The Case of the Bereaved Butler: A WISE Enquiries Agency cozy Welsh murder mystery

WISE Enquiries Agency #9

by Cathy Ace

‘I KNOW IT WAS MURDER – PLEASE HELP ME PROVE IT!’The Duke of Chellingworth’s beloved butler is grieving his brother’s death…but was it a really a tragic accident, or was it – as the man’s widow believes – murder? Mavis and the dowager Althea offer the services of the WISE Enquiries Agency to investigate, which puts one of their team in a dangerous situation. Meanwhile, Annie and Tudor are puzzled by a spate of petty thefts at their new pub, and Alexander must confront his largely secret past – possibly endangering his new persona and his relationship with Christine…who has a secret of her own. All this while Carol heads up a case involving an aged business tycoon who’s desperate to find the Welsh farming family who took him in when he was evacuated from London during World War Two.It’s July in Wales…however, there’s no break in sight for our four softly poached PIs, who are not only facing challenging cases, but also juggling complicated personal lives.

Genres: Mystery, Contemporary

274 pages, Hardcover

Published March 18, 2024

About the author

Cathy Ace migrated from her native Wales to Canada at the age of 40. She is the award-winning author of the traditional Cait Morgan Mysteries featuring her Welsh Canadian criminology professor sleuth who travels the world tripping over corpses, which have now been optioned for TV. She also writes the cozier WISE Enquiries Agency Mysteries featuring a quartet of female PIs who run their business out of a Welsh stately home. Both series have been well-reviewed. Her award-winning standalone, THE WRONG BOY, is a gripping novel of psychological suspense, set in Wales, and has also been optioned for TV.

"Ace is, well, an ace when it comes to plot and description.” The Globe and Mail

Cathy's work has won the prestigious Bony Blithe Award for best Canadian light mystery, an IPPY and an IBA Award, and has been shortlisted for an Arthur Ellis Award for Best Short Story.

Her short story "Dear George" appeared on the UK's O Level English Language syllabus and, together with another story, "Domestic Violence", has been produced for BBC Radio 4. You can find out more about Cathy, her books, and events she'll be attending, at www.cathyace.com

Reviews

[Jakelyne Rose · Rating 5 out of 5]

Love it.

This was another wonderful read. I had a hard time putting it down for breaks. I enjoyed the different mysteries and characters.

[Lizzie Hayes · Rating 5 out of 5]

The four women of the WISE Women Enquiry Agency, Mavis, Christine, Carol and Annie, plus their honorary member, Althea, Dowager Duchess of Chellingworth, have established a successful business in the Welsh village of Anwen-by-Wye. They have tackled numerous cases of different levels of complexity and danger and they have formed good relationships with the local police and a solicitor who often recommends their services to his clients. It is this solicitor who suggests that the WISE agency could help a very elderly and very wealthy man to locate the hill farm where he had lived as a young evacuee during the Second World War. This is a difficult task as the client’s memories of that time are patchy and many farms have changed ownership and most of his contemporaries have died. Also official records of evacuees are incomplete, however the team are determined to do everything they can because it means so much to their client.

Annie and her partner, Tudor Evans, are about to move into a new and more spacious pub that belongs to the Chellingworth estate. Annie is frustrated by the slowness of the workmen who are renovating and decorating the new premises and then she realises that somebody is systematically stealing decorating supplies. Annie’s determination to track down the thief who has purloined her new toilet results in an unofficial case for her and her colleagues.

Another more serious pro bono investigation is the one that is referred to in the title of the book. It begins when the Duke and Duchess of Chellingworth become very worried about their butler, Edward, a long-term, faithful and extremely efficient senior servant. Edward has become distracted, which is not surprising as his only brother had died two weeks earlier, but he also appears to be worried about something. Mavis and Althea persuade Edward to confide in them and he explains that his late brother’s wife has told him she is convinced that her husband had been murdered by his partner in their business, which trains butlers, and she believes that she is also in danger of being killed.

All of the WISE women are involved in working on this case, although the undercover work has to be done by Christine, the only one of the women who has the high-class background that will fool their suspect into believing she wishes to employ a butler. She does an excellent job, even though she and her fiancé, Alexander, are going through a difficult time. Both Christine and Alexander are keeping secrets from each other: Christine has concerns about her health and Alexander is dealing with a dangerous cyber-criminal.

All the WISE women are aware of the potential dangers of their work but it is while doing a very commonplace errand for Edward’s sister-in-law that one of the WISE women is placed in a potentially fatal situation.

The Case of the Bereaved Butler is the ninth book featuring the women of the WISE Enquiry Agency. It is a superb series, and this book is an excellent addition, with clever plot lines involving both major and minor cases and warm, engaging characters. The author has created a delightful community filled with likeable although far from perfect people. This book is a page-turner that I thoroughly recommend.
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Reviewer: Carol Westron
For Lizzie Sirett (Mystery People Group)

[dnsyl57 · Rating 5 out of 5]

"The Case Of The Bereaved Butler" is book #9 in the "WISE Enquiries Agency Mystery" by Cathy Ace.

