The Mitford Vanishing

Mitford Murders #5

by Jessica Fellowes

A mystery with the fascinating Mitford sisters at its heart, Jessica Fellowes's The Mitford Vanishing is the fifth installment in the Mitford Murders series, inspired by a real-life murder in a story full of intrigue…

“Downton Abbey meets Agatha Christie in this witty and twisty mystery.” —In Touch Weekly on The Mitford Murders

1937. War with Germany is dawning, and a civil war already raging in Spain. Split across political lines, the six Mitford sisters are more divided than ever. Meanwhile their former maid Louisa Cannon is now a private detective, working with her policeman husband Guy Sullivan.

Louisa and Guy are surprised when a call comes in from novelist Nancy Mitford requesting that they look into the disappearance of her Communist sister Jessica in Spain. But one case leads to another as they are also asked to investigate the mysterious vanishing of a soldier.

As the two cases come together, Louisa and Guy discover that every marriage has its secrets—but some are more deadly than others. Suddenly home feels a long way away...

A Macmillan Audio production from Minotaur Books

Genres: Mystery, Historical Fiction, Fiction, Audiobook, Crime, Historical Mystery, Historical

416 pages, Hardcover

First published January 18, 2022

About the author

Niece of Julian Fellowes

Reviews

[Brenda · Rating 4 out of 5]

The small PI offices of Cannon and Sullivan was Louisa and Guy’s pride and joy. They’d opened it together after their daughter Maisie was born and hoped to do well in their business. Guy was an ex-policeman and had plenty of experience, so when Louisa was summoned to the Mitford home by Nancy, one of the sisters and a friend of Louisa, and she discovered nineteen-year-old Jessica, nicknamed Decca, had run away, possibly to Spain where civil war was raging, they feared the worst. Louisa and Guy were hired to locate her and bring her home at any cost.

Guy and Louisa headed for France and Decca’s last known location, and as the clues came in they could tell Decca and the man she was with, Esmond, were heading further into danger. It was Communists against Fascists, and the danger was high. When Louisa headed back to London and Guy continued on, Louisa picked up another missing person case. As she researched this second case, it occurred to her that they were possibly linked…

The Mitford Vanishing is the 5th in the Mitford Murders series by Jessica Fellowes and once again it follows the six Mitford sisters (and their one brother Tom) and their connection to Louisa Cannon – now Sullivan - as they make their way through life. Based on real events and blended with the author’s own imagination, the stories of the rich and well-to-do Mitford family and their one-time maid is continuing to be an enjoyable series for me. Historical mystery is one of my favourite genres and I have no trouble recommending the series. But if you plan to read it, start at the beginning to appreciate the full value of the series.

With thanks to Hachette AU for my ARC to read in exchange for an honest review.

[Fiona · Rating 2 out of 5]

I really enjoyed the first four books in this series and was so looking forward to the fifth. The initial storyline is the disappearance of 19 year old Jessica Mitford. The family asks Louisa, an ex employee, and her husband, Guy, who now run a private detective agency, to find her. The problem for me with this storyline is that if you’re even reasonably knowledgeable about the Mitfords, you know exactly where Jessica is, why, and with whom. There is therefore no mystery. A secondary storyline dovetails with this one but the momentum is lost as we keep returning to the drama Jessica is creating around herself and to Louisa and Guy’s domestic life.

I’m sorry to be disappointed in this. I have to admit I found it quite boring. It may be that if you don’t know Jessica’s life story, this book will be much more enjoyable. I can only hope that the sixth in the series, if there is one, will be better. I gave the others 4 and 5 stars so my fingers crossed.

With thanks to Little, Brown Book Group UK and NetGalley for a review copy.

[Helen · Rating 4 out of 5]

Many thanks to NetGalley and Minotaur Books for this Advanced Reader Copy and the opportunity to review “The Mitford Vanishing.” All opinions and comments are my own.

Louisa Cannon is again involved with the Mitford family in this, the fifth in the series. (And these are not standalones, folks; too much has gone on in the lives of the Mitfords and with Louisa to allow that.) We’re told it’s 1937, and Louisa’s private detective agency with her husband Guy Sullivan has been open for six months. And it looks like a private detective is needed. “Decca” Mitford, one of the younger sisters, has gone missing. The family wants her found and returned before news of it gets out (read before “Society” finds out the details). Nancy Mitford, Louisa’s former employer and now friend, asks Louisa to come, and Louisa goes.

