Murder Most Malicious (Lady and Lady's Maid Series #1)

by Alyssa Maxwell

Overview

In post-World War I England, Lady Phoebe Renshaw and her lady's maid, Eva Huntford, step outside of their social roles and put their lives at risk to apprehend a vicious killer. . .

December 1918: As a difficult year draws to a close, there is much to celebrate for nineteen-year-old Phoebe Renshaw and her three siblings at their beloved family estate of Foxwood Hall. The dreadful war is finally over; eldest daughter Julia's engagement to their houseguest, the Marquis of Allerton, appears imminent; and all have gathered to enjoy peace on earth, good will toward men.

But the peace of Foxwood Hall is shattered on the morning of Boxing Day, when the Marquis goes missing. Not entirely missing, however, as macabre evidence of foul play turns up in gift boxes given to lady's maid Eva Huntford and a handful of others. Having overheard her sister and the Marquis in a heated exchange the night before, Lady Phoebe takes a personal interest in solving the mystery.

As the local constable suspects a footman at Foxwood Hall, Phoebe and Eva follow the clues to a different conclusion. But both young women will need to think outside the box to wrap up this case--before a cornered killer lashes out with ill will toward them. . .

Product Details

ISBN-13:	9781617738326
Publisher:	Kensington
Publication date:	11/29/2016
Series:	Lady and Lady's Maid Series , #1
Pages:	304
Sales rank:	240,006
Product dimensions:	5.40(w) x 8.20(h) x 0.90(d)

About the Author

Alyssa Maxwell has worked in publishing as an assistant editor and a ghost writer, but knew from an early age that being a novelist was what she wanted most. Growing up in New England and traveling to Great Britain fueled a passion for history, while a love of puzzles of all kinds drew her to the mystery genre. She lives in South Florida in the current year, but confesses to spending most of her time in the Victorian, Edwardian, and post WWI eras. In addition to fantasizing about wearing Worth gowns while strolling manor house gardens, she loves to watch BBC and other period productions and sip tea in the afternoons. You can learn more about Alyssa and her books at www.alyssamaxwell.com, and friend her on Facebook at https: //www.facebook.com/gildednewport and https: //www.facebook.com/alyssa.maxwell.750.

Editorial Reviews

11/02/2015
Set in England, Maxwell’s entertaining first in her Lady and Lady’s Maid series opens with an argument between Lady Phoebe Renshaw and Henry Leighton, Marquess of Allerton, on Dec. 25, 1918, at Foxwood Hall. The next day, Leighton goes missing, and evidence of his demise turns up in several Christmas packages the Renshaw ladies prepared as gifts for their servants. Lady Julia, Phoebe’s sister, along with Julia’s personal maid, Eva Huntford, become an unlikely but clever pair of sleuths, eliminating the houseful of guests as suspects and locating Leighton’s body. Ignoring Constable Miles Brannock’s warnings to leave the detecting to him and his fellow officers, Julia realizes that even Phoebe isn’t above suspicion. Both ladies are attracted to certain men involved in the mystery, but identifying the killer takes precedence over any romantic notions. Some of the characters and scenes are highly reminiscent of TV’s Downton Abbey, but Maxwell (Murder at Beechwood) makes Phoebe and Eva distinctive personalities in their own right. Agent: Evan Marshall, Evan Marshall Agency. (Jan.)

Publishers Weekly

01/01/2016
The Great War is over, and those who remain at Foxwood Hall have survived the influenza epidemic of 1918. At Christmastide, Lady Julia Renshawe Wroxly is expected to announce her engagement to the Marquis of Allerton. But the festivities on Boxing Day (when the servants are handed their gifts from the Wroxly family) reach a sober conclusion after the presents are unwrapped. It becomes apparent something horrible has happened to Lord Allerton, who has not been seen in two days. Lady Phoebe and her maid Eva Huntford decide to investigate. VERDICT The author of the "Gilded Newport" mysteries (Murder at the Breakers) switches locations and historical periods for her new series debut. Downton Abbey fans will enjoy Maxwell's evocative descriptions of a particular society as it transitions from the Edwardian Age to modern times. Lady Phoebe is torn between her life before the war and her desire to become a modern woman.

Library Journal

2015-10-08
An aristocrat and her maid take on a case of murder. December 1918. The Great War has ended, and the inhabitants of Foxwood Hall and their guests look forward to a happy Christmas when Phoebe Renshaw, the 19-year-old middle sister of the family, overhears her older sister, Julia, having a nasty fight with Henry Leighton, Marquess of Allerton, to whom she's supposed to become engaged. When she refuses him, he attempts to blackmail her with a secret he claims to know about a past indiscretion. Next morning, Henry is nowhere to be found when the time comes for the family to hand out the traditional Christmas boxes to the staff and each other. When Eva Huntford, Phoebe's lady's maid, opens her box at her parents' home, it contains a signet ring with a finger still attached. Several other people get boxes that contain fingers, too. The fingers appear to belong to Henry, who has still not been found. Although the police are called, they find only some footprints in the snow that lead away from and then back to Foxwood Hall; not even an extensive search discloses Henry's body. The police, not daunted, arrest one of the servants when they find a cleaver hidden in his room and learn that his sweetheart had been pestered by Henry. Phoebe and Eva, convinced that the servant is innocent, work both above- and below-stairs to winkle out secrets that may lead to the real killer. Putting aside her Gilded Newport series (Murder at Beechwood, 2015, etc.), Maxwell provides a neat little mystery and a heavily atmospheric look at life in a great house after the trials of the war.

Kirkus Reviews