What to Read This Spring
A Recipe For Murder 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.
It's only days before Ellie is set to walk down the aisle with her beloved Hugh (WOOO! FINALLY!) and there's much to do at Henley Hall to prepare a celebration for the villagers. Before the big day, Ellie must make herself available as the lady of the manor and attend the Spring Supper in the village, a pot luck event to celebrate spring and ensure good luck for the coming growing season. While visiting the homes of the villagers and mingling with them, Ellie devours the local foods and drinks and partakes a little too much. That night she is sick to her stomach and soon discovers the ladies were as well. Clifford, not having eaten anything in the presence of his lady, was fine and has a remedy ready to hand. It wasn't just Henley Hall affected, the milkman brings news of a widespread outbreak of food poisoning in the village. Ellie's wedding caterer, Annie Tibbets, is so gravely ill, she is in the hospital. Even Constable Fry is down with food poisoning and can't begin to investigate the source. When Annie Tibbets dies, the village is in an uproar. While Ellie and co. were absent traveling, a new mill opened up on the other side of the village. The mill has a self-contained mill village and the mill villagers are not welcome in Little Buckford. A full scale war is about to break out with both sides blaming the other. Ellie feels responsible for the rift, after all, as Lady Eleanor Swift, she's the lady of the manor and should have made the mill workers feel welcome upon their arrival. Without Constable Fry and with Hugh busy working right up until the wedding, it's up to Ellie, with the help of Clifford to solve the mystery. Meanwhile, wedding preparations can't seem to go right. Is someone trying to sabotage the wedding? Who on earth could it be? Can Ellie figure out the answers to the two mysteries before anyone else dies and in time for her big day?
This is another great mystery! We're back in Little Buckford and Ellie and Hugh are FINALLY going to tie the knot! wooohoo! It's been 5 years since their first dance in Brighton! The mystery is a little slow and confusing at first but then it gets going once Ellie begins her investigation. Then Hugh joins in, in a surprise visit to Henley Hall, to assist Ellie. The furry "terrible twosome" add some levity and humor to the story. Gladstone gets his moment to assist in the action though and I never knew the old fellow had it in him. The murderer turned out not to be who I expected nor was the motive. It turns out Ellie had the answer the whole time, she just didn't know she had it. I wasn't crazy about that twist because I really didn't think it was that character and liked that character.
The history is much better in this one than some of the previous books. However, the timeline of the 1920s does NOT equal the Edwardian era as the author's note keeps stating. The Edwardian era was Ellie's childhood,1901-1910 (sometimes scholars push it to 1912 or 1914). I work WITH industrial collections and am well aware of the mill system and the way the workers were treated. I would have expected a better system already after WWI with more worker protections and unions but I know some mill owners ignored the laws and the workers were too poor and desperate to do anything. The mill owner also owns the workers, paying in tokens rather than cash. The workers redeem the tokens for food in the mill village store. I can see how Little Buckford, an agrarian economy, would look down on these rough industrial types. It made me upset how little empathy anyone had for the unfortunate mill workers who are so desperate for food they'd come and join the festivities of the Spring Supper.
