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Belchester Chronicles #1
Strangeways to Oldham: (The Belchester Chronicles)
From the author of the Falconer Files, a series featuring a pair of amateur sleuths and a delightful outpouring of English upper-class eccentricities – with the odd murder thrown in. Strangeways to Oldham – Book One of the Belchester Chronicles Lady Amanda Golightly of Belchester Towers is a person in complete contrast to the stereotypical image of one of her breeding. She is short, portly, and embarrassingly forthright. If she wasn’t calling a spade a shovel, it was only because she was calling it 'trumps'! On a visit to a local nursing home where an old business partner of her father's is residing, she unexpectedly discovers a long-lost friend, Hugo Cholmondley-Crichton-Crump – and stumbles upon a murder as well. Installing Hugo in the more civilised and comfortable surroundings of Belchester Towers, the pair turn to sleuthing after Lady Amanda reports her appalling discovery to the local police inspector and is incensed when he treats her as a silly old biddy with an over-active imagination. Her outrage prompts her to teach the impertinent young whipper-snapper a lesson, and she and Hugo (Zimmer frame in tow) embark upon their first investigation, only for murder to become a distressingly frequent occurrence…
192 pages, Paperback
First published July 1, 2012
399 people are currently reading
875 people want to read
About the author
Andrea Frazer
226 books83 followersAn ex-member of Mensa (bored!),Andrea Frazer is married, with four grown-up children, and lives in the Dordogne with her husband Tony and their seven cats. She has wanted to write since she first began to read at the age of five, but has been a little busy raising a family and working as a lecturer in Greek (she has a Fellowship Diploma in Greek), and teaching music.
Apart from writing, Andrea continues to teach music, and now also teaches French to ex-pats.
Her interests include playing several instruments (but not all at the same time!), reading, and choral singing (she sings with two choirs in a nearby town). In her spare time, she breathes!
Apart from writing, Andrea continues to teach music, and now also teaches French to ex-pats.
Her interests include playing several instruments (but not all at the same time!), reading, and choral singing (she sings with two choirs in a nearby town). In her spare time, she breathes!
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Displaying 1 - 30 of 105 reviews
February 3, 2025
This is a DNF for me at 40%. I tried chugging along with this but found myself starting other books just to avoid it. It's definitely a case of "It's me, not the book" because it was well written and I did love the characters, but it was soooo slow. I kept waiting for something to happen and it never eventuated.
The only positive is that it's now marked off my "Putting Down For Now" list.
The only positive is that it's now marked off my "Putting Down For Now" list.
September 10, 2023
I have tried one each of the two series from this author and have enjoyed her writing very much. More to come in future for me following the two main series she has written.
I really needed comic relief and this book provided it with hilarious events, characters and dialogue
At this time the price for this first book of the series is free through Amazon.
I really needed comic relief and this book provided it with hilarious events, characters and dialogue
At this time the price for this first book of the series is free through Amazon.
February 15, 2017
In Strangeways to Oldham by Andrea Fraser, Lady Amanda Golightly tries to visit a friend in a nursing home, only to discover the friend deceased and two glasses, one with poison, next to the body. While bending over to sniff the liquid spilled on the floor, the matron comes in, so Lady Amanda claims to be offering her sincere prayers for the soul of her friend. Just then, she hears the voice of another, long-lost friend, Hugo Cholmondley-Crichton-Crump, who has been placed in this nursing home by an inept GP doctor who claimed there was no treatment for his arthritis, without ever doing any exams of his patient. So Lady Amanda packs him up and takes him home with her, freeing him from his bondage in this awful place. The third main character in the book is Lady Amanda's staid butler, and he keeps a humorous running conversation with Lady Amanda about the pronunciation of his name and saves her from arrest for snooping once by pretending she is mentally deranged and he is her caregiver.
Read the rest of this review, more reviews, and other wonderful, geeky articles on FangirlNation
Read the rest of this review, more reviews, and other wonderful, geeky articles on FangirlNation
August 27, 2014
This is very different than Andrea Frazer's Falconer series, of which I have read several. Lady Amanda is a fabulous character in this series! Since I tend to read a lot of Golden Age mysteries, maybe I have a strange bias, but it is so interesting to me how in both series the dates seem obscured. Everything about them feels like early 20th century, maybe even late 19th - except for fleeting mentions of cell phones or other modern conveniences. I really enjoyed this book, the characters are very engaging and entertaining. The 'mystery' was a bit thin, as opposed to those in the Falconer series, but it didn't bother me. Overall a wonderful start to a hopefully brilliant series!
August 27, 2015
This book was not at all what I expected. It was reminiscent of P.G, Wodehouse. The mystery was definitely secondary to the character development. which was a good thing. The character interactions were enjoyable. I'm having to start the sequel now. I couldn't put off reading what happened next.
