Murder to Music by Margaret Newman

Margaret Newman wrote Murder to Music in 1959 as her first mystery novel. She was a prolific writer and many of her other books are published under Anne Betteridge, Margaret Potter or  Anne Melville, in which she wrote historical novels. In this mystery Detective Superintendent Simon Hudson is dating Delia Jones, and gives her a ride to a London Choral Society Meeting. The meetings are fraught with  conflict due to the Assistant Conductor, Owen Burr. He is a man who is musically talented but causes people to dislike him intensely.

The characters are a nice touch by Newman. They are very English and have gone through World War II. She has elderly women who have devoted their lives to the Chamber, ambitious young men- very talented, and two sets of couples to add romance. On the night of one of their most ambitious programs, who would ever have predicted murder? The setting is tight but I found some of the lesser characters more developed than Supt. Hudson, which did not make the mystery less interesting because the red herrings flew fast and furious. The end was a surprise to me. Four stars

Blurb:

You must have a curious taste, to love someone whom you believe to be capable of murder.’

Detective Superintendent Simon Hudson finds himself in a difficult position. Attending the Metropolitana Choir’s concert was intended to make him a supportive partner… not the head of a murder investigation. But when the conductor drops dead during the performance, Hudson winds up with a shocking list of suspects – including his girlfriend.

Unable to keep his professional and personal lives separate, Hudson finds himself embroiled in the peculiar hatreds and spiteful grudges that dominate the Metro’s managing committee. Desperate to ensure his girlfriend’s innocence, Hudson must work quickly to bring the murderer to light before it’s too late.

This melodic murder mystery, brimming with charm and wit, was first published in 1959 and was Margaret Newman’s first novel.

Murder to Music is also part of Agora Books' Uncrowned Queens of Crime series.

A Stroke of Malice (A Lady Darby Mystery Book Eight) by Anna Lee Huber

Book Eight of the Lady Darby Series has the happy couple attending a Twelfth Night Event at the Duchess of Bowmont's Castle. The elite gathering, started earlier in the day with the heralding of Trumpets while each guest drew a role to play at the Event. The evening revelry soon descends into drunkenness and fissures appear beneath the jibing, prompting Lord Edward to do a ghost tour. The guests all are led into the basement with its damp, cold and rats. But the real terror lies in the catacombs under Kirkbryde Abbey and joined at the very far corner of the Castle by an opening in the stonework. Led deeper into the underground of gray stonework, and the ghost of a monk, the story takes a bizarre twist for the guests. Who is the new body placed there... that met such violence, for the the face has been chewed by Rats. Kiera, Lady Darby decides to help the family and pursue a murderer.

I had these books recommended to me by a friend, who devoured them. I can see why... Anna Lee Huber writes with a deft touch and very eerie overtones. Who could resist all the elements of the aristocracy during the 1830's?  The parties, costumes, love affairs and as an added spice- murder, start the book in the first four chapters. The tension builds as Lady Darby and her Husband Sebastian Gage track a murderer? This story has all the makings of the great Gothics of the 1970's. Who could resist unknown corpses, rats, underground catacombs, suspicious characters, and a tense build-up leading to the last page?

Blurb:

Lady Kiera Darby and her husband Sebastian Gage are looking forward to celebrating with new friends at an exciting yearly soiree, but they soon learn that murder never takes a holiday in the latest riveting installment in this national bestselling series.

January 1832. After enjoying a delightful few weeks with her family, expectant mother Kiera and Sebastian Gage have been invited to the Duchess of Bowmontʼs Twelfth Night party in Traquair, Scotland. Though she normally avoids such fashionable, rambunctious events, Kiera is ready to join in the festive merrymaking. But upon their arrival at the opulent estate, it becomes obvious that all is not merry in their hostess’s home. The family appears to be under a great strain, and someone seems determined to cause mayhem among the guests with a series of forged notes.

