Julia Bird is as keen as anyone in Berrywick to see inside the famous Greystone Manor. But when she does, the last thing she expects is to find is a body!

When Julia Bird is asked to clear out the gatehouse at Greystone Manor after the sudden death of Colonel Loxton’s sister, she is intrigued to finally see inside the impressive house. But when she discovers the body of the Colonel, who greeted her only hours before, dead behind the sofa with a bruise on his forehead, Julia believes his death is no accident.

Once forensics confirm it was murder, Julia tries to piece together what happened. On the day the Colonel died, she saw an unknown man getting into a car outside the manor. The butler Garforth and the housekeeper Biddy claim there were no visitors that day, so who was this mysterious man? Or is someone in the Colonel’s family not telling the truth, with tensions running high over the inheritance?

Days later, Julia finds another body among the rhododendrons and knows the deaths must be connected. At the Colonel’s funeral, she hears his friends talking about a long-buried secret. Had the second victim discovered it, and is it motive enough to kill? With time running out, can Julia solve the case before there’s another murder at the manor?

An addictive and totally charming cozy mystery set in the English countryside. Perfect for fans of M.C. Beaton, Faith Martin and J. R. Ellis.

.

Favorite Quotes:

 

Julia almost collided with a tall, ruddy-faced man, whose most noticeable distinguishing feature was a truly remarkable moustache which luxuriated on his upper lip like a polar bear basking on a rock. It was full and thick and startlingly

white– shades lighter and much thicker than his sparse, dull-grey hair– tapering dramatically at the ends. Julia struggled to drag her eyes from the thing, and for a moment stood blinking at the man in wonder.

Going through a dead person’s clothes always made Julia feel a bit sad. The ragged hem on a much-loved jumper, the worn soles of the shoes… There was a fragile intimacy to it.

‘There’s a good number of them, and look at all the medals,’ said Biddy. She nodded approvingly at her tally. Julia had the impression that not only the size of the crowd but the calibre of the attendees was significant to Biddy. All those suits and medals attested to the colonel’s good standing. And, by extension, the standing of the family and the staff. It was an odd sort of snobbery, especially since someone had disliked him enough to kill him.

That’s young love for you. All hormones and romantic notions, no prefrontal cortex.

.

My Review:

,

Team Katie Gayle has conjured another cleverly contrived and humorous murder mystery for our reading pleasure. And it was a pleasure to peruse this delightfully amusing and unpredictable puzzler. The writing style is seamless, easy to follow, well-honed, and continuously engaging. The little pea in my brain merrily gathered clues and formulated theories about the possible culprit while also enjoying the antics of Ms. Bird’s colorful collection of animals. Julia Bird is an authentic, witty, and likable main character, and I always enjoy her inner musings, observations, and snoopy nature.