Poor Ellie is wracked with guilt she hasn't been able to be lady of the manor recently. I feel bad she feels guilty. She's so sweet and caring. It's been lovely to watch her blossom and find family with Clifford and the ladies. They could not be more dear to her than if they were related by blood. Little Polly has grown up so much she even has a young man who is interested in her! Having Lizzie there has helped Polly grow a lot and of course Ellie's empathy, because she's clumsy and awkward at times herself. Polly's mind has grown as well and now she's figuring out clues Ellie and Hugh hadn't thought of. Go Polly! Mrs. Trotters and Mrs. Butters are a hoot and excited to have Hugh move in. Poor Hugh LOL! They'll do anything for Ellie, even if it means more work and less recreation time. How old IS Mrs. Trotters supposed to be? She learned to cook in the Victorian era which ended a good 25 years earlier. I guess she could be in her 50s? What can I say about Clifford? He loves Ellie like the daughter he never had. He loved Uncle Byron for giving him a second chance and helping him become the man he is today and that love and loyalty has extended to Ellie. Now he loves her for herself and has young Kofi to love as a son. Kofi is highly intelligent and perceptive. When he enters the story, things start to click into place for our sleuths. Hugh is a romantic at heart! When he's not working, he's not a curmudgeon. He eats well at Henley Hall, relaxes playing ball with Gladstone and watching Gladstone and Tompkins's antics. He's SOOOO swoony and romantic! He says he has a surprise for Ellie but he really has more than one and I would be so moved and touched. One thing he does is very sweet and unexpected. We never did get to hear their discussion about what they wanted from married life but they seem to have worked it out or Hugh knows what Ellie wants and needs. Realistically, there's not much she can compromise on since she IS Lady Swift. She can't abandon Henley Hall and her family there or the villagers nor would she want to. Hugh knows this and he doesn't even think about asking her to move to Oxford. I don't know how they're going to work out his work schedule and commute but they'll figure it out.
I was so happy to be back in Little Buckford. The villagers are so quirky and fun. The Spring Supper sounds like a madhouse but fun.
Annie Tibbets is the estranged wife of the pub owner. She's a talented cook and happy to cater such a large affair as a wedding. Everyone loves Annie - or so Ellie thinks. Who would want to kill this lovely woman? Well, for starters, there's Hester Hopcroft who is another local cook. She turned down the chance to cater the wedding fearing it was too big for her to manage by herself. Is she having regrets now? Did she kill Annie to get the catering contract back? It seems like a plausible motive. That or revenge. Maybe she expected Annie to demure or to ask her for help.
Then there's "Milky" Wilkes, the milkman. He claims he was seeing Annie but she was interested in other men! He's quick to bring news of the good poisoning and he isn't affected himself. I don't think he's the poisoner because his business is affected. Well, yeah... that makes sense to me! Bad milk may not be his fault but it does happen. Wilkes blames Giggs, the fishmonger. Yes that makes sense TOO but again his business is affected. Turns out Giggs was the other man Annie was seeing and the milkman and fishmonger have always had a friendly rivalry and fighting over Annie ended up NOT so friendly for any of them. Did one of the men kill her? Annie was once married to Mr. Stokes, the publican. She left him a few years ago and they've been estranged ever since. Mr. Stokes claimed they had a huge fight right before the Spring Supper and Annie was greedy and trying to get money from him. That doesn't sound like the Annie everyone else knew. Was there another reason they fought?
I feel uneasy about Annie's neighbor, Phyllis Ingleby. She's super nosy and loves to gossip. She's quick to share anything she knows about Annie, which is quite a lot, and claims to have nursed Annie through her illness. Did she ingratiate herself with her neighbor to get something in return? She seems to have a serious case of envy and I think she wants Annie's house- fully furnished. I get the impression the spinster doesn't have much money and isn't clever or talented like Annie was. I feel bad for her but she's such an annoying person that I don't! She has motive, means and opportunity!
Sergeant Brice from the Chipstone Constabulary fills in for Constable Fry. Sgt. Brice is overzealous, not very bright and isn't part of the fabric of village life in Little Buckford. He's an outsider and that should be an asset in solving the poisoning case but it's actually a liability. Brice is unable to deal with the locals easily and they resent him as an outsider. He even gets Ellie into trouble with her own villagers. Brice accuses Mr. Shackley, the baker, of having poisoned the village with his flour. That doesn't make ANY sense whatsoever. He's losing business because people are suspicious. Why would he poison the entire village on purpose? If not for what the police found, I'd say maybe the flour was adulterated or not cooked enough and people got sick. Mr. Shackley is furious and so is his wife. They're both usually so lovely, he's affable and peaceable, whenever Ellie is around anyway. I don't see a strong motive here for Mr. Shackley.
