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givemetheabstract's review against another edition
MV Rating: 8/10
•Book #6 in the series, and my first read. The characters & minor details might be more familiar if you read in order, but I didn’t feel like being new to the series hurt the story.
•Set at Chatsworth, a real British estate, in the midst of WW2 at Christmas, a hodge podge group of characters come together for a happy holiday. Of course, hijinx ensue thanks to a seance and there are multiple murders.
•My favorite part of this book is that it just wasn’t that deep - it was very CLUE style, and had great timing to keep you engaged without losing suspense.
•Loved that the ending was tied up with a bow. It’s truly just a comfortable fun mystery, and I really enjoyed it.
I’ll definitely be going back into this series when I need a comfort mystery. For fans of Agatha Christie or Lucy Foley, this will be a hit!
QOTD: what is your go-to comfort read?
•Book #6 in the series, and my first read. The characters & minor details might be more familiar if you read in order, but I didn’t feel like being new to the series hurt the story.
•Set at Chatsworth, a real British estate, in the midst of WW2 at Christmas, a hodge podge group of characters come together for a happy holiday. Of course, hijinx ensue thanks to a seance and there are multiple murders.
•My favorite part of this book is that it just wasn’t that deep - it was very CLUE style, and had great timing to keep you engaged without losing suspense.
•Loved that the ending was tied up with a bow. It’s truly just a comfortable fun mystery, and I really enjoyed it.
I’ll definitely be going back into this series when I need a comfort mystery. For fans of Agatha Christie or Lucy Foley, this will be a hit!
QOTD: what is your go-to comfort read?
readmore's review against another edition
adventurous
lighthearted
mysterious
medium-paced
- Plot- or character-driven? Plot
- Strong character development? No
- Loveable characters? It's complicated
- Diverse cast of characters? No
- Flaws of characters a main focus? It's complicated
3.0
lavanda4's review against another edition
4.0
The six remaining Mitford family siblings now have families and lives of their own, scattered all over. It is 1941, WWII is a constant and has claimed lives and torn families apart. Debo (Deborah) has invited those who could to a Christmas party to Chatsworth where she lived with her husband. Though once in The Bright Young Things set, not all of her family members were as privileged as she after finances plummeted. Perspectives and priorities changed.
Dear family friend Louisa and her little girl Maisie were also invited to Chatsworth. Good thing as Louisa's private detective skills came in handy after a seance revealed the surprising death of a maid years before. Layers and layers of secrets are peeled away and deceptions are brought to light. Historical bits including social mores, views and class systems are always thrilling to read about. This story exudes atmosphere...I could almost feel it! It is interesting to read about the family members and how the war affected and changed them.
My favourite character in this story is Louisa. The family member depictions are fascinating as their quirks and personalities are highlighted and researched from real life. Though I have read many, many books on the Mitford family (the six sisters in particular which sadly became five too early) The Mitford Secret was a delight and beautifully written in Jessica Fellowes' special manner. Historical Fiction readers, do read this entire series including this the last instalment. You will be glad you did.
My sincere thank you to St. Martin's Press and NetGalley for providing me with an early digital copy of this wonderful book. Thank you also for introducing me to the Mitford Murders series!
Dear family friend Louisa and her little girl Maisie were also invited to Chatsworth. Good thing as Louisa's private detective skills came in handy after a seance revealed the surprising death of a maid years before. Layers and layers of secrets are peeled away and deceptions are brought to light. Historical bits including social mores, views and class systems are always thrilling to read about. This story exudes atmosphere...I could almost feel it! It is interesting to read about the family members and how the war affected and changed them.
My favourite character in this story is Louisa. The family member depictions are fascinating as their quirks and personalities are highlighted and researched from real life. Though I have read many, many books on the Mitford family (the six sisters in particular which sadly became five too early) The Mitford Secret was a delight and beautifully written in Jessica Fellowes' special manner. Historical Fiction readers, do read this entire series including this the last instalment. You will be glad you did.
My sincere thank you to St. Martin's Press and NetGalley for providing me with an early digital copy of this wonderful book. Thank you also for introducing me to the Mitford Murders series!
elumpio's review against another edition
adventurous
mysterious
medium-paced
- Plot- or character-driven? Character
- Strong character development? No
- Loveable characters? No
- Diverse cast of characters? No
- Flaws of characters a main focus? No
3.0
laurareadsdaily's review against another edition
adventurous
emotional
hopeful
mysterious
reflective
medium-paced
- Plot- or character-driven? A mix
- Strong character development? No
- Loveable characters? Yes
- Diverse cast of characters? No
- Flaws of characters a main focus? It's complicated
3.25
vilma_ellen's review against another edition
adventurous
informative
mysterious
slow-paced
- Plot- or character-driven? Plot
- Strong character development? It's complicated
- Loveable characters? Yes
- Diverse cast of characters? No
- Flaws of characters a main focus? No
3.5
normalpeople2005's review against another edition
dark
emotional
mysterious
reflective
medium-paced
- Plot- or character-driven? Character
- Strong character development? Yes
- Loveable characters? Yes
- Diverse cast of characters? Yes
- Flaws of characters a main focus? It's complicated
3.5
i really enjoyed the setting of the book
i love a murder mystery book with a twist this was exactly that
detective true crime with abit of creativity
was a page turner and had lots of complex twists and turns
i feel like the war aspect was handled in a very generic way considering this is ment to have historical meaning and be true lacked realism
to many charters could have done with condensing
feel like the build up was incredible but the final reveal lacked impact
violavalenza's review against another edition
lighthearted
mysterious
slow-paced
- Plot- or character-driven? Plot
- Strong character development? No
- Loveable characters? Yes
- Diverse cast of characters? No
- Flaws of characters a main focus? No
3.0
litwithleigh's review against another edition
4.0
Thank you Minotaur Books for my beautiful gifted copy in exchange for an honest review. IYKYK, my reviews are always honest.
