The Vanishing at Hallwood Hall by Helena Marchmont Narrator: Nathaniel Parker
Series: Bunburry #20
Published by Lubbe on January 1, 2026
Source: Purchased
Genres: Cozy Mystery
Length: 3 hrs 23 mins
Pages: 126
Format: Audiobook
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When Alfie McAlister agrees to join a writers’ retreat at the remote and imposing Hallwood Hall, he hopes to find inspiration - and perhaps a moment of clarity about his past and future. But among the aspiring authors and eccentric personalities, tensions simmer beneath the surface. Then a guest disappears without a trace, and fiction starts to feel dangerously close to reality. As secrets begin to unravel, Alfie must uncover the truth - before someone decides his story should come to an end.
I love the Bunburry mysteries. They’re short little reads/listens that are perfect when I’m not sure what I want to commit to next. This time around, Alfie is enrolled at a writing course at Hallwood Hall – perhaps not the best place for him to go back to. The writers are an odd collection and there’s clearly tension in the air, so when one of them leaves suddenly but with no way to get to town or the station, Alfie is suspicious.
Adding to my list of things to not do if I’m in a cozy mystery book: let someone take my phone away because it’s a “distraction”
The mystery here is good. It’s only 3 1/2 hours long, but we get several suspects and a couple of nice clues. This time, it’s up to Alfie and Emma to solve the mystery and I kind of missed Liz and Marge – they’re around but not really integral. I do wish Emma and Alfie would learn to communicate better and stop jumping to the worst conclusions when it comes to their relationship.
About Helena Marchmont
Helena Marchmont is a pseudonym of Olga Wojtas, who was born and brought up in Edinburgh. She was encouraged to write by an inspirational English teacher, Iona M. Cameron. Olga won a Scottish Book Trust New Writers Award in 2015, has had more than 30 short stories published in magazines and anthologies and writes the Miss Blaine’s Prefect mysteries.
Reading this book contributed to these challenges: