Death Is in the Air

This one will make you feel just a little more comfortable for a while. Kate Kingsbury has an Agatha Christie-like sense of humor. And, BTW, she answers emails - nice touch.

Somewhat in the tradition of Agatha Christie, Kate Kingsbury captures a view of WWII Britain, not the bombed out London, the countryside.Enjoyed the plot, read this book after I read the second in the series. That one was actually better, the characters were more developed.It will be an interesting series--

The second book in Kate Kingsbury Manor House series, Death in the Air, is a delightful cozy English mystery. Lady Elizabeth is again up to her neck in murder. To make matters worst she tries to bring peace between the Yanks and the British troops. The Manor is now occupied by American officers one of whom has stolen her heart. But alas Lady Elizabeth's major has a wife at home, a fact she forces herself to remember every time she is faced with his disarming blue eyes. The plot is filled with pathos and humor. A mentally challenged young man grieves the loss of a friend. When a German parachutes into town square the housewives moblize, armed with carving knives, to save Sitting Marsh from invasion. The characters are charming and real. The puzzle makes for a good plot and she even throws in a ghost. I loved this book and can barely wait for number three. I highly recommend it.

During World War II, a very young German bomber pilot parachutes to safety in the village of Sitting Marsh as his plane crashes. The villagers capture the pilot, but soon attack his parachute for the silk. The frightened aviator, believing the mob of wild women want to kill him, flees into nearby Hawthorne Woods. The next day the murdered corpse of a land girl working at Macclesby Farm is found. Everyone including PC George Dalyrmple believes the German killed the girl. The only holdout is Lady Elizabeth Hartleigh who thinks the prime suspect is a shield for the real killer. Hoping to be useful to her villagers, Elizabeth begins to investigate the homicide. DEATH IS IN THE AIR, the second Lady Compton WWII amateur sleuth tale (see A BICYCLE BUILT FOR MURDER), is a delightful novel. The story line is fun for its historical perspective as much as for its phenomenal amateur sleuth plot. Still, this novel belongs to its characters (Elizabeth, the villagers, and the deployed American troops) that bring the era to life. A bit of romance between Elizabeth and Major Earl Monroe adds an additional pearl to a fantastic story.Harriet Klausner