug, so Olive takes the case and together they are determined to get to the truth. Murder at the Mansions is a fun little mystery. Olive is smart and clever as always. I liked that it was set in her building which has a nice variety of people and their pets living in it. We get to meet some new characters, but Jasper is still around and I like their relationship. He helps her out, but she is definitely the one solving the case and the romance doesn't take over the book. I really like this series....
Read More
Last Call at the Nightingale by Katharine Schellman

Last Call at the Nightingale by Katharine Schellman

For Vivian, dancing at the Nightingale, and the occasional free drink, is a way to escape the dullness and monotony of her life. She and her sister, Florence, barely make enough to live on as seamstresses. They live in a crowded tenement building and life is tough. This is not a glitzy, sparkling 1920s setting. The bobbed hair, bootleg liquor, and dance halls are there, but so are the poverty, racial oppression, and police raids. We see Vivian's squalid building, but also the opulent homes of the rich. Vivian and her best friend, Bea, a waitress at the club, find a dead man in the alley outside the back door. Vivian becomes our amateur sleuth, with a gentle nudge from Honor Huxley, the club's owner. Honor knows how important, and deadly, information can be. The mystery has several twists and turns and the ending surprised me. I liked the diversity in the characters and that the Nightingale was a place that allowed...
Read More