"The fourth entry by Arlen has enjoyable touches of whimsy... more satisfying than the typical country-manor murder." —Kirkus Reviews on Death of an Unsung Hero
"Arlen’s satisfying fourth mystery set in early-20th-century ….The surprising solution will reward careful readers. The way Arlen integrates the traumas of WWI into a golden age whodunit plot will please Charles Todd fans." —Publishers Weekly on Death of an Unsung Hero
"Historical details, notably medical treatments and women’s wartime work, add to this fourth entry in the well-researched Lady Montfort series. A winning historical mystery." —Booklist on Death of an Unsung Hero
"The book is a delightful romp through a world of vividly eccentric characters in a beautifully described setting. It was pure pleasure to read, and it packed a punch." —Historical Novel Society on Death of an Unsung Hero
"Arlen recreates a richly detailed pre-WWI England, seamlessly weaving historical events and people into her well-written third Lady Montfort mystery... Lovers of traditional English country house mysteries will enjoy this story very much"—Publishers Weekly on A Death by Any Other Name
"Tessa Arlen returns with another intriguing mystery to be solved by the Countess of Montfort and her housekeeper Edith Jackson, a reluctant Watson to Lady Clementine's enthusiastic Sherlock. Roses in the conservatory, crumpets in the drawing room, and news of an assassination in Sarajevo—Arlen skillfully captures the uneasy moods and mores of the time." —Margaret Maron, award-winning author of the Deborah Knott series on A Death by Any Other Name
"This pitch perfect classic whodunit beautifully captures that brief moment when the world waited to hear whether war may be averted. Tessa Arlen’s observations of her characters and the intricacies of the English class system are conveyed with sparkling insight and wry humour. The sense of place and time is captured through precise telling details. This is a charming story with the bonus of exploring the British love of gardening as the storm among the Hyde rosarians is played out against historical events. It’s a delight to be in the company of two such captivating sleuths." — Frances Brody, author of the Kate Shackleton mysteries on A Death by Any Other Name
"Arlen does a good job of depicting a period when class distinctions have become blurred by new money and more relaxed manners. The plot, which includes a slew of red herrings, builds to a startling denouement." —Publishers Weekly on Death Sits Down to Dinner
"A neatly crafted whodunit that drips with diamonds, titles, and scandals." —Kirkus Reviews on Death Sits Down to Dinner
2017-12-12
A countess and her redoubtable servant seek the killer of a courageous soldier.The common sense and discipline that made Edith Jackson the trusted housekeeper of the Earl and Countess of Montfort come to the fore in her role as quartermaster of Lady Montfort's new hospital. Edith approves of turning the Montforts' ugly dower house into a refuge for World War I soldiers, wounded in mind and soul as well as body, under the care of the chief medical officer, who believes in talk therapy and everyday activity to treat shell shock. And Clementine Talbot, Countess of Montfort, is a compassionate patron who believes wholeheartedly in Haversham Hall Hospital's purpose even though her own butler, a fellow member of the gentry, and some of the local country folk see the patients as malingerers. The treatment is definitely a help to Capt. Sir Evelyn Bray, a former man about town who proved his heroism on the French front in a battle he can't recall. His memory is slowly returning, however, and his brother is on his way to visit as a guest of the Talbots. Before the brothers can reunite, though, one of the other officer patients finds Capt. Bray in the kitchen garden with his head smashed in. When the chief constable and his officious CID are too quick to make an arrest, it falls to the admirable Edith and the likable Lady Montfort to correct the professionals' errors. After a second murder and a second wrongful arrest, Lady Montfort's children help her and Edith make sense of clues as disparate as a lunch basket, a trampled bean vine, a portrait, and a draft horse in this snapshot of suffering and healing during the Great War.The fourth entry by Arlen (A Death by Any Other Name, 2017, etc.) has enjoyable touches of whimsy but a little more substance than its predecessors and is thus more satisfying than the typical country-manor murder.