Miss Joyce Dunne is Hester's new friend. Miss Dunn lives in the mill village and is the schoolteacher for those youngsters able to attend. She is no nonsense, sensible, practical and rather hard. A spinster who probably rose above circumstances, she seems to want to befriend a more educated class of people and eager for female friendship. Miss Dunne attends the spring supper with Hester. Could they be behind the poisonings? Maybe Miss Dunne poisoned Annie out of misguided friendship loyalty or knows Hester did it and is covering for her? Maybe it was something that got out of a hand, an attempt to get the two sides of the village to come together against a common enemy? Miss Dunne seems too practical for that sort of thing. I like her a lot. She was very ill too and in the hospital.
The wedding florist, Lucetta Moore is also under suspicion. The poison that killed Annie was a plant and where can you find dried plants in the village? Hmm. I'm beginning to think the murderer might be jealous of single career women! Mrs. Moore seems nice and knowledgeable about plants. I believe her when she claims she would never have any poisonous plants lying around. Her son Alvan is a hothead known for getting into trouble. He's disrespectful to his mother when she's conducting business with the lady of the manor. Ellie believes he's a good hearted lad but I suspect he's spoiled and has a chip on his shoulder from growing up without a dad. I can't see him as a poisoner though. What motive would he have?
On the other side of the bridge is the mill and mill village. They're not very friendly and the manager is a bully who doesn't treat his workers well. I guess they pick up on his attitude and do what he says or risk losing their jobs. However, Nathan Kemp and Lewis Villin attended the Spring Supper and started a fight with the Little Buckfordians. They don't seem remorseful or respectful of the deceased and are certainly not respectful of Lady Swift's position. I think they're up to no good and could have poisoned the village just to make trouble. Perhaps the fight was a diversion? Natty seems a little nicer and more willing to talk than his friend. They claim they simply wanted hot, tasty food which is unavailable in their store. Mr. Oxdale, the manager, is a giant bully. He's a tyrant who runs the mill with an iron fist and doesn't take opposition. He doesn't know Ellie or care to know her, doesn't believe in her friendly neighborliness and insists her day is done. The day of Little Buckford is coming to an end and they'll soon be redundant. Of that I have no doubt because that's "progress" in the Industrial era but it sounds like a direct threat that's going to happen if she keeps poking her nose where it's not wanted.
Rosine Crory helps her dad, Jared, run the mill store. He, like Oxford, rules his family and store with an iron fist. He bullies his daughter. Ellie has more empathy for him than I do. I don't like him and feel bad for poor Rosine. She's just a girl and seems sweet and lovely.
Jack Browne is a shy lad who is sweet on our Polly! He seems sensible and springs into action when Ellie needs him to. I missed a book and thus my introduction to Ellie's BFF, Constance, Lady Davenport. [book:Death Down the Aisle|61178235]. Constance seems fun but marriage is not what she expected. She's pregnant and feeling not herself. She feels neglected by her husband, especially now he's inherited. He's going away on business and needs her to come too. I say, that's pretty rotten of him! Ellie is a hopeless romantic and thinks there's a surprise for her friend in the works. Since I don't know this Peregrine, I'm inclined to doubt he has romantic intentions. Dr. Browning is gruff and doesn't seem to like Ellie but he's smart and an honorable doctor. He helps with the investigation, albeit reluctantly. I don't blame him for being grouchy. He just lost a patient and doesn't know who would have killed her or why. Elijah Edwards of the County Herald is a tabloid reporter of the worst sort. He's fanning the flames and adding fuel to the fire of the tinderbox that is the village. His story will pit neighbor against neighbor and nothing will be the same again. Luckily Ellie knows just how to deal with him.
The author's note includes a recipe for a Victorian era wedding cake. It's not one I'd want to try and I'd be wary about eating a cake that lasts YEARS! This type of brandy-soaked cake was still all the rage for weddings in the 1920s and even into the 1980s.
I enjoyed catching up with everyone in Little Buckford and Henley Hall. I hope there are more adventures in store for Ellie and the gang AFTER her honeymoon! I'm sure there will be babies soon enough and then I'll be forced to break up with this series. *sigh*
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