And we’re off, on a convoluted tale of disappearing people, Decca (and especially her boyfriend/fiancé Esmond Romilly) railing against the “Establishment,” dead bodies, another man’s wife, and trips to France and war-torn Spain. As in previous books, you’ll get a history lesson in this one – not a bad idea to brush up on your knowledge of the Spanish Civil War, if you want to get the full effect. Speaking of history, the Mitford who is missing will become the writer Jessica Mitford – Communist, journalist, and eventual digger of dirt on the American funeral industry. As with the other Mitfords, her life is a fascinating story in itself.

And since we’re got to have something else going on, there’s a secondary case that Louisa picks up. A missing young woman, and then a missing man. Remember that wife I mentioned? Eventually, this case really involves Guy, and becomes threatening to both – and there’s a Mitford connection. Our author, Jessica Fellowes, ensures that Louisa has to do some real truth-hiding. It’s quite the mess. But when you’re involved with the sisters, everything’s a mess, even in a collateral fashion.

A postscript explains what happened to everyone (well, the real someones), and includes a “Who’s Who in 1937.” There are also Historical Notes, which the author explains contains spoilers to the book.

I enjoyed The Mitford Vanishing, because I appreciate the research and history the author incorporates into her writing. However, these are not easy characters to enjoy; they are true to the real figures she’s writing about. But I look forward to when Louisa and Guy will be summoned again by a Mitford. No doubt something will turn up.

[Alayne Emmett · Rating 4 out of 5]

This was quite a good read but, as it was part of a series I did struggle with it as I hadn’t read any of the others beforehand. But, it was I try and was very well written and I’ll probably try to get hold of the earlier ones in this series . My thanks to Netgalley and the publishers for giving me the opportunity to read this book in return for an honest review.

[Javier · Rating 4 out of 5]

Review published in: https://diagnosisbookaholic.blogspot....

If you like your historical mysteries with a mix of fact and fiction, the Mitford Murders Series is the one for you. Taking the lives of the Mitford Sisters, a family of socialites in the early 20th century, as a starting point, Ms Fellowes delivers another intriguing mystery in which we travel to France and Spain, with the Spanish Civil War as background.

It is 1937, Louisa and Guy are now parents of a little girl and have founded a private detectives agency. One of their first cases will be trying to locate Jessica, the fifth of the Mitford sisters, whose communist ideas don’t sit well with her family and who seems to have left for the war in Spain. Soon, another disappearance engages Louisa’s attention. Could solving one case help solve the other?

Louisa and Guy are adorable characters. It has been such a pleasure seeing them grow throughout the series. We first met Louisa when she was a teen and now she’s a woman in her thirties, married with a kid. I like how, with putting the focus in a different sister each time, the author manages to move forward Louisa’s story. The sisters are all very different and have completely opposite ideas. You can agree more or less with them, but they all make really interesting characters. Each time I finish one of these books I immediately go to Google to learn more about their fascinating lives.

I loved how this time the background was the Spanish Civil War. I’ve read tons of books about it but always from Spanish authors so it was nice reading about it from another perspective.

The mystery itself was really entertaining and although at the end it turned out a little far fetched I liked how it presented a final dilemma for Louisa and Guy.

One thing I love about this series is the perfect blend of fact and fiction, so seamlessly you can’t really know which is which until you’ve read the author’s notes.

Another great installment in the series, now I can’t wait to read Deborah’s (the youngest sister) story.

Thanks to NetGalley and Sphere for providing an eARC in exchange for an honest review.

[Darlene · Rating 5 out of 5]

The Mitford Vanishing is the 5th installment in a series that divinely mixes historical fiction with cozy mystery. Set against the backdrop of the Spanish civil war and the precursors of WWII, this novel delves more heavily into the history of the time than the earlier novels of this series while still setting up a rich, complex mystery. This is definitely my favorite book in the series so far.

