Murder in Abbot's Folly

Peter and Georgia Marsh #8

by Amy Myers

Curiosity about a murder that took place in an eighteenth-century folly draws father and daughter team Peter and Georgia Marsh to attend a summer gala in honour of Jane Austen at Stourdens, a fast decaying Georgian mansion in Kent.But instead of enjoying a literary day out, they are thrust into a tense situation rapidly approaching boiling point. Robert Luckhurst, the murdered former owner of Stourdens, was an avid collector of Jane Austen memorabilia, and his collection is thought to contain thrilling secrets about the novelist’s love life.Whether the Fettises, the new owners of both Stourdens and the collection, should reveal them or not is fiercely debated.It is a battle in which Peter and Georgia are caught up in their search for the truth about Luckhurst’s death — and a battle which pitches Georgia into danger as murder once again strikes at Stourdens . . .PRAISE FOR MURDER IN ABBOT'S 'Myers presents all the ingredients for an enjoyable read.' Kirkus Reviews'Will appeal to both cosy and historical fiction readers.' Booklist

Genres: British Literature, Mystery, Cozy, Historical Mystery

268 pages, Kindle Edition

First published December 1, 2011

About the author

aka Laura Daniels, Harriet Hudson

Amy Myers was born in Kent, where she still lives, although she has now ventured to the far side of the Medway. For many years a director of a London publishing company, she is now a full-time writer. Married to an American, she lived for some years in Paris, where, surrounded by food, she first dreamed up her Victorian chef detective Auguste Didier. Currently she is writing her contemporary crime series starring Jack Colby, car detective, and in between his adventures continuing her Marsh & Daughter series and her Victorian chimnney sweep Tom Wasp novels.

Series:
* Peter and Georgia March
* Auguste Didier
* Tom Wasp

Anthologies edited:
* After Midnight Stories

Reviews

[Ivonne Rovira · Rating 5 out of 5]

Reviewing Murder in Abbot's Folly reminds me of the funeral of an exemplary person passing. No matter how much one rejoices in a life well lived, there must be sadness; after all, I have read all eight of the extant Marsh and Daughter. With author Amy Myers concentrating so fiercely on her Jack Colby car mysteries, who knows how long it will be before No. 9 comes to the States? Who could read the last sentences without a pang?

In Murder in Abbot's Folly, Peter and Georgia Marsh see the murder of Robert Luckhurst, the owner of an estate house called Stourdens, 25 years earlier as a possible subject for the Marsh and Daughter treatment. Peter, a former police inspector now in a wheelchair, and his daughter Georgia attend a gala at Stourdens to get a feel of the place -- and do they ever! First, Georgia gets hit with an overwhelming "fingerprint of time" at the door of Abbot's Folly, the scene of the murder. Then the Marshes are on the scene when the current owner is herself murdered not far from the site of the earlier murder. In both cases, the owners were guarding Jane Austen memorabilia that others wished to exploit to create a tourist destination for Austen-philes.

Are the two murders linked? The Marshes don't like the coincidence. As they poke into the Luckhurst's murder, the duo threaten to dislodge a great many secrets that some in the modern day would kill to keep in the darkness.

Murder in Abbot's Folly is one of the most suspenseful of Myers' mysteries. The ending is a bit outlandish. Myers leaves few, if any clues, to the idenitity of the madman who perpetrates the crimes, and the murderer's motives seem improbable causes for murder. Nevertheless, the book is so fine that you won't mind. Murder in Abbot's Folly will provide insight into preservation, the greedy human heart, and Jane Austen herself. You won't be sorry you read it.

[Jonna · Rating 1 out of 5]

Didn't hold my interest.

[Kate · Rating 1 out of 5]

Curiosity about a murder that took place in an eighteenth-century folly draws father and daughter team Peter and Georgia Marsh to attend a summer gala in honour of Jane Austen at Stourdens, a fast decaying Georgian mansion in Kent. But instead of enjoying a literary day out, they are thrust into a tense situation rapidly approaching boiling point.

