Librarian Note: This is an alternate cover edition for ASIN B01N9FCWCV.
Meet enigmatic "lady detective" Angela Marchmont in this series of light-hearted and charming 1920s mysteries!
Includes:
THE MURDER AT SISSINGHAM HALL (Book 1)
On his return from South Africa, Charles Knox is invited to spend the weekend at the country home of Sir Neville Strickland, whose beautiful wife Rosamund was once Knox's fiancée. But in the dead of night Sir Neville is murdered. Who did it? As suspicion falls on each of the house guests in turn, Knox finds himself faced with deception and betrayal on all sides, and only the enigmatic Angela Marchmont seems to offer a solution to the mystery. This 1920s whodunit will delight all fans of traditional country house murder stories.
THE MYSTERY AT UNDERWOOD HOUSE (Book 2)
Old Philip Haynes was never happier than when his family were at each other's throats. Even after his death the terms of his will ensured they would keep on feuding. But now three people are dead and the accusations are flying. Can there really be a murderer in the family? Torn between friendship and duty, Angela Marchmont must find out the truth before the killer can strike again.
THE TREASURE AT POLDARROW POINT (Book 3)
When Angela Marchmont goes to Cornwall on doctor's orders she is looking forward to a nice rest and nothing more exciting than a little sea-bathing. But her plans for a quiet holiday are dashed when she is caught up in the hunt for a diamond necklace which, according to legend, has been hidden in the old smugglers' house at Poldarrow Point for over a century. Aided by the house's elderly owner, an irrepressible twelve-year-old, and a handsome Scotland Yard detective, Angela soon finds herself embroiled in the most perplexing of mysteries. Who is the author of the anonymous letters? Why is someone breaking into the house at night? And is it really true that a notorious jewel-thief is after the treasure too? Angela must use all her powers of deduction to solve the case and find the necklace—before someone else does.
Clara Benson is the author of the Angela Marchmont Mysteries and Freddy Pilkington-Soames Adventures - traditional English whodunits in authentic style set in the 1920s and 30s. One day she would like to drink cocktails and solve mysteries in a sequinned dress and evening gloves. In the meantime she lives in the north of England with her family and doesn't do any of those things.
If you want to be the first to hear about new releases, and to receive a free, exclusive short story, sign up to her mailing list at clarabenson.com/newsletter.
Enjoyable cozy set in the 30s or 40s. Mrs. Marchmont is very forward thinking for the era. Between Angela and her goddaughter Barbara the mystery of the stolen necklace was solved. A few twists and turns, certain people weren't who we thought they were. Very intriguing.
I read only the first book and before the end starting skimming some as it wan't much of a mystery nor did it offer much for later discussion. I was getting tired of going through all the possible suspects as the obvious was ignored. I did enjoy the period setting. I may read book two if I'm traveling and need a quick light read.
I thoroughly enjoyed this trio of mysteries! Well written, great story line, and nice twist at the end. I also enjoyed the tinge of romance via a scoundrel! Hehehe
I had previously read the first two books so this is a review for Treasure at Poldarrow Point. Mrs Angela Marchmont as a character is a bit of a mystery, who is she, where is Mr Marchmont, what is her age, where does she get her money? Not only that but what years are these stories set in? This book finally gave up some answers. She is, I reckon, in her late thirties. There was a Mr Marchmont but there has been an acrimonious split - don’t know when, don’t know if they are divorced, don’t know what became of him. The stories are set between the wars in the late 1920’s. See, I was paying attention 🙃 This story involves a lost treasure and a very precocious twelve year old called Barbara who is Angela’s goddaughter. Barbara runs about doing all the adventurous detecting (which she is quite intuitive about) and getting into predicable scrapes while Angela does the thinking. The story was a bit predictable but an interesting read. Barbara came across as 12 years old going on 30. Angela had a smattering of romance going on. I found I could work out what was going on as the clues make it fairly obvious but an easy likeable read anyway.
Angela Marchmont is an American lady living in England during the 1930's. Although she doesn't mean to she becomes known as a detective for solving supposedly insolvable mysteries. She works with Inspector Jameson of Scotland Yard during all three. The first is at at a friend's manor house in the country and is about who murdered the friend's husband. The second is to solve the why's and wherefore's of the murder of 5 brothers and sisters. The last, and my personal favorite, The Treasure of Poldarrow Point, takes place in Cornwall. Miss Trout and her nephew Clifford live in the house of an ancestor who was a smuggler. They are the last of the family and about to be evicted, unless they can find priceless necklace hidden in their house and once belonged to Marie Antoinette. Angela is helped in this mystery by her twelve-year-old goddaughter. This story has more twists and turns than one would think possible.
Convoluted mystery, stupid people, and a reckless child
What I liked was that the mystery and the real identity of the characters was not obvious. What I didn’t like: Angela was extremely careless about sharing information with her god daughter Barbara, and even more careless about keeping tabs on Barbara’s whereabouts. Of course, Barbara nearly gets killed by the villains. I think I blame Angela even more than Barbara for B being such a willful and dangerously precocious child. The final interaction with the renowned jewel thief was preposterous. I did finish the book, but I put it down many times, and several times fell asleep while trying to get through it.
