A séance in the belltower, a ghost in the gallery, and a corpse in the cloister.Famed sleuth Lord Edgington travels to a former abbey in the south-west of France, but as the chimes of midnight strike for Halloween night, a man is killed. Has the victim's past caught up with him or is something more sinister at play in the crumbling château?
A ghostly figure walks the halls. A spiritualist plies her trade and, somewhere in the dark, the killer plots his next attack. As Lord Edgington and his irrepressible (if sleepy) assistant race to unravel the lies of a châteauful of suspects, one question why did the group of supposed strangers travel all that way for a séance in the first place?
This witty, twisty, pleasantly spooky 1930s whodunit will keep you guessing until the final bell tolls and the killer’s name is revealed. "A Deadly Halloween at Château de Camon" is a standalone entry in the bestselling "Lord Edgington Investigates Abroad" series of classic mysteries. Agatha Christie meets "Downton Abbey" on a grand tour of Europe!
Writing has always been my passion. It was my favourite hour a week at primary school, and I started on my first, truly abysmal book as a teenager. So it wasn’t a difficult decision to study literature at university which led to an MA in Creative Writing. I spent a long time writing kids’ books, including funny fairy tales, dystopic adventures and serious issue-based YA, before switching to murder mysteries last year.
I grew up in a crime fiction family and spent a long time dreaming up the idea for my detective Izzy Palmer’s debut novel. A Corpse Called Bob is my first full-length book for adults in what is already becoming a long series.
I’m a Welsh-Irish-Englishman originally from South London but now living with my French/Spanish wife and slightly muddled daughter in Burgos, a beautiful city in the north of Spain. I write overlooking the Castilian countryside, trying not to be distracted by the vultures and red kites that fly past my window each day.
October 1930. At Chateau de Camon a seance has been arranged for invited guests. But now a death has occurred. Lord Edgington and Christopher investigate. But what could be the motive. An entertaining historical mystery
What an appropriate storyline to read this October. The author has stayed in the Château which lends more authenticity to the novel. He and his family didn't encounter murderous monks during their stay.
Lord Edgington and Christopher are invited to attend a seminar with Lord Edgington's friend, Grayson Delaney. The seance is conducted by the spiritualist Madam Elise Bisset and her assistant, Derek McGeorge. At the initial seance, Madam Bisset addressed Lord Edgington with information about his late wife and appeared to be able to contact her spirit. Later, Lord Edgington, Christopher, and Grayson are headed to another seance at l'Abbaye de Camon that is now owned by Elise Bisset.
At the Abbey, they meet five other people who seem to be there for the seance. Are they there in an attempt to contact a lost loved one or do they have alternative motives? The seance did not quite go as planned and later that night, Christopher was in bed and swore he saw a ghost and when he follows what he thinks is the ghost, he discovers the body of Derek dead in an outdoor alcove. Not long afterwards, somebody attempted to attack Elise Bisset.
Who killed Derek? Why was he killed? Who attacked Elise Bisset? Why was she attacked? Is there just one person responsible or are multiple people involved? Can Lord Edgington, Christopher, and Grayson unravel the mystery before more people die?
Benedict Brown has another wonderful mystery guaranteed to keep the reader engaged clear to the end. You might find plenty of hints mixed in with all of the twists, turns, and lies by the suspects.
Yes this is a murder mystery and there is one ... Almost more.
However. I've read all of this series and the original series before this and I can't quite remember enjoying so many spontaneous hee haws at zany phrases and expressions (usually by Chrissy).
I'd tell you about the first one on page 17 but I can't go back or lose this review.
I wish Kindle had a feature in which I could easily catalog these funny phrases so I could send to Benedict and ask if that was intended or not. He may also enjoy that one reader "Got It!"
Bottomline, read this book but, before you do, read both series. I think you'll enjoy it more knowing the characters as well as I do.
Benedict's writing is delicious, insightful, fun and mysterious all at the same time.
Perhaps even more important than the story, the mystery, are the delightful characters in human form and Delilah.