Louisa and Guy make a great sleuthing duo. Though Guy worries for Louisa's safety, and rightfully so, he knows she is a capable detective with a heart for finding the truth. Though the two work the case together, the book follows Louisa's progress more closely.

This book ticks all the boxes that are important to me - rich history, strong female protagonist, compelling characters, lush mystery. I loved it and recommend it to cozy lovers and historical fiction lovers alike.

[Shannon · Rating 3 out of 5]

Jessica ‘Decca’ Mitford has gone missing and Louisa and Guy are drafted in by Nancy to find her. This is their first big case as a newly minted detective agency and the publicity could put them on the map if they are successful.
This book tackles the Spanish Civil war and sees Guy and Louisa pinging back and forth from London to France without a care in the world. This is the fourth book in the series and the links to the Mitfords are getting a tad stretched, this isn’t really about Decca it’s about a group of women who go missing and nobody really cares except Louisa. There’s a battered wife and bad husband and a moral dilemma that sees Guy and Louisa at opposite ends. The history was interesting if the plot was a bit muddled.

[Lata · Rating 4 out of 5]

3.5 stars.
I am unfamiliar with the Mitfords, except that they were English nobility, there were many sisters who fraternized with European leaders during many important events in the 20th century, and, oh yeah, most of them had a real fondness for fascism and were probably or actually anti-Semitic. So, I approached this mystery series with some trepidation.

This is my first book in this now 5-book series, and I’m glad that the main character isn’t an actual Mitford. Instead she’s a character created by the author: Louise Cannon, formerly in-service to the Mitfords as a housemaid, now a detective and co-owner of a detective agency with her former policeman husband Guy Sullivan, and a mother of a delightful baby girl.

Nancy Mitford begs Louise’s help at the book’s outset: younger sister Jessica “Decca” has vanished somewhere in France, and must be found and returned. Both Louise and Guy are employed and travel repeatedly to France during the course of their investigation, which touches on the brutality of the Spanish forces fighting each other and the involvement or British citizens in the Spanish Civil War, and the Mitford family dysfunctions and privilege.

Simultaneously, Louise is contracted by a woman to find her missing sister in London. Louise begins her solo search, encountering police indifference, and secrets at the company the missing woman worked at. Eventually, there even appears to be a tenuous connection back to their main case.

This was interesting, especially from Fellowes’ weaving of real historical people and events into this story. She had me googling as I read (I always appreciate learning details about history). I also liked Fellowes’ Louise, a woman with an interesting and difficult past I shall have to read about when I eventually pick up book one in this series. And I guess that means that Fellowes’ got me interested enough in Louise to read about the Mitfords.

With regards to this book, I found myself less engaged while reading the first half of the book, when Louise and Guy track down a naïve, reckless and privileged young woman with little understanding of the consequences of her actions. I much preferred the second half of the book when Louise devotes her energy to finding the missing woman in London. The book and the characters felt more lively to me there, perhaps because Fellowes did not have to work as many real people into her narrative .

Thank you to Netgalley and to St Martin's Press for this ARC in exchange for my review.

[Georgiana 1792 · Rating 4 out of 5]

Siamo nel 1937 e in Spagna infuria la guerra civile. Molti inglesi contrari al fascismo e al nazismo si recano sul confine francese e poi entrano in Spagna per dare appoggio all'esercito repubblicano che si oppone a quello dei generali tra cui Franco. Tra di essi sembra esserci la quinta delle sorelle Mitford, Jessica detta Decca, che - al contrario di buona parte delle sue sorelle - ha simpatie comuniste.
Quando la giovane fugge di casa, Louisa Cannon e suo marito Guy Sullivan vengono ingaggiati dalla famiglia Mitford per ritrovarla, e si recano così in Francia per scoprire se è riuscita a entrare in Spagna.
Nel frattempo, Louisa viene ingaggiata da una donna che cerca la sorella scomparsa, Petunia Attwood, per cui la polizia non ha intenzione di sprecare tempo in ricerche. Anche le ricerche di questa donna sembrano condurre alla guerra civile spagnola, per cui i coniugi Sullivan vengono impegnati su due fronti e, soprattutto Louisa, è costretta a fare avanti e indietro dall'Inghilterra, lasciandosi dietro la piccola Maisie, la figlia di quasi un anno, con numerosi sensi di colpa, dovuti alla mentalità dell'epoca.
Come sempre è molto interessante il modo in cui Fellowes mischia personaggi reali - come tutti i membri della famiglia Mitford - a personaggi inventati. E ho gradito molto che questa volta ci fosse un caso secondario abbastanza avulso dal caso Mitford, in modo da creare una buona separazione tra Storia e storia.

