What to Read This Summer

 

What to Read This Summer

 Murder in Mayfair by Verity Bright-- 1920s Cozy Mystery

Thank you Bookoture, Verity Bright and NetGalley for an e-ARC. All opinions in this review are my own and not affected by the giveaway.

While visiting the British Empire Exhibition at Wembley Park, London is supposed to be a fun treat for all the residents of Henley Hall. The ladies and Clifford will examine modern improvements that could make their work easier while Ellie will get to see the sights of countries she has never been to. Right away she has her qualms about the portrayal of "natives" of certain countries and is curious about the closed off section that was supposed to portray the Gold Coast (Ghana). During a hot air balloon ride gone awry, Ellie spies a man shot in the closed off pavilion. She rushes to his aid, alerting the security team (headed up by her fiancé), but by the time they arrive, the body has disappeared and Ellie is seen as a hysterical female. Not even Clifford and Hugh believe her at first. Hugh makes a few discreet inquiries though and knows Ellie saw what she thinks she saw but his hands are tied by the higher-ups. 

Then Lady Philomena Chadwick, the wife of a wealthy banker, wants Ellie to find her missing pearl necklace before her husband returns home on Friday! She's a little cagy about what she wants Ellie to do, exactly, and when Ellie arrives at the lady's fine Mayfair home, she discovers the house is run by a martinet butler and she is expected to be the new governess! How on earth is she going to find a missing necklace if she's upstairs in the school room? If only Clifford were on hand to help sleuth. 

Murder at the Empire Exposition and a Society lady's missing pearl necklace. What do they have in common and how can Ellie solve the mysteries with the government being hush-hush about one and her employer lying to her about the other? Good thing she has Clifford and Hugh to bounce ideas off. 

 This story was so good! I couldn't put it down. I felt like I was there in 1920s London at the Exposition taking in the sights, traveling in a hot air balloon and learning about how the government wanted the British Empire to be portrayed vs. how it actually was. I studied these human zoos for a graduate school paper and this book doesn't even cover half of how demeaning and horrific these exhibitions actually were. I liked learning about the new household inventions that would make life easier for the ladies downstairs. That was a lot of fun but for some readers, it may be too much info dump. I liked how it was worked into the story though and not just a list of new inventions. 

The mysteries were both excellent. I figured out some of the mystery of the necklace but not much. There was a late twist to the plot I didn't see coming. I feel the ending veered off into fantasy territory a little too much for me. While I love some of the stories that may have inspired this one, the ending didn't fit the beginning. Ellie is such a great character. She's sweet, loyal, caring and holds very modern views on people from other nations. She's great with kids and her education plan is amazing and the way school SHOULD be taught. However, Ellie is also impetuous and heedless. She goes haring off without thinking and sticks her nose in where it doesn't belong. The murder was none of her business after Hugh explained it was government business. 

The mystery of the missing necklace should have been easy for Ellie but it ended up being fairly complicated. I appreciate how she went to Clifford and Hugh with her concerns and her clues and they pieced the mystery together and came up with a plan together. That made a nice change from Ellie going off alone with Clifford at her back. The last adventure in Venice was pretty hair raising so I think she learned her lesson. 

We learn a bit more about Uncle Byron and Clifford's past. Just a hint at something that happened, a hint of an inside joke and a new ally who knew Uncle Byron and Clifford back in the day. Uncle Byron's death affected a lot of people but Ellie seems to be doing a great job following in his footsteps. Clifford is clever and devious as usual. He's also Ellie's governess and bodyguard and always a true friend. He never fails to surprise me with what he knows and who he knows. He's overcome a lot and apparently owes Uncle Byron his loyalties even after death. Hugh is much improved. He's still overworked but that's not his fault. The Metropolitan Police force is understaffed and Hugh doesn't have the resources to investigate every crime that comes his way. At first it seems like he's just another government puppet, doing what he can to please his superiors but soon he realizes what is important. It's what draws him to Ellie. They both have huge hearts and want to see justice done. Hugh groans about Ellie's impetuousness but he trusts her and listens when she tells him things. They're on the way to becoming great partners. I did not appreciate Hugh's "great man!" comment. That was out of character for a policeman. 

As always Gladstone and Tompkins are on hand to charm and lighten the mood. They're oh so adorable! How can anyone not smile at their antics? 

 Lady Chadwick is a mere acquaintance of Ellie's. Not even that as they only met once at a charity luncheon. Lady Chadwick has heard of Ellie's unconventionality and how she's solved a couple of crimes. Lady Chadwick is not hoity-toity but rather distracted and flighty. She never quite comes out and states what she wants or means. She's evasive in her answers and may even be flat out lying. I think she's lying big time. Reading between the lines, I think her necklace got lost when she went up to her room with her lover and he took the necklace off and put it down somewhere. I also think her husband wants it reevaluated not for insurance purposes but to sell. They seem to be short of funds. He can't sell it if it's already fake and I suspect it is OR Lady Chadwick is about to pawn it or have it faked. She states her husband treats her like a child. She isn't allowed any independence. She fears the butler is spying on her on Sir Reginald Chadwick's behalf and she feels intense pressure to look a certain way and be a certain way for her husband. She ignores her children except to be tough on them when she does notice them. At least at first. Her husband sounds like a monster! Lady Chadwick describes his temper, being fearful of him, how controlling he is. Yikes lady! It's the 1920s. Is abuse still legal? I feel sorry for her because she can't really divorce him. She has no money and nowhere to go. Yet she isn't entirely honest with Ellie and may be hiding things even when a second murder occurs. 

