What to Read This Spring

 ​What to Read This Spring

A  Very Irish Mystery by Verity Bright-- 1920s Cozy Mystery

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

The Byron Detective Agency members (Eleanor, Clifford and Hugh) are in Dublin for a bit of sightseeing and to meet a man who may have answers about what happened to Ellie's parents all those years ago. While visiting Finnegan's brewery, Ellie gets lost on the way to the restroom and overhears an argument between the brewery owner and a woman. Later, on the tour, just as the guests are about to taste a sample of Finnegan's famous brew, the tour guide opens the barrel and the very dead body of company owner, Fergal Finnegan, falls out. The company Head of Operations hires the Agency to investigate discreetly without alerting the Garda, the Irish police. They must delve deep into company business, family drama and politics to untangle this complicated murder. In the meantime, their contact person, Samuel O'Sullivan, is a no show. Will Ellie ever get answers to the mystery of her parents' disappearance? 

This trip to Dublin didn't appeal to me as much as the trip to Venice. The characters don't get in any real sightseeing and the travelogue consists of them walking around the city and investigating and eating. The brewery setting didn't interest me at all. I did enjoy learning the history of Ireland in the 1920s though. The mystery was way too complicated. There was a lot going on and I never guessed most of it. Some of it was guessable but not all of it. The Byron Detective Agency is back to making lists of their suspects and motives on page and it slowed down the mystery a bit.

I really read these books for the characters. Ellie surprised me a bit by being the tough one on the case. She endears herself to the Irish people by having an Irish title, enjoying the local simple pub food and not being a snooty English Lady. In her search for answers about her parents, she shows more emotions. That subplot ends of a cliffhanger and I NEED to know what happened!

Hugh also surprised me by being the emotional one in the group. Now he's no longer a police officer, he can reveal his private, personal feelings on certain situations. It's obvious how much he loves Ellie and wants to protect her but knows he loves her because she is who she is. He's devoted to her and will follow her and try his best to assist her investigations and keep her safe without wrapping her up in cotton wool. Clifford does way too much unnecessary explaining in this story. I would think many readers are familiar with Dublin and those who aren't could look up the places mentioned. The mystery is long enough without adding info dumping. 

Gladstone is adorable as always. He makes a new friend, Alma, the Glen of Imal Terrier. I was picturing a Yorkie, or worse a Teacup Yorkie when Alma first appeared on the scene. The Glen of Imal, like Gladstone, is low to the ground but solid/heavy. I don't think I've seen one in real life but I can tell from the TV and photos they're larger/longer than the Scottish varieties of terrier you see more often in the U.S. I don't think they're small and light enough to climb up a lady's legs and dress. Alma is very sweet and very un-terrier like. I was happy to see Gladstone make a new friend. The two are just so CUTE together! 

None of the new human characters are particularly likable. Ellie's first new friend is Mrs. Cullen. I admire her stance on women's rights and she seems to have risen from the working class which is wonderful, but... she's scary! She's formidable and seems to like to have things her way. Mrs. Cullen has the blood of Celtic warrior women running through her veins and seems to fancy herself a modern day version. She doesn't often let anyone else speak much and she just commands. She's friendly though and not necessarily a bad person but I don't quite like the way she talks about her sons. The eldest was the apple of her eye and she dotes on him and he cares for her back. Yet everyone else says she spoiled her youngest and made him what he is so I blame her for what happens with him. 

Fergal Finnegan was a businessman and a successful one but there is a hint, early on, that he did something questionable, not quite ethical, to achieve his success. Surely someone hated him for some reason to want to kill him! Way too many people actually... He enjoyed thumbing his nose at Society yet he wanted to be rich. He did a lot of things that were not so great just to spite random people who don't matter. As long as people love his product it shouldn't matter to him what they think of HIM. Yet he was very good to his mother and seemed to love her or maybe he understood her money would flow more freely if he showed her attention and kindness. 

Mary O'Leary, Mr. Finnegan's secretary is a sharp woman. She's outspoken and wants to help find Mr. Finnegan's killer. She seems to have a history with one or both of the Finnegan brothers though. It might be past or present and could provide her with a motive for murder.

