The Vanishing at Hallwood Hall

Bunburry #20

by Helena Marchmont

When Alfie McAlister agrees to join a writers’ retreat at the remote and imposing Hallwood Hall, he hopes to find inspiration - and perhaps a moment of clarity about his past and future. But among the aspiring authors and eccentric personalities, tensions simmer beneath the surface. Then a guest disappears without a trace, and fiction starts to feel dangerously close to reality. As secrets begin to unravel, Alfie must uncover the truth - before someone decides his story should come to an end.


Helena Marchmont is the pen name of Scottish author Olga Wojtas, who lives in Edinburgh and works as a journalist. Her popular cosy crime series BUNBURRY, set in a fictional village in the Cotswolds, combines British humour, eccentric characters, and classic mystery elements. Wojtas was awarded the Scottish Book Trust New Writers Award and has also written the Miss Blaine Mystery series as well as numerous short stories.

Genres: Cozy Mystery, Audiobook, Mystery

126 pages, Kindle Edition

Published December 1, 2025

About the author

Helena Marchmont is a pseudonym of Olga Wojtas, who was born and brought up in Edinburgh. She was encouraged to write by an inspirational English teacher, Iona M. Cameron. Olga won a Scottish Book Trust New Writers Award in 2015, has had more than 30 short stories published in magazines and anthologies and recently published her first mystery Miss Blaine's Prefect and the Golden Samovar.

Reviews

[Homerun2 · Rating 4 out of 5]

These little Bunberry mystery novellas are addictive. They are efficiently written, cleverly plotted, with endearing characters.

[Anne · Rating 2 out of 5]

I'm not sure, why I go back and read/listen to the Bunburry books. I hate the lack of clear communication between Alfie and Emma (are people really like this? or am I just too autistic?)...
But the crime was interesting as usual.

[Shiloah · Rating 5 out of 5]

This is up there as one of my favourites of the series.

[Carol Evans · Rating 4 out of 5]

I love the Bunburry mysteries. They’re short little reads/listens that are perfect when I’m not sure what I want to commit to next. This time around, Alfie is enrolled at a writing course at Hallwood Hall – perhaps not the best place for him to go back to. The writers are an odd collection and there’s clearly tension in the air, so when one of them leaves suddenly but with no way to get to town or the station, Alfie is suspicious.

Adding to my list of things to not do if I’m in a cozy mystery book: let someone take my phone away because it’s a “distraction”

The mystery here is good. It’s only 3 1/2 hours long, but we get several suspects and a couple of nice clues. This time, it’s up to Alfie and Emma to solve the mystery and I kind of missed Liz and Marge – they’re around but not really integral. I do wish Emma and Alfie would learn to communicate better and stop jumping to the worst conclusions when it comes to their relationship.

[Lavada Haga · Rating 5 out of 5]

Great book

I love Alfie and Emma and all the other people in this series. I love Bunburry. I love this series! In this book Alfie is investigating the disappearance of Eleanor. Things go badly. Emma to the rescue! The ending brought tears to my eyes!

[Judith K. Weishaar · Rating 5 out of 5]

Very Interesting Conclusion

I've read all the Bunbury books. They are down to earth and keep you guessing. This story was so different from all the others. Can't wait to read the next book!

[Dawn-marie Tubbs · Rating 5 out of 5]

Enjoyed this read

Interesting characters . Easy to like and dislike. Looking forward to next book. I am going to be sad when this series comes to an end. I love the Bun berry Triangle.

[Kaija · Rating 5 out of 5]

Lukijana upea Nathaniel Parker.
Rakastan Parkerin ääntä ja hänen eläytyvää lukutyyliään.
Tässä kirjassa Alfie on pääosassa, ei Bunburry triangel. Mielestäni oli hyvä idea sijoittaa tarina pois kylästä. Vain lähimmät mainitaan tässä osassa. Alfie saa menneisyydestään selvää ja jopa romanssi Emman kanssa etenee. Tästä kirjasta jäi taas hyvä mieli ja ehdottomasti odotan jo jatkoa.

[Gary and Sandra Sims · Rating 5 out of 5]

Very enjoyable

There is trouble at a writers retreat, one person missing, and the other writers seem not to care, except Archie but will he be next. Very cosy mystery.

[Pinky · Rating 4 out of 5]

Less focus on the Bunburry Triangle and more on Alfie and his relationship with Sgt Emma. Alfie enrolls in an Oscar Wilde writing course and is enmeshed in a mystery.

[Caren · Rating 3 out of 5]

3.76 stars, fun mysteries to listen to

[Kiersten Johnson · Rating 4 out of 5]

Although this wasn't my favorite in the series, I am 20 installments and will continue with these. In this one, the focus was more on Alfie and kind of Emma, with the rest of the Bunbury Triangle making just a small appearance. I feel these books really capture me when Liz and Marge interact more. I though the premise of this one was interesting. I know it is difficult for an author to execute a locked room mystery in modern times, but I felt it was a little unbelievable that Alfie could not send a text when he had to give up his phone and that he wasn't advised of this in advance. We get some more backstory about Alfie parents and aunt, which I was definitely interested in after following this story for so long. I just cringe a little about Emma and Alfie's relationship- they have serious communication issues and its hard for me to be invested in them as anything more than a secondary plot point.