February 8, 2016
I did enjoy this book. The main character is a hoot!! She is full of energy and orders people around but has good intentions.
The title comes from a name of a drink that shows up in the book.
Enjoyable read!!
The title comes from a name of a drink that shows up in the book.
Enjoyable read!!
November 29, 2018
First, I loved the title. I then loved the story. The puttering portly lady and her butler and partner in crime. This is truly an enduring series.
November 1, 2023
Lady Golightly goes to visit her fathers old partner in the local nursing home and finds him dead with two cocktail glasses by his bedside. A quick sniff reveals we’re filled with a cocktail called Strangeways to Oldham made with dark rum, gin, roses lime, passion fruit juice, mandarin orange juice and lemonade. Unfortunately this cocktail has an off nasty under smell and Lady Golightly suspects murder. Whilst summoning the staff she runs into an old friend now existing in the nursing home due to his severe arthritis. She brings him home to live in a more conducive environment and when she goes to the police about the old gents death she is brushed off as a batty old lady by the detective in charge. So, of course she and her friend investigate it’s the help of Lady Golightly’s butler Beauchamp. A good romp. Believable mystery and very interesting characters.
March 6, 2022
2017: The narrator took a lot of getting used to, I ditched this a time or two: Ended up being a gentle flufferton/cosy mystery listen.
February 10, 2017
This was ok - amusing at times though it got old pretty quick for me.
August 30, 2013
A very interesting book, indeed. This takes place in London, the main characters are two older people of retirement age who can't resist getting involved in situations which are above their real skill level but not above their interest level. They have two support people whom they rely heavily and rarely clue them in on what is going on. It usually comes as a shock to the senior sleuths just how close they come sometimes to being in real danger. This author is a must read no matter which book you decide to begin with. Enjoy!
June 10, 2017
I have never read a book where the main protagonist is so irritating that you want to kill her yourself (not a spoiler). At the start of the book, I couldn't forgive her for bullying an elderly man, so disabled with arthritic knees and hips that he was in a care home, into ride a trike. I was horrified at that but I think it was supposed to be funny. Once I got past that issue, I encountered outrageous prejudices and ridicule of anyone not part of the upper classes.
I would say that this is Andrea Frazer's skill in writing this book. Despite the infuriating ways of Lady Amanda and her condescention towards anyone beneath her which in her view, is pretty much everybody, I started to like her by the end of the book. The upper-class characters were over the top in a very Agatha Christie way and all credit to the author as it is difficult to write unsympathetic people with an exaggerated yet sufficiently light touch so they don't come across as completely unbelievable. The deference shown her by the rest of us Plebs is bit out of date and I wondered at times if this book had been written in the nineteen fifties. The book is very well written and I loved the arguments that the bossy Amanda picked with just about anyone who got in her way. There is a lot of gentle humour and the other three main characters are very likeable. You also start to see that Amanda beneath it all has a heart of gold but her entire motivation to solving the crime is the surly and incompetent police detective who seems to hate her for no reason. Hey it worked for Agatha Christie and it works for Andrea Frazer too. The ending was Christie-like too. A satisfying book to wile away a relaxing afternoon or two.
I listened on Audible and so must put a word in for the narrator Patricia Gallimore, her narration was superb, the voices she gave the characters were fabulous; what a talent.
I would say that this is Andrea Frazer's skill in writing this book. Despite the infuriating ways of Lady Amanda and her condescention towards anyone beneath her which in her view, is pretty much everybody, I started to like her by the end of the book. The upper-class characters were over the top in a very Agatha Christie way and all credit to the author as it is difficult to write unsympathetic people with an exaggerated yet sufficiently light touch so they don't come across as completely unbelievable. The deference shown her by the rest of us Plebs is bit out of date and I wondered at times if this book had been written in the nineteen fifties. The book is very well written and I loved the arguments that the bossy Amanda picked with just about anyone who got in her way. There is a lot of gentle humour and the other three main characters are very likeable. You also start to see that Amanda beneath it all has a heart of gold but her entire motivation to solving the crime is the surly and incompetent police detective who seems to hate her for no reason. Hey it worked for Agatha Christie and it works for Andrea Frazer too. The ending was Christie-like too. A satisfying book to wile away a relaxing afternoon or two.
I listened on Audible and so must put a word in for the narrator Patricia Gallimore, her narration was superb, the voices she gave the characters were fabulous; what a talent.
May 3, 2024
Lady Amanda and Hugo C C C (the name is far too long ) are two elderly eccentric humans, with all their wits about them but a bit misplaced in the current times they live in.