Fergal's brother Liam is spoiled, lazy and nowhere near as driven as his brother. Liam just wants money so he can live the life of a gentleman. He's not even second generation removed from the fortune let alone third so no go Liam. He comes across as entitled and whiny and I wouldn't put it past him to have argued with his brother, accidentally killed Fergal and then covered it up to save his own skin. He should have been man enough to pick up where his brother left off and run Finnegan's easily. He simply doesn't want to put in the work Fergal did to achieve success. He's far more lazy than Fergal. His wife is a much stronger personality. Ellie overhears her arguing with Fergal in his office just before Fergal's body was discovered. This woman is a gold digger, obviously, and gold digging on behalf of her husband. 

Brídín is a force of nature but different from her mother-in-law. More... a piece of work! Brídín is selfish. She goes to bat for her husband when they want money but belittles and mocks him every chance she gets at home. Why does she show such contempt for her husband? He actually deserves her derision but there are ways to express it without mocking in front of strangers! Her actions and words make Liam out to be a suspect in Fergal's murder! I think Liam is too weak to murder someone but if he did kill his brother accidentally, he would call Brídín to help and she would take care of the problem. I don't think she'd be so dumb as to hide the body in a keg for all to see though. No, not unless she wanted to frame her husband. She's contemptuous of the sleuths as well, seeming to think she's more clever and better because she's Irish and they're English. (Well, clearly Ellie has some Irish heritage!) Liam and Brídín are incredibly snobby and rude as well. 

Mr. Dwyer, Head of Operations seems like a weasel to me. While he hires The Agency to investigate Mr. Finnegan's murder, he seems to think they're only in it for the money and he also seems to be pushing them along to finish up the investigation. There are also certain places he doesn't seem to want them to go or people to talk to. He's a shady character for sure and he's near the top of my suspect list. If he's not the murderer, he's up to something and it's not good. Or possibly he was up to no good and that's the motive for murder?

Mr. Canavan, the head cooper, had beef with Mr. Finnegan and was overheard threatening him. Mr. Canavan had means and opportunity but what was his motive? Even when we learn that, I can't see murder as the solution. He seems more like the type to strike out with his fists and have a good fight, wanting his opponent to face him rather than resort to murder. Plus it would be too obvious given the murder weapon and where the body was found. Canavan strikes me as smarter than that. 

George Gaffney, a rival brewer is a person of a lot of bluster, swagger and ego but inferior product. He SAYS he doesn't care and provides a good reason for him NOT to have killed Fergal. Plus how would he get on the property without anyone knowing about it? I'm not so sure he can be trusted but I'm also not sure he's the murderer. Mrs. Cullen seems to think he's so cutthroat he would murder a rival but there's personal feelings involved there. He seems sincere to me at least as much as he's capable of. His secretary, Orla, is pretty tough. She's efficient, highly capable of anything and willing to get her hands dirty if necessary. Hmm? Maybe SHE offed Fergal somehow on behalf of her employer?

Isabel, Fergal's wife, is English. She's suspicious merely because she's English and married Fergal for his money. I don't believe she killed her husband but he doesn't seem like a lovable man. Being English at this time, she probably wasn't a very good trophy wife with anti-English sentiment running high. I don't think divorce was legal in Ireland at that time either so she's stuck, unless she just leaves quietly and Fergal doesn't strike me as the sort of man who would allow her to leave. She says they ended up falling in love and seems sincerely sad he's dead and Ellie believes her so put her near the bottom of the list too. Hugh believes she truly does want the killer caught and hanged but he's cautious about WHY she wants that. She seems to loathe Liam and his wife. Could Isabel be the murderer and framing Liam?

Nora is a tough character to like. She's sympathetic but she's made some questionable choices in life. Of course she was stuck between a rock and a hard place and made those choices out of necessity but when it becomes a matter of murder, the sleuths and the reader have to wonder if she was involved. How far would she go to protect one she loved? That would mean we're looking at two different murderers though. I think Nora has an idea who did it but she doesn't think the suspect everyone else thinks did it could have done it. Most of the suspects did not have a motive to kill the second victim - unless the second victim knew who the real killer was. 