Matters swiftly turn from irksome to downright deadly when the partygoers stumble upon a decomposing body in the castleʼs crypt. The corpse is thought to be the duchessʼs son-in-law who had purportedly traveled to Paris more than a month earlier. It is evident the man met with foul play, and Kiera and Gage soon realize that a ruthless murderer walks among them—and may well be a member of the duchessʼs own family. And when the investigation takes a treacherous turn, Kiera discovers just how deep the killer is willing to dig to keep their secrets from ever seeing the light of day.

Berried in the Past (A Cranberry Cove Mystery Book Five) by Peg Cochran

Peg Cochran throws you right into the mystery with a bang-up first chapter. There is a knock on the door and a woman, disheveled and stunned, claims someone is trying to kill her. She is taken back the next morning to her family home, and it is apparent that her Sister is dead and has been for several days. The writing is smooth and continuous allowing us to catch up with the back history of Monica and Greg. They are living in a small cottage owned by Monica until they build their own House and start a family.

The background is scrumptious. We have a baking area and a store which means lot of recipes and food...the air is filled with all those goodies. I love anything with cranberries so there is no problem with that. The atmosphere is icy and snowy, with winter days and a shivery, continuous, mystery. Red herrings are folded into the story as neatly as a recipe. In fact, I highly recommend you get a cup of tea and a muffin and read this on an evening you can pretend you are next to a roaring fire. This book has everything...likeable characters, mystery and great food.

Blurb:

On a night of heavy snow and bitter cold, newlyweds Monica and Greg are comfortably nestled before a warm fire when they’re roused by a late-night knock at the door. Surprised to find a troubled and confused woman on the doorstep, Monica is even more shocked when the woman vacantly utters that someone is trying to kill her. Sensing distress but not danger, Monica decides to help this mysterious woman, but her clouded recollections yield little—until she dredges up memories of her sister and a nearby home, where they find the woman’s sister, dead.

Unable to deny her own curiosity or the woman’s request for help, Monica begins digging into the suspicious death, only to discover a murky family history of valuable land, a bullying brother, an unscrupulous real estate developer, and endless rumors of good deeds met with bad blood. And when the trail of the killer begins to turn cold, Monica realizes that while the family wants to bury their sister, someone is out to bury the clues—and if Monica’s not careful, to bury her as well . . .
Includes tasty recipes!

Death Stops The Frolic by George Bellairs

This is a little different from the Inspector Littlejohn series that I love. It is an earlier book of Bellairs, first published under the name Turmoil in Zion, 1943. However, it still has the flair toward unusual names and the tendency to allow us to peek into English village life during the war years. Bellairs will always be one of my favorite Writers from the period because of his characters and the satire he sprinkles generously throughout the plot.

Start with another Bellairs though if this is your first read with the Author. I found the Story enjoyable but different from his later work. Still, a good "who dunnit" and much better than many of today's mysteries which is why I enjoy Bellairs. This Mystery is worth having in your collection as one of his stand-alone works.

Blurb:
On a joyous afternoon filled with tea and cake, something strange happens at Zion Chapel’s Anniversary Tea Party. The infamous Alderman Harbuttle is behaving uncharacteristically playful – laughing with the assembly, singing rhymes, and leading people in a rousing game of Follow-My-Leader throughout the chapel’s winding halls.

But his jubilee is cut short when the revellers find the Alderman’s murdered body in the dark recesses of the chapel, a bread knife buried to the hilt in his chest.

Superintendent Nankivell of the local police force takes up the case, and his investigation quickly stirs up sinister secrets lurking within the walls of Zion Chapel. His suspect list soon proves massive, as he learns there are many people who would be happier without the sanctimonious Alderman Harbuttle around…

Answer in the Negative by Henrietta Hamilton

Henrietta Hamilton was an English Author known for her crime-solving married couple, Johnny and Sally Heldar. Agora Publishing, has decided to reprint these books from the 1950's and this was a fabulous choice. I liked the whole environment of the Era, but in particular- drawing rooms, drinks, drizzly weather and the quirky English Characters. Set them in a book and a Photo Archives environment and I feel right at home.