Three very enjoyable mysteries, my favorite of the three? The middle story, The mystery at Underwood House. Strong, well developed characters, each story had its own unique set of characters, making each separate and different. Although I thought that I was being kept informed and up to date with the clues I soon realized that there is always that little part that is left out that allows suspense to build. In two of the stories it was not so difficult to identify the 'wrong ones' but this did not detract from my reading pleasure. Three stories, highly recommended for those who enjoy good, well planned mysteries.
The first one kept me on my toes for two thirds of the book before I figured if out...well done. The second book took me about half way before I started to suspect the plot....but was still interesting and I read it to the finish... Very enjoyable. Now we come to book three.....I was about a fifth of the way through when I knew the identity of the "villain", I cheated and skipped to the last two chapters. I was right. I do recommend these books and look forward to reading more.
As indicated by the rating, I really liked this book. It is a mystery set in 1920s England with main character, Angela Marchmont, locally dubbed "a female detective".
This book is written in a fashion that reminds me of previous eras. Modern mysteries so often try to blend a selection of genres: mystery, obviously, but also humor and romance and dashing heros/heroines. TMAUH is simply what it says directly in the title: a mystery.
Definitely recommend for fans of mystery; particularly one that is simply that.
An enjoyable series of three mysteries written in the style of Agatha Christie or Dorothy Sayers. I found the first one a bit hard to believe in places, and also worked out who the murderer was very early. The second was better although I was pretty sure whodunnit there too, and the third was not a murder but a mystery about a diamond necklace. The twelve year old girl in it was rather too mature for her age, I felt, and also quite annoying! Very entertaining.
I enjoyed the first book, but found the second one to be rather tedious, simply put there were pages and pages of writing that added nothing to the story at all, just rumination’s and rubbish. I skipped plenty to get to the end of what was a story about a ghastly family doing horrible and saying horrible things to eachother. I didn’t even bother with the third book. Why would i?
These book introduce amateur detective Angela Marchmont. The first book starts out with Angela as a house guest when the host is murdered. Her sleuthing is not very prominent in that story,but in the other two she is very actively involved . I would recommend this series
Angela Marchmont is a fascinating heroine--genteel, but efficiently competent; brilliantly rational, but delightfully empathetic. She's an interesting enough detective that enjoyed all these mysteries, even the first, which was rather too easy to figure out, and from the point of view of an unreliable narrator I slightly disliked.
I enjoy historical fiction, and this mystery series was right up my alley! My favorite was Book 3. I adore the character of Barbara, Angela’s goddaughter. Highly recommend. I am going to download the next ones on the series as well, I have to know what mysteries Angela gets into next!
I love British mystery novels, I must admit. Angela Marchmount is a clever woman who finds herself in the middle of a good mystery. Then her reputation grows and people ask for her help. The characters in these novels are well crafted, and the author tells the story well.
Loved these mysteries. They remind me of Annie Perry’s books. The stories are not as complex as Ms Perrys’ but have the same feel. This is a set of 3 mysteries each a little different. All the characters seem to be guilty at one time or another. Clues are dropped here and there making you think you know who did it, but beware of falling into that trap. I throughly enjoyed reading them.
I am undecided, I really liked Books 1 and two those would have had probably five stars but book 3, Treasure at Poldarrow Point had al the makings for a great mystery but it t turned out to be almost a children's book and the Barbara character got to n my nerves. I will try some more, I'm sure I will like them like I did the first two boos.
The three first books of this series in on box set. The first one was the weakest in my opinion, and was narrated by one of the persons involved in the case, and was - I don't want to use the word boring - a bit dragging along. The next two were a bit better, though I was still missing a bit more suspense and humour, perhaps. All in all, a quite nice reading experience.
This is actually three books in one and are the first three books in a series written around a character named Angela Marchmont. While the character comes from a time when women were considered too delicate (and not necessarily bright enough) to do anything on their own this character is encouraged and sought out for her ability to solve crimes. The stories get more fun with each new mystery.
There were many reasons why I LOVED this book. The characters were interesting and funny. Imagine a fight including hitting characters over the head with sausages.
I love these mysteries and was thrilled with each one. The theme wove in and out so much that it seemed there was a different criminal in each chapter. Hard to guess what was the truth and ending.
These three books in this series are excellent period mysteries. At times dragged a little. But the end result was worth reading through the slow parts. I will continue to read the next book.
I read the first 3 books and will not be reading more. I do not want to give anything away, but there is one single action by Angela that I dislike so much I can no longer enjoy the series
Love this genre! Insightful older lady who modestly directs expert detectives toward the REAL facts of the case. Descriptions of English geography and customs of days past.
I so enjoyed the first three books and am anxious to read more. I liked the time period and Mrs. Marchmont quite a lot and look forward to more of her adventures.
Angela Marchmont is a lady repeatedly thrust into mysteries who finds a way to solve them. The tales will keep you on your toes. Do you have what it takes to find the resolution before Mrs. Marchmont does?
A pleasant stroll through a period passed. The first two books were a simple mystery, but the third book threw in a few twists the had me guessing, incorrectly. It was a relaxing escape from reality.
3.5 In each book I figured out the culprit about 1/2-2/3 of the way through, but these were still a fun way to pass the time...I won’t say relax because there was still enough suspense about what danger might be next even though I knew “whodunnit”...but it was fun.
This set of books featuring Angela Marchmont has been very interesting. Set in the early 20th century with a female detective it sets a good pace. I would like to read more oof Mrs. Marchmont’s adventures.