Enter a brand new suspect, Irish mob boss, Daniel Donohue. Donohue is a Robin Hood figure to some and an evil extortionist to others. People love him or hate him - no in between. They fear him and he makes certain people have a reason to do what he wants when he wants. However, Fergal was worth more to Donohue alive than dead. Maybe Donohue sent a goon to teach Fergal a lesson and the situation got out of hand and the goon went overboard? Donohue is a scary dude and I'm certain people have died because of him. Conor McCloskey is another complicated figure. How is he connected to Finnegan's and Fergal's murder? WHO is telling the truth? Or are they all lying?

Pat Byrne, the security guard, is the only likable new friend. He and his wife anyway. Pat is helpful in assisting the sleuths with their investigation. He's not blindly loyal to Finnegan's and willing to look the other way to see justice done because he WAS loyal to his old friend Finnegan. His wife, Kathleen, also wants to see justice done but a new law in Ireland has changed jury duty for women from mandatory to optional so that no women will OPT to sit on a jury. With Mrs. Cullen, Kathleen and her suffragist friends, I think The Byron Detective Agency could muster an auxiliary branch in Ireland easily enough!

Fitz, Mrs. Cullen's driver, is a teetotaler of all things. Jobs are hard to come by in Ireland at this time so he needs the job. Fitz isn't very friendly and seems to resent sweet Alma. HE wasn't willing to risk his life to rescue her. Liam borrowed Fitz to drive him around and pick him up from a trip out of town on that fateful day. As Ellie moves through the city, she spies a shadowy figure lurking around. Could Fitz have seen him too? Could Fitz hold the key to the mystery? He doesn't seem to care one way or the other that his boss's son is dead. He's not an agreeable person and doesn't get involved in helping to try to solve the mystery. Perhaps he hated Fergal for rising to the top when Fitz and many others are struggling to get by and if so, he doesn't want Fergal's killer brought to justice? He's not a well-developed character and this is all speculation on my part. 

Ellie is in Ireland to meet with Samuel O'Sullivan to learn more about her parents' fate but he's a no show. Where is he? What does he know? WHO is he? His name seems to be familiar to people in Dublin but elicits a strange reaction. He was an Irish Civil Rights activist so the people should like him.

While I didn't love this story as much as some of the others, I am grateful to Mark and Bookouture for honoring Laura's hard work and publishing the book posthumously. Laura will be much missed because of her talent in creating wonderful, lovable characters who get into some incredible adventures! I wish this series could go on forever!

What to Read This Winter

 ​What to Read This Winter

Murder on a  Frosty Night 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.

Ellie and Hugh are looking forward to celebrating their first Christmas as a married couple at Henley Hall with Clifford, the ladies, the furry terrible twosome and all the villagers. The halls are decked and Mrs. Trotman is preparing a delicious feast. However, Hugh is busy working, trying to tie up loose ends for Scotland Yard and fretting about money since the Byron Detective Agency has not had any valuable clients so far. It seems like a Christmas miracle is within reach when a telegram arrives offering 300 pounds now, 300 more on acceptance of case and a further 300 once the case is concluded. The catch? It's Christmas Eve and they have to arrive by midnight and the telegram has no phone number to call and ask for a delay. So the sleuths bundle up in the Rolls, drive 400 miles in the snow to get lost in the smallest hamlet in Britain. Along the way they nearly hit a women dressed all in black, encounter a curmudgeonly landlady who is less than thrilled to greet them but provides directions to Waketon Court, a medieval style castle outside the village. They arrive close to the deadline only to learn the master is not within but has been dead for five years! Then who sent the telegram? Ah, his nephew who has been squatting at Waketon Court but is currently not at home. Inigo Osmond Unwin (I.O.U.), their client, has left them a gramophone recording but no real information to go on. Back to the village, after midnight, Ellie, Hugh and Clifford seek information about I.O.U when Ellie stumbles across their client's dead body lying over his uncle's grave. NOW they have a murder investigation on their hands! Aided by the local constable and the new vicar, the Byron Detective Agency has their work cut out for them. Can they solve the mystery before the Inspector arrives the day after Boxing Day?