Accidentally discovering that their friend Reggie was actually murdered, Lady Amanda is incensed that the local police Inspector dismisses her theory as being that of a batty lady. Undeterred they pursue their investigation, uncovering fictitious nephews who have swindled and got rid of older people who are too ill to prevent getting maneuvered.
The story is humorous and lots of comedy with the background of not just money but common sense and a feeling that justice must prevail.
The book was a free download from Amazon but sadly I cannot post a review there, as they do not permit me to do so (since I have not purchased stuff from Amazon).
Accidentally discovering that their friend Reggie was actually murdered, Lady Amanda is incensed that the local police Inspector dismisses her theory as being that of a batty lady. Undeterred they pursue their investigation, uncovering fictitious nephews who have swindled and got rid of older people who are too ill to prevent getting maneuvered.
The story is humorous and lots of comedy with the background of not just money but common sense and a feeling that justice must prevail.
The book was a free download from Amazon but sadly I cannot post a review there, as they do not permit me to do so (since I have not purchased stuff from Amazon).
July 1, 2024
Lady Amanda Golightly believes in doing her duty, so a visit to her father's old business acquaintance is necessary when she learns the man is in a nearby nursing home. Alas, upon arrival, Manda discovers that the old gentleman has just passed away in what she deems to be suspicious circumstances. When the police fail to step up and investigate, Manda and her old friend, Hugo, launch their own probe - but the killer is sly and not easily caught.
The book treads gingerly along the line between playfully droll and absurd. Depending on your sense of humour, it could fall either way. There were two jokes about surnames that were played to excess (in my opinion) and began to wear thin. I wanted to like Manda, but she kept stepping on my toes.
The surprise ending caught me and I'm now interested in reading the next book in the series.
The book treads gingerly along the line between playfully droll and absurd. Depending on your sense of humour, it could fall either way. There were two jokes about surnames that were played to excess (in my opinion) and began to wear thin. I wanted to like Manda, but she kept stepping on my toes.
The surprise ending caught me and I'm now interested in reading the next book in the series.
September 16, 2017
The story was OK in this one, but I have to say I did not much like the main character, an aristocratic elderly woman with a pushy personality. The locale seemed British, but there was no comfortable sense of what the time period would be, sort of early 20th century, but . . . That was a little unsettling to me, like when you suddenly come across an anachronism that you recognize. The narrator in this audio version was rather screechy. Perhaps a better narrator would have made the book better for me. I don't think I'll listen to any more of the Belchester Chronicles, though I MIGHT read a hard copy just to see how it strikes me. However, I'm more likely to re-read books I know that I liked.
September 14, 2023
A delightful English mystery with Lady Amanda Golightly, an uncommon Englishwoman who made me chuckle all throughout the book. She visits a nursing home to discover her friend has died and she she thinks his death was suspicious, so she rescues another friend, Hugh with a long last name, and takes him home to live with her in her huge mansion. One of my favorite characters is Beauchamp, the general factotum, butler and man of many talents, whose name Lady Amanda insists on using with the French pronunciation, and who keeps correcting her to pronounce Beecham. Amanda is quite a character who manages to get a speeding ticket on her tricycle, calls a spade a spade and never minces words. I must say, I really enjoyed this book and write this review voluntarily.
May 25, 2024
Hmm, the book started off fairly well but rapidly descended into farce. Lady Amanda Golightly, of inderminate age, but she was collecting her pension, visits an old friend only to find him dead in his nursing home bed with two empty cocktail glasses beside his bed. Manda knocks one of them to the floor to put in her bag wrapped in a hankie. The matron discovers her on the floor and enquires what it is she is doing "Praying to mecca for his soul". "Mecca is the other way" she says.
I admit whilst quite liking the humour, felt that the plot had as many holes in it as swiss cheese, and I was well ahead of the plot and had worked out the who, why, where and when. So no surprises there. Except for the very last page! Now how old is her mother!!?
I admit whilst quite liking the humour, felt that the plot had as many holes in it as swiss cheese, and I was well ahead of the plot and had worked out the who, why, where and when. So no surprises there. Except for the very last page! Now how old is her mother!!?
August 23, 2024
Mixed Reaction
I began liking this book, with its spunky, quirky main character, very well at first. It was very well-written, and I could see the mystery developing nicely. The problem with the story lay in the fact that, about midway or a little more through the book, it began to fail to keep my interest. Although I finished the book, and even with the "hook" at the end setting up the next story, I just don't think I'll read the others in the series--especially as, sadly, I understand the author passed away, so if the final book written contains another hook for a book to come, it will leave the reader handing.