"Robert Luckhurst, the murdered former owner of Stourdens, was an avid collector of Jane Austen memorabilia, and his collection is thought to contain thrilling secrets about the novelist's love life that still remain to be revealed. Whether the Fettises, the new owners of both Stourdens and the collection, should do so or not is fiercely debated. It is a battle in which Peter and Georgia are caught up in their search for the truth about Luckhurst's death -- and a battle witch pitches Georgia into danger as murder once again strikes at Stourdens ..."
~~front flap

I suppose that because this is the 10th book in this series and I haven't read the preceding nine, I was more at sea than a fan of the series would have been. But I felt lost, as if I really needed a roster to keep up. It wasn't clear to me why the Marshs got caught up in the hunt for the murderer, other than a vague reference to their abilities to sense murders in any particular location. I did try (read 60 pages out of 201) but just couldn't get past the dutiful reading stage.

[Virginia Tican · Rating 5 out of 5]

This is about the fusion of fantasy and reality in a delusional mind and its effect on certain people who in turn have their own obsessions. Dangerous things obsessions for such would lead to a murder or two as in this book. It started with a collection of Jane Austen paraphernalia specially around 1802 that according to this book, such were rare because Cassandra destroyed most of her sister's letters and even Jane's artwork because of jealousy for Jane's romantic attachment to Captain Harker who usually stayed at his brother's inn called the Edgar Arms where the Austen sisters usually hire a post chaise for their conveyance to their brother's nearby estate. All fictional of course, but Edgar House and the Abbot's Folly at Stourden and Stourden itself are the settings where Georgia felt a paranormal possible fingerprint from the past. What I find annoying perhaps is the implication that that fraudster and smug s.o.b. Douglas Watts gets off scot~free. The police could arrest him for wasting law enforcement resources... malicious mischief... giving false information... anything within the bounds of the law just so they could revenge themselves on him for duping them via the Marshes. Any self~respecting police officer should not take this lying down ... the pride of the Met is at stake here. Time to get creative officers!

[Geraldine R. Gaugler · Rating 5 out of 5]

Another great read

As always Amy Myers keeps you guessing until the very end. I am sad that this is the final book in the Marsh and Daughter series. I have enjoyed reading every one of them.

[Bonnye Reed]

Complimentary from MyNextRead

[Susan · Rating 4 out of 5]

2011. Georgia and Peter Marsh are looking into the death of Robert Luckhurst, shot in 1985 by Max Tanner, landlord of the local pub. But now with the current deaths is there a link.
An enjoyable modern mystery

[Susan · Rating 3 out of 5]

Peter Marsh and his daughter Georgia find themselves at a Jane Austen festival nearby, and determine to investigate a fairly recent murder (less than three decades old). Their lives are complicated by the reappearance of Georgia's mother, and Peter's ex-wife, Elena, who wants to return to England. There's a murder at the festival, and Peter wonders if it's connected with the historical crime they're investigating. The people concerned seem to have a secret about a valuable collection of Jane Austen letters, which reveal things about Austen's life that are not generally known.

[Deshay · Rating 4 out of 5]

Really more like 3 1/2 stars on this one. I have read the other books in this series and this one just wasn't as appealing. Still an enjoyable read - especially for Jane Austen fans - but characters seemed a little flat. And there were too many nicely timed phone calls from just the right people with just the right information. However, I will continue reading the series.

[Anne Stenhouse · Rating 2 out of 5]

I was irritated by the dryness of the style before I'd read very far and, although Myers is a new author to me, I didn't really become more used it as the pages passed. I thought there was a wonderful story about self-delusion lurking here, but she didn't bring it out. I also read and re-read the denouement and it still makes no sense to me.

[Les Wilson · Rating 3 out of 5]

It's a shame, Amy can do much better than this. So don't judge her on this work alone.