The War years are over but England still has bombed-out sites and scars left in people as well. A series of nasty pranks keep getting worse and Johnny Heldar is called in...who works with his wife. They plan a siege...watching everyone in the Archive Office. Things take a turn for the worse and the unlikeliest of victims is murdered. Trying to solve this mystery and figure out whodunit was a lot of fun...but will the first murder be the last? Hamilton has a way of building clues that kept me guessing till the early hours.
4 stars good book

Blurb:
At The National Press Archives on Fleet Street, archive assistant Frank Morningside has become the recipient of nasty poison pen letters and cruel practical jokes. With Frank disliked by many, his superior Toby Lorn is concerned by the number of potential suspects. And when the nature of the letters becomes even more vulgar, things take a sinister turn.

Toby calls on his friends Sally and Johnny Heldar, two amateur sleuths, to investigate. Posing as researchers, Sally and her husband Johnny go undercover to scout out the myriad of suspects at the archive. But just as the Heldars begin to make some progress, Morningside is found dead in his office, bludgeoned by a box of glass negatives.

When another suspicious death occurs within the company, the Heldars fear they may be in over their heads.

Answer in the Negative was first published in 1959 and is part of Agora Books’ Uncrowned Queens of Crime series.

The Body in the Dumb River: A Yorkshire Mystery by George Bellairs

James Lane is found face down in a dirty, flooded area wrapped around a tree. Inspector Littlejohn has one of his more interesting cases because Jimmy was leading a double life. He had owned a shop that was unsuccessful and so he had taken to the road to earn a living. Those monies went to support a wife who considered herself much too good for him and their three Daughters. But a double life is bound to come out as will murder.

George Bellairs writes a tight plot with very defined characters in this Book. The plot has a lot of twists and turns which always makes for great reading. This is a part of English village life that moves in greed, violent temper and strong drink. The Women are particularly interesting in their whining, dis-satisfied lives trying to keep up appearances. Inspector Littlejohn has a lot on his plate when he interviews them and tries to separate who is lying from the rest of the cast of villagers.

I have become an Admirer of George Bellairs. His characters are not always attractive but they are real and convincing. They build the story often through shadowy lives. The unintended consequences are almost as prevalent if we had a cast of Oliver Twist nineteenth century models to follow. If you like older murder mysteries set in England from the 1940's to the 1960's this is a very good Author to read. Personally I do. I give this five stars and highly recommend it.

Blurb:

Mystery crime fiction written in the Golden Age of Murder
'A decent, hardworking chap, with not an enemy anywhere. People were surprised that anybody should want to kill Jim.'
But Jim has been found stabbed in the back near Ely, miles from his Yorkshire home. His body, clearly dumped in the usually silent ('dumb') river, has been discovered before the killer intended – disturbed by a torrential flood in the night.
Roused from a comfortable night's sleep Superintendent Littlejohn of Scotland Yard is soon at the scene. With any clues to the culprit's identity swept away with the surging water, Bellairs' veteran sleuth boards a train heading north to dredge up the truth of the real Jim Teasdale and to trace the mystery of this unassuming victim's murder to its source.

The Long Farewell by Michael Innes

Blurb:

Lewis Packford, the great Shakespearean scholar, was thought to have discovered a book annotated by the Bard - but there is no trace of this valuable object when Packford apparently commits suicide. Sir John Appleby finds a mixed bag of suspects at the dead man's house, who might all have a good motive for murder. The scholars and bibliophiles who were present might have been tempted by the precious document in Packford's possession. And Appleby discovers that Packford had two secret marriages, and that both of these women were at the house at the time of his death.

Review:

I loved this book. The literary illusions were fun, the characters were eccentric, intellectual and lived in a very elite environment of  rare books and mysteries. It is loaded with twists and turns with moments of wry humor interspersed. This book may not be everyone's cup of tea but for those of us that love elegant mysteries you will really enjoy it... Five Stars