Writing: 4/5 | Plot: 4/5 | Ending: 4/5
SYNOPSIS
The Mitford sisters and their former nursery-maid, now private investigator, Louisa Cannon are back together to celebrate Christmas during WWII. But festivities are challenged when a psychic raises old secrets and ends up dead in the manor.
MY OPINION
Why yes, I did read a cozy historical mystery and why yes, I did enjoy it. Keep in mind, this is the first of its type I've read, so I can't really compare it to other similar books. Thereforeth (sometimes therefore doesn't feel fancy enough) this might be good to me as a newbie but an absolute stanker for a cozy historical mystery vet.
I'm not sure why it's taken me so long to read historical fiction considering a young GWTPSM was probably one of three lunatics who obsessively googled "historical drama movies" or "period piece films" LOL. If it had Keira Knightley in a ball gown with one loose curl hanging about her up-do, I was there!!! But nowadays when I read a synopsis and it says "It's the year *long ass time ago*" I'm like immediately no, NEXT. I gotta stop playing myself.
Ok so paragraph three and I'm finally going to talk about the book. First off, I enjoyed the writing. It wasn't too bogged down with old timey speak but still realistic for the time period. I found it quite funny too with most of the observational humour still relatable in today's modern society. For example: Louisa sometimes wondered how two Englishmen managed to put their clothes on in the morning, let alone run governments if these two shining examples were anything to go by.
Yes, there is a large cast of characters in this one, but at the back of the book there's a list to help you out. Also, Fellowes does a great job rehashing everyone's role and personality in the prologue. I didn't feel lost at any point. Tbh I don't think I'll ever feel as confused in a series as I did reading The Family Remains, but I digress.
Reading this reminded me of why I was such a history loving hoe. I loved reading about life during the war (Fellows approaches this with sensitivity while still keeping it "light"), British customs and traditions, and the attitudes of the time. So interesting to see how society has progressed, or regressed depending how you look at it.
I have to say though, 90% of police work was just vibes though. Backaday you really could commit any type of crime with a 95% success rate. Sealing off a crime scene for forensics? Nah. Just chuck the bloody sheets in the wash and call it a day. I'd love to see what kind of evidence was presented in court. Probably used astrology charts to show how the defendant's Venus was in bubble guts (idk anything about astrology) which means he's guilty your honor!
Ok I'm done.
PROS AND CONS
Pros: well-written, satisfying ending (not OTT, no weird "catching up with a friend" epilogue), well-executed plot, felt authentic
Cons: some filler scenes
Writing: 4/5 | Plot: 4/5 | Ending: 4/5
SYNOPSIS
The Mitford sisters and their former nursery-maid, now private investigator, Louisa Cannon are back together to celebrate Christmas during WWII. But festivities are challenged when a psychic raises old secrets and ends up dead in the manor.
MY OPINION
Why yes, I did read a cozy historical mystery and why yes, I did enjoy it. Keep in mind, this is the first of its type I've read, so I can't really compare it to other similar books. Thereforeth (sometimes therefore doesn't feel fancy enough) this might be good to me as a newbie but an absolute stanker for a cozy historical mystery vet.
I'm not sure why it's taken me so long to read historical fiction considering a young GWTPSM was probably one of three lunatics who obsessively googled "historical drama movies" or "period piece films" LOL. If it had Keira Knightley in a ball gown with one loose curl hanging about her up-do, I was there!!! But nowadays when I read a synopsis and it says "It's the year *long ass time ago*" I'm like immediately no, NEXT. I gotta stop playing myself.
Ok so paragraph three and I'm finally going to talk about the book. First off, I enjoyed the writing. It wasn't too bogged down with old timey speak but still realistic for the time period. I found it quite funny too with most of the observational humour still relatable in today's modern society. For example: Louisa sometimes wondered how two Englishmen managed to put their clothes on in the morning, let alone run governments if these two shining examples were anything to go by.
Yes, there is a large cast of characters in this one, but at the back of the book there's a list to help you out. Also, Fellowes does a great job rehashing everyone's role and personality in the prologue. I didn't feel lost at any point. Tbh I don't think I'll ever feel as confused in a series as I did reading The Family Remains, but I digress.
Reading this reminded me of why I was such a history loving hoe. I loved reading about life during the war (Fellows approaches this with sensitivity while still keeping it "light"), British customs and traditions, and the attitudes of the time. So interesting to see how society has progressed, or regressed depending how you look at it.
I have to say though, 90% of police work was just vibes though. Backaday you really could commit any type of crime with a 95% success rate. Sealing off a crime scene for forensics? Nah. Just chuck the bloody sheets in the wash and call it a day. I'd love to see what kind of evidence was presented in court. Probably used astrology charts to show how the defendant's Venus was in bubble guts (idk anything about astrology) which means he's guilty your honor!
Ok I'm done.
PROS AND CONS
Pros: well-written, satisfying ending (not OTT, no weird "catching up with a friend" epilogue), well-executed plot, felt authentic
Cons: some filler scenes