Bicycle Built/Murder

A big fan of Kate Kingsbury's Pennyfoot series I cried when it came to an end. With this book she has introduced a charming new set of characters, the confused butler, the feisty house maid, the unfortunate cook and the handsome major. The village of Sitting Marsh is a contrast of old English customs and the modern World War Two culture. Lady Elizabeth is an independent woman who is determined to care faithfully for her village and its inhabitants. She takes her duty as Lady of the Manor very seriously. She starts out to find a missing girl and ends up solving a murder. I found myself caught up in the personalities, the war effort and the noisy plumbing. The murder almost becomes a subplot. An excellent beginning I recommend it to Pennyfoot fans as well as WWII buffs.

Whenever I pick up a book by Kate Kingsbury, I expect to be delighted and entertained, and once again, Ms. Kingsbury delivers. A Bicycle Built for Murder, the first book in her new Manor House series, was a joy to read--full of charming characters, interesting historical tidbits, and with a mystery that kept me turning the pages. Bravo! I can't wait for the next installment.

I just read the previous review from Eleanor Warder and I totally disagree. I am a computer programmer analyst and consider myself quite smart, but I didn't find the clues easy at all. And I don't think the book was fluffy. Ms. Kingsbury has built a reputation of writing cozies, and this book only enhances that reputation. I think the characters were strong, Ms Kingsbury strong point, as proven in her previous series, The Pennyfoot Hotel Mysteries. And the clues are not as easy as Ms Warder thinks they are. Maybe they are to her, but to the average reader, I think not. This is a delightful book, well entertaining, and I would rate it very highly and recommend it to all of my friends. It kept me guessing until the end who the murderer was, and I think it did to most people. Kudos to Ms Kingsbury for yet another wonderful start to another wonderful series. I can wait for the next one to come out.

Kate Kingsbury, widely known for her Pennyfoot Mystery series, and Berkley Prime Crime, known for it's wide variety of successfully published mysteries, are together again, and the result is an exciting new mystery series. As in her last series, Ms. Kingsbury's new series is considered a cozy, and, in some corners, a historical mystery as well. A Bicycle Built for Murder is the first in the series.The Manor House seaside village is called Sitting Marsh. It's World War II, a time of bombing, blackouts, rationing, and American soldiers on British soil. The main character Lady Elizabeth Hartleigh Compton is thirty-one and divorced. She inherited a Jacobean mansion, cottages, and vast acres after her parents were killed. She cares for her tenants beyond what is expected and proves it when a mother asks her to investigate the disappearance of her wayward daughter. When a disappearance turns to murder, Lady Elizabeth, with the approval of the local law, takes on the formidable task of listing suspects and clues to find out what happened to sixteen-year-old Beryl Pierce. After adding amateur sleuth to her list of obligations, Lady Elizabeth discovers she can add Hostess as well when a handsome major arrives to tell her American officers will be moving into her manor.A Bicycle Built for Murder is expertly written.. The mystery stays in the front position with character introductions and long-term secondary plots blending in. The historical details and dialogue add to the intrigue. The main secondary characters are the manor house staff, Violet, Martin, and Polly. They provide some light moments in the mystery, and if first impressions are anything to go by, I can honestly say they will effectively help to carry the series. A Bicycle Built for Murder is an engaging read of murder and mayhem that takes place in a time far from forgotten.

While the Germans bomb London and other strategic locations during World War II, the villagers of Sitting Marsh look towards Lady Elizabeth Hartleigh Compton as a role model. The townsfolk are unaware that Elizabeth is broke due to her late husband's gambling habit. Her only source of income is rent she collects on the cottages on her estate. Still, she knows that the locals depend on her for leadership and since she enjoys the adulation and attention, she tries to meet their expectations.The War Office informs Elizabeth that her Manor House will host American soldiers, a situation the class-conscious aristocrat loathes. At about the same time that Elizabeth prepares for the coming of the Yanks, Beryl Pierce's body is found on a nearby beach, an apparent drowning victim. Placing the American invasion on hold, neither Elizabeth nor the mother of the victim believes that Beryl fell off a cliff and drowned. Taking her leadership role to heart, Elizabeth sets out to prove murder occurred and to find the culprit.Readers familiar with Kate Kingsbury's Pennyfoot Hotel mysteries will enjoy the author's new Manor House series because the plot is as well drawn and the historical perspective is simply fascinating. The audience lives history by observing life in a small village during World War II. Lady Elizabeth is an interesting person who acts like the big fish in a tiny pond adding to the aura of the reader feeling they are there, which, in turn, makes A BICYCLE BUILT FOR MURDER an entertaining novel.Harriet Klausner