 The children are charming. They're close in age and almost like twins. Octavia is almost 8 and she's very sweet. Herbert, at 7, is still a little boy trying to be a man. I'm not sure why he's not in school yet but there's a hint that he is struggling with multiplication so perhaps home schooling works better for him - if they can keep a governess. No one really knows why the previous governess left. 

 Sir Reginald Chadwick is confusing. When he shows up in the story, Ellie sees him as cold and is scared of him at first but when the second murder happens in his home, he doesn't seem guilty. He seems surprised and confused, even willing to call the police. I don't get the impression he killed the second person. He may just be a bully. He's a government man so he may have secrets and be a good actor. He's a complicated person. 

 The Chadwick servants are pretty awful. The butler, MISTER Withers acts all high in the instep. His formality is worse than Clifford's, yet, he snoops, spies and eavesdrops. Is he spying on Lady Chadwick for Sir Reginald, or is he up to no good? He's up to something I'd say, maybe both for Sir Reginald and for himself. Is he an accomplice in the rash of thefts in the neighborhood lately? What if he stole Lady Chadwick's necklace? Lady C's maid, Grace, was in the room when Lady C. locked the necklace in the drawer. Servants aren't dumb. I doubt she stole the necklace. It would not only be the end of her career, it would be the end of her life! Yet Ellie notes signs Grace has had a really hard life and is more careworn than a young woman her age should be. Perhaps she did steal the necklace because she was desperate. Mrs. Hawkins, the housekeeper, rules the servants with an iron fist. She is not friendly, warm or welcoming to Ellie or anyone else. She does seem to be fond of Withers. Cut from the same cloth, I expect. She may be a little mentally unstable and some signs point to her possibly having a darker side. (Cue subplot borrowed from Downton Abbey.) 

 Tateham, the footman, is cheeky and tries to flirt with Ellie. He's also flirting with a maid so I don't find him trustworthy. He hasn't been there very long yet he expects to advance in his career quickly. He may have dirt on Withers and plans to oust the butler so he can have the position. It doesn't quite work that way now does it? He has to work long and hard and earn the Chadwicks' trust first. He seems an impatient young man. He says he needs money quickly so possibly he's in trouble of some sort. I don't think he's ever going to make butler! 

 The stereotypes of the female servants bothered me. Of course the cook, Mrs. Rudge, is short and puddingish with round cheeks. Hannah, the head housemaid, has curves and acts saucy. She's self-aware and probably would sleep her way to the top if she had the opportunity. Alice, the other maid, has a sweet, round face to go with her sweet personality and big heart. She also has a "dumping-shaped" body so Verity Bright be prepared for accusations of fat shaming and some negative reviews. Alice doesn't sound educated at all and is probably quite young. She has a lot of duties as assigned and no one has any empathy for her situation. I like her a lot and I think Ellie likes her but Alice reveals something to Ellie that causes Ellie to make a snap judgment and act impetuously. She could have gotten Alice into a lot of trouble and gotten herself, Clifford and Hugh killed. 

 John Clemthorpe, the murder victim, didn't deserve to be murdered. He deserved another fate for sure but I don't want to spoil the plot by saying much. He was a government employee in the same department as Chadwick. The body disappeared and the government is hushing up the scandal. Is Clemthorpe's murder a government conspiracy? Was he a victim of political intrigue? Ellie runs afoul of a man in colorful robes early on at the fair. He also got Hugh into trouble with the ambassador and was chasing a child menacingly. The man is spotted lurking at the fair around the closed pavilion where Clemthorpe was shot. Is this man involved in some way? He's a nasty sort I wouldn't want to cross. I'm sure he's involved in the murder somehow. YET I do have some sympathy for him. 

The hard-nosed Englishman is also a villain. What is he up to and what does he want with Lady Chadwick? There's something shady going on in the Chadwick household and also at the closed pavilion at the Exhibition. All these men must be involved in something, somehow that links the two crimes. 

 One last new character late in the book is Kofi Oppong, a boy from the Gold Coast. He is educated and longs to further his education so he can help his people. Kofi is an orphan placed in the care of a guardian who doesn't care about Kofi and apprenticed the boy to a bad man. Kofi's story reminds me of David's in the Amelia Peabody series. Kofi takes the place of the urchins Ellie abandoned after the first book! He's funny and quite a charming little lad. Kofi proves Clifford loves children and is great with them. Ellie knew that but Clifford tries to pretend he's a stern, stuffy old man. 

 I thoroughly enjoyed this novel and can't wait to see what Ellie and Co. get up to next. Will she and Hugh ever walk down the aisle?