Murder at Madingley Grange

This on kept me guessing right up to the amazing ending. Imaginatively written with great characters. Twists and turns that delight and amuse!

One reviewer noted that he didn't finish the book out of disappointment; this is understandable but was the wrong call. Like so many really well-done mysteries, the true value of this story isn't clear until the hilarious and chilling conclusion that was completely unexpected. Now this is on the very short list of mysteries that I can read again and again with great pleasure each time.

Take one well-cared for English Stately Home. Add one nephew, Simon, and one niece, his sister Laurie, who agree to manor-sit while their Aunt, who is the owner, goes off to Bath for an indeterminate stay. Laurie has her petite feet firmly on the ground, literally, as one of her favorite activities is tending to the gardens. She also likes cooking and excels at the gourmet variety. Simon is a dreamer. How can he use this unanticipated opportunity to fatten his somewhat empty coffers? Simple, my dear Watson. Simon conjures up a 'thirties mystery weekend' - Murder at Madingley Grange. Laurie has her doubts, but as Simon has already placed the advert in THE TIMES, she grudgingly goes along with him. Doesn't she always? But, if her erstwhile fiancé should be there to help out some, that would work. Wouldn't it? Blend in the usual assortment of eccentrics: the widowed mother with beautiful daughter hoping to land a country home of her own; the mature married couple and his mother, a gypsy, who might do a bit of 'seeing' if asked nicely. The husband of this pair is a frustrated vaudevillian, specializing in juvenile-type jokes and pranks. Another couple, of which the husband is detective buff, wishful of becoming the next Sherlock Holmes, while his wife may not be everything she seems to be. Two independent young men: one hoping to capture the above-mentioned daughter, and the other a devotee of the thirties, complete to clothing, etc., and mostly unaware of other surroundings. Add two of the most unusual domestic servants you'll ever encounter anywhere, and the scene is set for one long laugh. It's almost a comedy of errors, combined with manners. No violence to speak of either, but much wild and wacky fun.