The Mystery of the Polite Man

A Lady Darriby-Jones Mystery #1

by C.M. Rawlins

Darriby Hall is famous for entertaining second-tier aristocrats, tales from distant lands and a dead body... every now and then. England, 1926 Just days before Lord Darriby-Jones is scheduled to enlighten the world at the Annual Limacology Symposium, his secretary unceremoniously bids adieu to her employment. It's now up to Lady Darriby-Jones to find a replacement. In a twist of fate, she stumbles upon a commoner from a neighboring town willing to accept the role, despite the slug-dismantling duties that await him. He's positively thrilled at the chance to rub elbows with true aristocrats, even if his job involves less glamorous endeavors. With order seemingly restored to the Darriby estate, chaos reignites when a long-serving mute household member meets an untimely end, thrusting Lord Darriby-Jones' new secretary into the spotlight as the prime suspect. As the local police chief clumsily attempts to thwart any hope of identifying the true culprit, Lady Darriby-Jones is compelled to take matters into her own hands—both literally and figuratively. Will she outsmart an eclectic array of plotters, double-crossing relatives, and a rogue killer on the prowl to unravel the perplexing Mystery of the Polite Man ? Join Lady Darriby-Jones in her debut 1920s cozy mystery, a whimsical, laughter-inducing adventure where witty sleuthing meets eccentricity galore.

Perfect for fans of T. E. Kinsey, Verity Bright, and Lee Strauss.

Genres: Mystery, Historical, Cozy Mystery, Audiobook, Ebooks, Crime

168 pages, Kindle Edition

First published September 11, 2023

Reviews

[Anne Newman · Rating 5 out of 5]

I thoroughly enjoyed this book, introducing me to Lord & Lady Darriby-Jones. Lady D-J as I came to call her is an heiress & to start with it was just an arranged marriage, but, they soon began to love each other. They also love their food! Lord D-J is into slugs in a big way, but has trouble finding a secretary that likes them. So, off Lady D-J goes to Oxford to find one. She does & he settles in well. Then he tells Lady D-J that he’s heard strange noises in the night. He cannot sleep as he fell in love with their daughter, Alice, at first sight. Sadly someone is murdered & he gets the blame. But, Lady Alice takes a hand in the mystery & along with her mother, it gets sorted out. I had several laughs as I was reading this book.

[Ashleigh · Rating 4 out of 5]

4.25 stars 🌟 This is a cute, quick mystery read.
Early 1900's murder mystery in the UK setting.
The entire story wrapped up well. Left a great little cliffhanger. I'm going to continue the series to see how the characters develop.

[Ана Хелс · Rating 5 out of 5]

Лейди Дариби – Джоунс не е твоята стандартна дама детектив, от ония с остър ум, невероятно присъствие на духа и чаровна елегантност. Е, не точно. Тя е пищна дама на средна възраст, с мил съпруг, странно обсебен от плужеци, и бясна дъщеря, която се разкъсва между любовта към конете и някои много съмнителни като качества обекти от мъжки пол. Дариби – Джоунс има остро усещане за величие и изисква хората да я разпознават и да уважават фактите, че живеят на нейна територия, дишат нейния въздух и ядат плодовете на нейните земи. И те го правят – добрите стари провинциални британци, ако не друго, то поне могат да разпознаят силния женски образ, който не търпи простоии навсякъде. Все пак те са измислили кралиците, гувернантките и монахините с тежките дървени летви за бой през пръстите. Или поне винаги така са изглеждали.

В малкото провинциално царство на фамилията Дариби – Джоунс обаче се случват подозрително много престъпления от убийствен вид, а местната полиция се състои от образи като инспектор Груби маниери, полицай Добродушко и следовател Лапнишаранов, които естествено дори купа сено на две магарета не могат да разделят. И не, че нашата лейди е гениална, хладнокръвна биткаджийка със свръхестествени бойни умения, ами по-скоро е от слабо образованите издънки на висшето общество, които обичат да се квасят с розов джин от сутринта и да размишляват на това колко много имат, но все ѝ се налага да води разследвания и да се сблъсква с всякакви зловещи типове, на които твърде бързо им се заражда мечтата да ѝ светят маслото.

И така се получава едно шеметно, абсурдно, шеговито, откачено приключение, което ще ви разсмее, удиви и постави на ръба на разума, защото по-недостоверно разследване на престъпления, което е и някак удивително логично и дори не винаги подчинено на случайните обстоятелства, сипещи се от нищото като изпуснати улики или мистериозни думи, прошепнати в уж празни стаи, няма да намерите никъде. Както казва самият автор – от първата книга или се влюбваш, или вирваш високо нос и вадиш списъка с недостатъци по азбучен ред. Защото тази дива абсурдия или те грабва, или те задушава – не ви ли е интересно вие от кои ще сте?

[Brenda · Rating 4 out of 5]

Good Mystery
Lady Darriby-Jones is compelled to take matters into her own hands—both literally and figuratively. Will she outsmart an eclectic array of plotters, double-crossing relatives, and a rogue killer on the prowl to unravel the perplexing Mystery of the Polite Man ? Join Lady Darriby-Jones in her debut 1920s cozy mystery, a whimsical, laughter-inducing adventure where witty sleuthing meets eccentricity galore.
This is a good mystery full of angst. The series is bound to be good as well.
I borrowed this book from KindleUnlimted. This in no way affects my opinion of this book.

