The Birdcage Murders by Karen Baugh Menuhin Narrator: Sam Dewhurst-Phillips
Series: Heathcliff Lennox #8
Published by Little Dog Publishing Ltd on March 13, 2023
Source: Purchased
Genres: Historical Mystery
Length: 8 hrs 55 mins
Pages: 278
Format: eBook
Purchase at Bookshop.org or Audible
Add on Goodreads
Major Heathcliff Lennox is called in, along with ex-Detective Inspector Swift, to help the police investigate a macabre death. The dead man is Lord De Ruyter, a man inextricably linked to the notorious Birdcage Murders.
Nothing is as it appears, witnesses to De Ruyter's murder are not the strangers they purport to be, everyone present had a reason to be there and it all relates to the Birdcage Murders.
A man was killed at a dinner at Brundals, a private men’s club in London. Lennox happens to be a member although he hasn’t been there for years, so Scotland Yard asks him and retired Inspector Swift to go to the club and be the Yard’s eyes and ears. Swift is delighted to be working with the Yard again, and while Lennox is a little leery of spying at first, the case soon captures his attention.
I have read a lot of mysteries, but I think this may be the first I’ve come across with this particular method of murder. It’s dreadful and very upper-crust. It turns out that all of the people in the dining room when the murder occurred are connected to an unsolved case from 12 years ago when several people were killed when a birdcage automaton exploded.
This is the 8th in the series and by now we know Lennox, Swift, and the crew well. I always enjoy spending time with them and adore Lennox’s dog and cat, who are both present here. Apparently the club members and staff love animals.
The mystery had a few twists and turns, several suspects and red herring. We have a good denouement that pulls it all together well.
It’s a solid, enjoyable read. And I do love the London between the wars setting.
About Karen Baugh Menuhin
At 60, Karen Baugh Menuhin decided to write, and suddenly the stories came pouring out, along with the characters. Eccentric Uncles, stalwart butlers, idiosyncratic servants, machinating Countesses, and the hapless Major Heathcliff Lennox.
An itinerate traveller all her life, she grew up in the military, often on RAF bases but preferring to be in the countryside when they could.
She is living and writing in the Cotswolds with her dear husband Krov. Krov is a professional writer, an award-winning documentary filmmaker, professional diver, pilot, ex US special forces soldier, and the eldest son of violinist, Yehudi Menuhin.