Murder at Mallowan Hall by Colleen Cambridge

Murder at Mallowan Hall
by Colleen Cambridge

ISBN-13: 9781496732446
Hardcover: 304 pages
Publisher: Kensington Publishing
Released: October 26th 2021

Source: ebook review copy from the publisher through NetGalley.

Book Description, Modified from Goodreads:
Tucked away among Devon's rolling green hills, Mallowan Hall combines the best of English tradition with the modern conveniences of 1930. Housekeeper Phyllida Bright, as efficient as she is personable, manages the large household with an iron fist in her very elegant glove. In one respect, however, Mallowan Hall stands far apart from other picturesque country houses...

The manor is home to archaeologist Max Mallowan and his famous wife, Agatha Christie. Phyllida is both loyal to and protective of the crime writer, who is as much friend as employer. An aficionado of detective fiction, Phyllida has yet to find a gentleman in real life half as fascinating as Mrs. Agatha's Belgian hero, Hercule Poirot. But though accustomed to murder and its methods as frequent topics of conversation, Phyllida is unprepared for the sight of a very real, very dead body on the library floor...


My Review:
Murder at Mallowan Hall is a mystery set in 1930 in England. Much of Phyllida's past is a bit of a mystery, but she had many of the characteristics of Poirot, including a love of order and logic. She noticed many details that the police missed, and she gathered information from the servant's observations. She passed on information to the police as she came across it, and she was eventually able to puzzle out whodunit. I guessed what was going on before Phyllida, though my main suspect was slightly off. Historical details were woven into the story (mostly about Agatha Christie and housekeeping at the time). Phyllida held very modern views about homosexuality and even lectured others from her morally superior position. Though she's a bit arrogant, I enjoyed the main characters and the mystery kept me puzzling out the clues.

There was occasional use of bad language. There were no sex scenes. Overall, I'd recommend this interesting 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.


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