[fred jones · Rating 5 out of 5]

I enjoyed this chuckle inducing cozy mystery. Lord and Lady Darriby-Jones are your typical slug dismantling, eccentric aristocrats. When their Gardner is killed by a polite man and the police arrest his lordship's new secretary, her ladyship insists on investigating. With the usual stubborn and dumb policemen, who make her ladyship look bright and a nice twist at the end this story is great and the characters genuinely funny. Highly recommended. I received a complimentary copy from the Author and am leaving a honest voluntary review

[Joanne H · Rating 4 out of 5]

This book is nothing like I have ever read, but it was intriguing enough for me to continue to the end.
A past of aristocrats, Lord Darriby- Jones and his wife Lady Darriby- Jones, was in a bit of trouble with a murder at their property. Why would someone do this? The gardeneŕ was a veteran but couldn't talk. At least they didn't think he could,and his last words were"polite man."
Whatever would that mean. Lady Alice, the daughter, was helping with the mystery with an interesting turn of events.

[Kevin Cannon (Monty's Book Reviews) · Rating 5 out of 5]

When their mute gardener is murdered, the Darriby-Joneses find themselves in the middle of a mystery where the only clue is the muttered last words of the victim "polite man"

I loved this. Filled with witty dialog and quirky characters, it is mildly reminiscent of Tom Sharpe and dare I say PG Wodehouse.

A really fun cozy mystery that was dispatched in just the one sitting as I just couldn't put it down

[Anita · Rating 5 out of 5]

Lady Darriby-Jones has to find a replacement for her husbands secretary who quit. She meets a young in the next town willing to take the job. His excitement is short lived when he is accused of killing another household member. Lady Darriby-Jones knows he is innocent and with the help of her daughter they begin to investigate. They find another mystery while investigating and begin to suspect the two mysteries are connected.
A very enjoyable mystery.

[Kirsty · Rating 3 out of 5]

First quarter, I was sure I was going to give up soon, then I got in to it. It's the normal scene setting, that had be realling not knowing or liking the characters. Once things got going it got mych better and the dislikeable characters improved. Not sure I'd rush to read another, but wouldn't object if there was one to hand. So I suppose I'm lookwarm but not negative.

[Big Fat Hairy Man · Rating 4 out of 5]

Lady Darriby-Jones hires a new secretary for her husband, someone who is very polite. However, soon after, their mute gardener is discovered murdered and the new secretary is implicated. It's up to Lady Darriby-Jones to step in and sleuth out the truth. This is a quirky, little, cozy mystery that was entertaining.

I'm a member of the ARC team and have left an honest review voluntarily.

[Ikram Bashi · Rating 1 out of 5]

All over the place

Not only did this book take forever to finish (because it wa s so annoying) but it was confusing... Unfinished sentences, unfinished thoughts and unfinished words! The writer jumped from one scene to another without letting us know what was happening. It's hard liking anything about this book because the writer couldn't stay focused. So disappointing

[Marissa · Rating 4 out of 5]

A new historical cozy centering around second-tier aristocrats. It is a charming promising historical cozy with interesting character that will engage you. I can not wait to read more of this new series.

[Larry · Rating 4 out of 5]

I enjoyed this book. The characters are hilarious, the plot was meandering, and the premise was finding out who really killed the gardener and why. All the questions were answered and the laughs were frequent. I do recommend this book.

[Jill · Rating 4 out of 5]

A Good Start

Took me a little while to get into this book. I was glad I hung in there. Lady D-J is written with a sense of humor and is fun. I look forward to more dealings with Lady Alice.

[Vanessa-Ann Dowsett · Rating 2 out of 5]

Sorry, this was not for me, the author kept repeating Lady Darriby Jones after every sentence spoken. It was very irritating. There were also several words that an English lady would not have said . It was in the American style of speaking.

[Terri Borkgren · Rating 5 out of 5]

The Mystery of the Polite Man Book 1

Lady Daraby-Jones , her daughter Lady Alice and her husband's secretary are caught up with finding the killer of a close friend. A good story to fill the hours of your weekend or your reading time.

[Kati · Rating 3 out of 5]

A very light cozy mystery, not to be taken seriously in any way or shape or form. It made me smile. I gave it three stars only because it took me a little while to get used to the tone which I didn't expect. I will definitely read the next one in the series!

[Moriah · Rating 3 out of 5]

2.5 stars rounded up to three

[lynne · Rating 4 out of 5]

Worth the read

What a tale, lots of red herrings to follow , I dismissed the culprit at first took me ages to accept it was him.

[Sandra Vesci · Rating 5 out of 5]

Quirky!

A whole new way of writing a mystery! Wonderful characters. Looking to reading more from this author. I highly recommend it!

[pauline ewen · Rating 5 out of 5]

Extremely hilarious and well written. I am on No. 2 already.

[Gillie Walker · Rating 4 out of 5]

I’m really liking this series! I love the amusing use of language and the characters are very likable.

[VJRetailTherapy · Rating 2 out of 5]

While this book had promise, it needed an editor to clear up grammatical errors and to tighten up the story.

[Darin Hocking · Rating 3 out of 5]

A nearly complete lack of plot and a cast of unbelievably ridiculous one dimensional characters. I did round up one star because I felt that it wandered into the category of so bad it was funny.

[Deirdre E Siegel · Rating 5 out of 5]

Funny (-:

[Bryony · Rating 3 out of 5]

It was fine. The writing seemed to visibly improve as the book went on. But the characters were pretty unlikable

[Lizabeth Tarr · Rating 5 out of 5]

Great read

This was a bit different and fun at times, with eccentric family members and an odd chief inspector and two types of crimes going on at the same time!

[Elliemae · Rating 3 out of 5]

Have been busy and if it were not for audiobooks I would never get to 'read' any books. This one was BLAND.

[Patricia Moran · Rating 5 out of 5]

different

A different type of historical cozy mystery. Rawlins gives her characters a pithy type of character and an irreverent attitude

[Bryngel · Rating 2 out of 5]

Rather ridiculous but a quick read that kept me fairly entertained for a little while.