This is a long and twisty mystery. I was very confused after skimming the last third and had to go back and reread most of the book. The mystery was very complicated and I never guessed what was going on. I took what we were told at face value just as the sleuths did and didn't realize there was more than meets the eye. The introduction of gramophone records was interesting and used by Agatha Christie in one of her most famous mysteries. Thankfully this mystery is not as dark and creepy but the gramophone recording is a big clue. Thank you to Mark for the fascinating historical notes. This is one of the few times I didn't know any of that! The cozy Christmas cheer was a lot of fun and added some lightness to this otherwise somewhat grim mystery.

As always, the characters are the real draw for this story. I was a little disappointed Ellie had to cancel a visit from a new friend she met in a previous story because there was another mystery there and perhaps a potential new... friendship ... for Clifford. I missed the ladies at first but Ellie, Hugh and Clifford did too and Gladstone missed his partner in crime so they come along later to celebrate the season with their family. The ladies were under-used though. I'd love to be a fly on the wall watching them dance around in their frilly ___ (bloomers? knickers? UNMENTIONABLES!) and teasing the vicar. Kofi gets in on the fun for his first Christmas with his adopted family. Ellie is so delightful with her sense of humor and her big heart. She's drawn to help women in need, I think and she forms a connection with a potential suspect whom everyone believes is a witch. In the past Ellie has had some sort of guardian angel looking out for her and I think this time it's her turn to be guardian angel. I love her cheeky sense of humor and how she enjoys puns and riling up Clifford with unladylike behavior and language. Hugh wouldn't want her to be anyone but herself and he makes it clear he loves her devotedly as she is. There weren't enough swoony moments between them for my taste but the few times they have to be alone together are lovely. Hugh has come a long way. He recognizes he can't wrap his wife up in cotton wool but he does want her to be safe and he does want to shield her from seeing more of the horrible things she's already been exposed to. Hugh can't help himself. He's still a policeman even if he quit the force. Now Clifford is a partner in the business, he has to learn to unbend and relax the rules a bit. The horror! I love his encyclopedic knowledge of everything. Who needs the internet when you have Clifford? 

The inhabitants of the hamlet Yorlow are not a friendly, welcoming sort. They're not used to strangers, being in the most out of the way location in the country. Their hamlet is a "devil's punchbowl" location and they don't get many strangers. I.O.U. is a stranger though and a newcomer. He's come to stay in order to assess the property to sell the castle and the contents. He was an odd sort. His uncle, Augustus Pritchard, eschewed all things modern - an in anything  after Tudor times! He enjoyed reading, riddles and mainly keeping to himself. I.O.U. on the other hand, was the exact opposite. He loved mechanical gadgets- the more the merrier and made good use of the new home recording machine. Unwin was rather obnoxious about it- using the gramophone to dictate what he wanted for supper and whatever else he needed the butler/valet and cook/housekeeper to do for him. He did not endear himself to the servants or the villagers. What was he doing poking around the graveyard at midnight on Christmas Eve? Did he just happen to be strolling past skipping Midnight Mass or ducking out early? Or was there another reason- a reason connected to his urgent telegram to the Agency? Who else was out and about and killed Unwin? Figure out the motive and then find the killer. Well, that's not exactly easy with a newcomer for more than one reason. 

First on the suspect list is Ned Yearth. Ned is one of those nasty guys who likes to smirk and make "knowing" comments. He thinks he can do whatever he wants and does things to rile people up. He threatened Unwin and was not at Midnight Mass. Well ideally he should be the killer but that's too obvious. Yet, Gladstone doesn't like Ned so I think he must be the killer. Who else is there? The butler/valet Mr. Babcock is certainly a prime suspect. He hated the newcomer, the nephew who invited himself to stay and wouldn't leave until the legalities of Mr. Pritchard's will were sorted out. The nephew seemed to think everything would work in his favor and if it did, Mr. Babcock would be out of a job. In many respects Mr. Babcock is from the same old school as Clifford but he's also odd. He's fiercely loyal to a dead employer and acts as if his employer is on vacation and will return soon. He knows a lot about what's going on in the village but is not so forthcoming. He, too, is an obvious suspect! Miss Dora is the only only servant. She's Mr. Pritchard's cleaner and also cooks meals for the household - mostly Mr. Babcock. She seems like a timid sort of woman who wouldn't harm her employer even if she was worried about losing her job.