I began liking this book, with its spunky, quirky main character, very well at first. It was very well-written, and I could see the mystery developing nicely. The problem with the story lay in the fact that, about midway or a little more through the book, it began to fail to keep my interest. Although I finished the book, and even with the "hook" at the end setting up the next story, I just don't think I'll read the others in the series--especially as, sadly, I understand the author passed away, so if the final book written contains another hook for a book to come, it will leave the reader handing.
March 31, 2021
An Old NEW English tale
I have never laughed so hard not so often!
The story is so extreme but the persons so fully fledged!
This is a murder mystery set in our time but with the feel of old England. I read it through the night and downstairs so as not to wake my husband with my laughter. (and you never knew when that would happen! If you like a murder mystery, strong characters and a tiny bit of fear this is the book for you. I'm headed for the next in the series. When spirits need uplifting, I suggest reading this author,
I have never laughed so hard not so often!
The story is so extreme but the persons so fully fledged!
This is a murder mystery set in our time but with the feel of old England. I read it through the night and downstairs so as not to wake my husband with my laughter. (and you never knew when that would happen! If you like a murder mystery, strong characters and a tiny bit of fear this is the book for you. I'm headed for the next in the series. When spirits need uplifting, I suggest reading this author,
January 3, 2018
Who knew that the title referred to a cocktail? The things I learn while reading...Anyway, this is a fun first book in a series that features Lady Amanda, her friend Hugo, and her very patient butler Beacham. Amanda and Hugo are rather elderly but that doesn't stop them for trying to track down the suspected murderer of a mutual friend. The mystery is really secondary to the story and instead the reader delights in seeing these characters living life to the fullest.
October 17, 2023
I started this book based on the title so was expecting a rather different story. I did find the arrogance of the main character and the police frustrating. However the book did keep me interested and I enjoyed some of the descriptions. The story does come to a satisfactory conclusion but the very end is a hook for the next book and seemed rather preposterous so I don't think I'll be picking it up any time soon.
March 17, 2024
A very stubborn women who is a British member of royalty. She is old, lonely and pretty much living in the past. She goes to a nursing home to visit an old friend and finds he has just died. She finds another old friend there and takes him home to live with her. The two of them manage to get themselves into trouble. A very interesting read. Funny, serious, and makes them human. Recommend highly.
August 30, 2024
Absolutely loved it!
A brilliant tale of eccentricity, featuring Lady Amanda Golightly and her old friend Hugo. Not too many characters to keep track of, just a very entertaining read with a ... but I can't give " spoilers" ! Thank you Andrea, I am looking forward to the next book already.
A brilliant tale of eccentricity, featuring Lady Amanda Golightly and her old friend Hugo. Not too many characters to keep track of, just a very entertaining read with a ... but I can't give " spoilers" ! Thank you Andrea, I am looking forward to the next book already.
January 30, 2019
Had a good laugh all the way through with this tale. Sets off at a cracking pace rather like one of the two main characters and keeps going till the end. Not my usual read.
Its just a brilliant funny piece of fiction that's just right to brighten your mood/day.
Its just a brilliant funny piece of fiction that's just right to brighten your mood/day.
August 11, 2024
Strangeways to Oldham
A lovely old time murder mystery with unique characters and an exciting finish. Lady Amanda has rescued an old friend, Hugo, from a nursing home and installed him in her home. In doing so she has found another old friend murdered. The whole story is about her, Hugo and her butler hunting for clues. Lots of humor! I would have loved knowing Lady Amanda!
A lovely old time murder mystery with unique characters and an exciting finish. Lady Amanda has rescued an old friend, Hugo, from a nursing home and installed him in her home. In doing so she has found another old friend murdered. The whole story is about her, Hugo and her butler hunting for clues. Lots of humor! I would have loved knowing Lady Amanda!
November 30, 2024
Charming
Set in an English village, you know almost from the start who the killer is. The fun starts when three amateurs try to investigate the murders. Not a work of great literature but certainly a fun reading while dealing with ageism, indifference to human life and greed.
Set in an English village, you know almost from the start who the killer is. The fun starts when three amateurs try to investigate the murders. Not a work of great literature but certainly a fun reading while dealing with ageism, indifference to human life and greed.
January 26, 2025
When a book starts with the main heroine being fined for almost mowing down someone, speeding on her tricycle, you know it's going to be a hoot! And it was. Lady Amanda sure is a force of nature. Poor Hugo and Beachamp. The literally world lost a treasure in Andrea Frazer.
July 8, 2017
Huge hook ending. A bit blah otherwise. 2.5*
August 10, 2017
Outstanding narration. Great entertainment.
August 19, 2017
If you like British mysteries, older characters, and FUNNY!, you will love this.
Displaying 1 - 30 of 105 reviews