Two Truths and a Murder by Colleen Cambridge

Two Truths and a Murder
by Colleen Cambridge

ISBN-13: 9781496742780
Hardcover: 272 pages
Publisher: Kensington
Released: October 28, 2025

Source: ebook review copy from the publisher through NetGalley.

Book Description, Modified from Goodreads:
While her famous employer is happily back home at Mallowan Hall, wrestling with her Belgian detective’s dilemma on board the Orient Express, Phyllida is finding her local renown as a sleuth has put her in high demand. A distraught Vera Rollingbroke suspects her husband of infidelity and has invited Phyllida to a dinner party to observe his behavior, particularly in regard to one Geneva Blastwick.

What she does observe at the party is that Geneva craves attention, in contrast to her shy sister Ethel. Geneva introduces a game called Two Truths and a Lie, and one of her questionable statements is that she once witnessed a murder. At this bold claim, the guests react with disbelief and pepper her with questions. Geneva remains cagey, withholding details, but insists this is not her lie.

The next morning Phyllida learns poor Ethel was purposely run down by a motorcar the previous night while inexplicably walking home alone from the party. She fears Geneva may have been the target. With Geneva in potential danger—and Inspector Cork proceeding ponderously as usual—Phyllida takes it upon herself to unmask the killer. With two murders to solve, she will need to grill Geneva and the guests as well as re-examine any past sudden deaths or disappearances. And if she’s smart, she’ll look twice before crossing the road.


My Review:
Two Truths and a Murder is a mystery set in England about 1933. This is the 5th book in the series. You don't need to read the previous novels to understand this one, but it would help with understanding the various relationships within the household. During the game of Two Truths and a Lie (at the beginning of the book), I immediately thought, "Oh, whodunit is..." and I only became more convinced as the story went on. However, Phyllida got sadly sidetracked by false assumptions, though she asked good questions and investigated the leads. She investigated the past murder (which accident was really a murder?) and who killed Ethel. The murder that looked like an accident could have been a very simple thing, but the author made it so elaborately staged that it pushed my belief that the witness would have accepted it as an accident.

Historical details were woven into the story, bringing the time and place alive in my imagination without slowing the pacing. However, I found it hard to believe that a logical woman like Phyllida would believe that she could repeatedly sneak into a fellow servant's quarters to have sex and no one would notice. She also seemed to think this behavior would have no consequences, which seems naive.

There were only a few uses of bad language. While Phyllida did engage in sex, it was fade-to-black after her intentions were clear (so no sex scenes). Overall, I'd recommend this historical mystery.


If you've read this book, what do you think about it? I'd be honored if you wrote your own opinion of the book in the comments.