Mathilde Frisham runs the local pub with her sister Blythe. The two could not be more opposite. Mathilde is all business. She's tough and strong and suspicious of strangers. She doesn't trust anyone or like anyone. Mathilde is tough on her sister who is more of a free spirit and more lively. Blythe stepped out around the time of the murder, according to her sister. Yeesh really? Mathilde is quick to throw her sister under the bus and my guess is, her sister loved not wisely but maybe too well and she loved Unwin? She seems to be the only one mourning his death so I think that's a safe assumption to make. Maybe her older sister did the man in. I sure hope it's not "Loony" Luna. Why is everyone Luna believed to be "loony"? This Luna is eccentric in a different way than Luna Lovegood but she's an adult and chooses to be odd. Luna was the young lady of the manor until her parents lost their money and perished in a fire. She got blamed and now lives in the woods in a cabin, dresses all in black and flits around mysteriously. I rather like the sound of her and I hope she's not the murderer. She does have a strong motive though. 

Mr. Dunstan O'Brien, the church warden, whatever that is, is a newcomer to the village. He's kind of odd and cranky. Dunstan asked for the job the day after Rev. Ansel arrived and says he's helped out at churches before. He went through a tough time and just wants to be left alone and not asked a million questions that remind him of who he used to be. Or maybe he's just suspicious because he has something to hide? He's not in the story much and he was at Mass but not the whole time! He had means and opportunity but what about motive? Douglas "Digger" Dilkes, a mysterious man, is the grave digger. A-ha! He had means and opportunity to kill Unwin but again, what motive? He had more motive to kill the second person who turns up dead but not Unwin. Jarrett Maystone, the stone mason, is a little creepy. He's fascinated by Ellie's green eyes, so like the stones he tumbles and polishes. He's hoping to find a real gem some day. Ah... a jewel heist was referenced in the first chapter... could he have found real gems after all and sold them to shady characters? Could he then have gotten involved in stealing jewels? But he lives so far and out of the way from civilization so I doubt it. He was friendly enough until the sleuths mentioned Pritchard's grave and he seemed to be issuing a veiled threat about not sticking their noses in things that are none of their business. 

Constable Farnaby Quilter is a good man. He is respected in the village and can handle local petty crimes but he's never had a murder case before. He wants to solve this one and retire but needs the Byron Detective Agency's help. Constable Quilter is bashful around Ellie but comfortable celebrating Christmas with the ladies and Kofi. Yet, the sleuths feel he is not as forthcoming as he should be and withholding information that could be pertinent to the case. I don't know why they suspect that though. I think he's being open with them as much as he can. Rev. Thaddeus Ansel is the new, young vicar in the hamlet. He's a bachelor and as a young man, has difficulty convincing the parishioners he is as good as an elderly vicar. Sure his Christmas Eve Midnight Mass sermon is in Latin and way too long but he's kind and really wants to help people. He starts by helping the sleuths by providing information. He observed strange lights in the graveyard but was unable to identify the people. He also knows who was at Mass and who was not which helps narrow down the suspect pool. Most importantly, he does a real good deed for the sleuths on Christmas when they're homesick and missing family. He's a sweet man and I think Blythe should marry him. 

Professor Pike is not the murderer as he was in jail, drunk at the time but he's a delightful character. A professor of "phony English" I knew just what Quilter meant! Professor Pike is Henry Higgins and that's made clear late in the novel with a reference to George Bernard Shaw's play Pygmalion. Unlike the staid Henry Higgins, Professor Pike is perpetually drunk and can't hold down a job. They need him to not be drunk to help them out. Can he do it?

This was one twisty mystery! I'm still a little confused as to how they figured it out! 

Check out the other stops on the blog tour and Happy Christmas to all who celebrate!