"The Duke of Chellingworth’s beloved butler is grieving his brother’s death…but was it really a tragic accident, or was it – as the man’s widow believes – murder? Mavis and the dowager Althea offer the services of the WISE Enquiries Agency to investigate, which puts one of their team in a dangerous situation. Meanwhile, Annie and Tudor are puzzled by a spate of petty thefts at their new pub, and Alexander must confront his largely secret past – possibly endangering his new persona and his relationship with Christine…who has a secret of her own. All this while Carol heads up a case involving an aged business tycoon who’s desperate to find the Welsh farming family who took him in when he was evacuated from London during World War Two.

It’s July in Wales…however, there’s no break in sight for our four softly poached PIs, who are not only facing challenging cases, but also juggling complicated personal lives."

My thoughts:
There didn't seem to be much doubt as to who was responsible for killing Edward's brother Richard - but of course finding the evidence proved to be somewhat more complicated with a few twists along the way. Having the rather formal butler be so out of sorts was a bit distracting for all but seeing the more human side of him was also well done as he grappled with his loss and agreeing to the WISE women helping to find the truth.

Things going missing during the renovations at the Inn also turned out to be more than expected for Annie and Carol as they worked to track workers movements. Nice twists in that case!

Mavis had brought an unusual case to the team as they tried to figure out where a young boy had been placed during the evacuations of London in WW2. This was a particularly interesting case as so much time had passed and the now 80 something year old man could only recall bits and pieces of that time. A well crafted tale to unlock the past.

Christine had been acting and feeling a bit off in the last book and my suspicion of what was going on proved to be correct. A complexity she wasn't sure she was ready for! Alexander was also trying to help one of his team find his brother who had gotten into some trouble. This got the two men into some messy situations as they tried to find the young man and get him help for his addictions.

All in all, this was one of the better books in the series so far. All of the core characters seemed to have something going on besides their normal work/duties, but Ms. Ace kept the story rolling. Interesting conversations, relationships and a few dashes of humor. A good read!

[Kerrie · Rating 4 out of 5]

You can tell from the list below that I am more than a little addicted to this cozy series. The characters have blossomed, the plots are interesting, and the scenarios keep me engaged.

If you would like to take the series on, then be sure to start with the first. THE CASE OF THE DOTTY DOWAGER and then read them in order. That way you will get all the background and get to know the characters as they unfold. I particularly enjoy the individuality of each character, the use of gentle humour, and at the same time the references to British history. They come at a price that won't break the bank. At the present books 1-4 come packaged at $2.64 AUD.

My rating: 4.5

I've also read

THE CORPSE WITH THE SILVER TONGUE
4.3, THE CASE OF THE DOTTY DOWAGER - Welsh Mystery #1
4.5, THE CASE OF THE MISSING MORRIS DANCER - Welsh Mystery #2
4.4, THE CASE OF THE CURIOUS COOK - Welsh Murder #3
4.5, THE CASE OF THE UNSUITABLE SUITOR - Welsh Murder #4
4.5, THE CASE OF THE DISGRACED DUKE - Welsh Murder #5
4.5, THE CASE OF THE ABSENT HEIRS - Welsh Murder #6
4.3, THE CASE OF THE CURSED COTTAGE - Welsh Murder #7
4.5, THE CASE OF THE UNINVITED UNDERTAKER - Welsh Murder #8

[Jane Irish Nelson · Rating 4 out of 5]

As usual, the women of the WISE Enquiries Agency have multiple cases on their hands. In the titular case, Edward, the Chellingworth butler, is concerned because his late brother's widow is convince her husband was murdered. So of course the women take on the case. Then there is the elderly millionaire wanting them to find the family he lived with when he was evacuated in 1939. Supplies are going missing at the old pub that is being renovated. In addition, Christine just isn't quite herself; and her fiance, Alexander, finds himself facing the secrets of his past. The author balances these stories very carefully, keeping the reader's attention, and making this book hard to put down.

[Jillian · Rating 4 out of 5]

In spite of a slow start ( the formula of running linked investigations and keeping track of the personal lives wears a bit thin by Book 7 or so) by 30% in I was invested in the world of the WISE Agency once again. I wanted to keep reading to stay in that world. My criticism, that the characters are now stereotyped, their circumstances changing while they don’t, may be the book’s appeal. Their world is predictable, they will win in the end, the reader can relax. I enjoyed the escape.

[Megan · Rating 4 out of 5]

These books keep trucking along. On the one hand, I like them because the mysteries are novel, and interesting. This is helped along by the fact that there are often multiple in one book, perhaps naturally because there are many co-protagonists.
On the other hand, I find the characters to be a bit whiny. Its like the drama setting is turned up a bit too high.
Oh well.

[Judy Chandler · Rating 5 out of 5]

So engagong

This is one of those stories that leave you feeling you are there with the characters in that location. Cathy Ace is a brilliant writer. I keep reading the next in the series, not wanting to stop.

[Stacy · Rating 4 out of 5]

Fun as usual.

[Donna Van · Rating 4 out of 5]

Great Series

Another wonderful addition to a great series! Some minor editing issues in this one, but the mysteries to be solved are always interesting.

[Sharon Mitchell · Rating 5 out of 5]

Love Cathy Ace’s characters.

All of her books capture my interest. They are intelligent, in great settings with memorable characters who become your book friends.

[Barbra · Rating 4 out of 5]

Love this series and the way that the author makes all the small mysteries interact with each other, Great job.