Lady Takes the Case by Eliza Casey

Lady Takes the Case by Eliza Casey ISBN-13: 9781984803887 Paperback: 304 pages Publisher: Berkley Released: November 26th 2019

Source: Review copy from the publisher through NetGalley.

Book Description, Modified from Goodreads:
England 1912. Danby Hall is the only home Lady Cecilia Bates has ever known. Despite the rigid rules of etiquette and her mother the Countess of Avebury's fervent desire to see her married off, Lady Cecilia can't imagine life anywhere else. But now, with an agricultural depression sweeping the countryside, the Bates family's possession of the hall is suddenly in peril.

A possible solution arrives in the form of the imperious American heiress Annabel Clarke. The Earl and Countess of Avebury are determined that Cecilia's brother, Patrick, will win Annabel's hand in marriage--and her fortune along with it. The Bates and their staff arrange a grand house party upon the heiress's arrival. Then a guest dies after sipping from a glass meant for Annabel, and the police suspect Patrick. Cecilia sets out to find the culprit, with help from Annabel's maid, Jane, and Jane's curiously intelligent cat, Jack.


My Review:
Lady Takes the Case is a historical mystery set in 1912 in England. I enjoyed the main characters, but there were so many loose ends and vague explanations that I was left baffled and unsatisfied by the end. For example, they found several suspicious bottles (and other apparent clues) that were never explained. The woman that showed up at the very end never explained where she had been. A character who was drunk in one scene managed to shoot an arrow with superb accuracy just minutes later. A room that was at the opposite end of the hallway suddenly was described as across the hallway at the end of the book. And even the characters were confused by whodunit's reasoning and motive for the crime.

Lady Cecilia and the servant Jane were kind, engaging characters. The cat started out acting more like a dog, but it did act catlike by the end. The cat hardly played a role until the very end. Cecilia and Jane asked questions about potential motives. Since whodunit was pretty obvious from the very start, the middle of the story involved more descriptions of clothing and party activities than of the investigation. There were a number of historical errors, like the police leaving their critical evidence behind in room being used during a party, where anyone could meddle with it. There was no bad language. There was no sex.


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.


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