Around the time period of the series there was great interest in spiritualism. Mostly this was a means to fleece a well researched patron ~ however there were a few who may have possessed a gift. Which side of this debate does Lord Edgington fall on ~ you'll need to read the book! Of course the regular cast is on hand of his servants and we get to see more layers of a few of them revealed. Bits of humour there! Christopher may or may not have several 'experiences' with the beyond realm. I do so want to see this complex and captivating series as a television series! Yes....... the mysteries are that good ! It's a challenge for the reader to solve it before the great reveal byLord Edgington at the end!
Lord Eddington was certainly very circumspect in his behaviour, keeping his observations to himself, thus plunging his grandson Christopher into a quandary about his faculties which made it difficult for him to concentrate on his surroundings. The fact the murder didn't occur quickly on caused an unwillingness to put this book down! The garden, the graveyard, and the town all seemed at odds, some allowing hallucinations providing 'clues', others refusing any help at all. The suspects appeared strangers with no connection to one another, yet seemed to all have possible motive to kill the victim. Never had any idea 'whodunit' Very clever, Lord Eddington! Great read, for most ages. Looking forward to developments in Chrissy and Kassara's story!
One of the charms of reading the Lord Edgington novels is the research that is put into them and the various facts and discoveries he makes. They make for delightful additions to the novel. Did I deduce the killer, I strongly suspected them and the possible connections between most of the guests. To paraphrase another author (I think it may be Stephen King) don’t make mention of the shotgun hanging on the wall if it is not going to be used later).
Seances, ghostly monks, and a haunted abbey make for the perfect setting for Lord Edgington and Chrissy to solve another murder. This wonderful book has the perfect balance of possible supernatural events, a creepy setting, and Chrissy's humor to make this a perfect Halloween mystery. Benedict Brown does an amazing job of describing the abbey and surrounding grounds. The atmosphere he created added an extra layer of gloom and creepyness so that I actually got a bit spooked while reading this book. I enjoyed this book so much that I not only purchased a Kindle copy, but a paperback copy as well. I plan on adding it to my list of books I read every Halloween.
This is perhaps my favorite of this series of books. My ideas of the killer were completely wrong, and the mystery lasted til the bitter end! Loved how the staff from back in England are starting to really come into.play as well, beyond the 2 or 3 that have come up.in the past. You could read this one with having read no others, although there will be nuances you'll miss. Well done!
This was a fun and exciting book. I always look forward to learning some of the history and architecture of the buildings in the books. There is never a shortage of new and interesting characters as well as our two favorite detectives. This book has a little bit of spooky Halloween fun and just enough shiver factor to make it a fun read. I can usually figure things out in most mysteries but this one was a surprise for me. I highly recommend it. Enjoy!
As usual I absolutely loved this book and having read it in one sitting now have to wait for the next one (sigh). If you haven't read any of these you really should give one a go. All are stand alone mysteries but I would recommend you start at the very beginning. (I think there's a song in there somewhere).
Lord Edgington and Christopher in France with their hands filled with French pastries, murder, and food. Lots of food because Christopher's appetite is never sated. Are seances real? Can you really communicate with the dead? Or is it just hocus pocus? When you read this novel you can make up your own mind. Highly Recommended.
I did not enjoy this book. Don't really care for séances and halloween. But I do love the writing style, and the funny, witty first person narrative by Christopher Edgington, one of the main characters. Looking forward to the next installment.
Conclusion that I'd never have worked out. I did like it better than the last few especially since Christopher wasn't mooning about over his girlfriend. Hopefully a near future book will have the family back together, hopefully for Christmas, as I miss that from the original series.
If you are a fan of this author and this series you won’t be disappointed. This book continues to show character development and twists. Upon completion I felt as I did one murder mystery weekend - why wasn’t I keeping notes?
The first third was too boring, the final solution couldn't be deduced by the reader from the clues given, and I found the writing to be tedious. I had to keep re-reading sentences.
This was really a big mix of "what happened" and how and why. Just when you think you have a handle on it, you finding out you didn't have a clue! Incredible!!
I love the Lord Edgington series. His grandson and staff add to the story and play key roles in solving the murder. As always, now waiting impatiently for the next book
Yet another fantastic tale from the pen of Benedict Brown! I am never disappointed by this author, who has given my wife and me many hours of enjoyable reading.
I got bored before I was even halfway through the book, but I decided to keep going. And well, the killer wasn’t who I expected, but I don’t know… the book just didn’t catch me like others have.