[eyes.2c · Rating 4 out of 5]

Mitford shenanigans!

Ah, those Mitfords! If ever a family has had the spotlight cast upon them, this is the one. (Oops! Unless you’re a Royal!) It’s 1937 and Nancy Mitford is worried about the disappearance of her sister ‘Decca’ that is Jessica, (the Communist) in Spain. She asks Louisa Cannon, once the family maid, now a private investigator, to look into her whereabouts. Louisa and her husband, former policeman Guy Sullivan, run Detective Agency, Cannon & Sullivan. Nancy’s parents, Lord and Lady Redesdale (David and Sydney Mitford) join the request for Louisa and Guy’s aid. It appears Louisa and Guy’s inquiry overlaps with a young woman’s body in London and the disappearance of a sailor.
All roads lead to Bayonne, France on the border with Spain. The resolution of the various inquiries keep becoming more complex and intriguing.
I loved the way Fellowes has incorporated history with personalities, giving vivid portrayals of the prevailing politics and actions of the times, and a penetrating fictional / factual look into this fascinating family whilst maintaining a suspenseful and puzzling tale.
The Who’s Who, and Historical Notes at the end are illuminating.

A St. Martin’s Press ARC via NetGalley

[Giorgia Legge Tanto · Rating 5 out of 5]

Questo è il quinto capitolo della serie "I delitti delle sorelle Mitford". Come sapete mi sono piaciuti già tutti gli altri, e questo non è stato da meno. Questi romanzi si dividono fra il noir e lo storico, più che altro per farci conoscere le sei sorelle. In ogni libro una delle sorelle ne è protagonista in qualche maniera. Qui Jessica, detta Decca, scompare, voltando le spalle alla famiglia per dedicarsi al comunismo. Siamo nel 1937, in Spagna c'è la guerra civile, ma tutta l'Europa è in conflitto. Louisa Cannon, ex governante di casa Mitford, ora titolare insieme al marito dell'agenzia investigativa Cannon&Sullivan, riceve una telefonata da Nancy Mitford, che le comunica che Decca è scomparsa. Nello stesso momento una donna si rivolge all'agenzia perché la sorella Petunia è scomparsa. Questi romanzi entusiasmano, si leggono velocemente, e sono avvincenti. Ricordano un po' Agatha Christie ma con una vena più storica e meno ricercatezza nel metodo per uccidere.
Assolutamente godibile!

[Emmy de Reus · Rating 3 out of 5]

Ditmaal een speurtocht begin 1937 naar de op een na jongste Mitford-dochter Jessica (Decca), die verdwenen blijkt te zijn nadat ze haar ouders op de mouw had gespeld dat ze bij vriendinnen in Dieppe aan de Franse westkust zou gaan logeren. Al snel blijkt dat de 19-jarige Decca samen met haar 18-jarige neef Esmond Romillly onderweg is naar het Zuidfranse Bayonne. Ze zijn verliefd, idealistisch en Esmond, die communistische sympathieën koestert, wil zich opnieuw inzetten in de Spaanse burgeroorlog die gaande is.
Als het detectivebureau Cannon & Sullivan ook wordt ingeschakeld voor de vermissing van een andere vrouw, Petunia Attwood, leidt het spoor naar Petunia's verdwenen ex-collega Bernard Plum, die eerder ook in de Spaanse burgeroorlog heeft gevochten en ene Belinda Cartwright die hem destijds na een verwonding daar heeft verpleegd. En dan, als Louisa nog enkele vragen aan Bernards vrouw Janice wil stellen, blijkt het huis verlaten en is ook Janice onvindbaar.
Uiteindelijk komt in Bayonne alles samen...
3½ ster

[Donna Pfeiffer · Rating 3 out of 5]

A daughter of an elite family goes missing. The former nanny who has married a retired police detective, and has together started their own detective agency, has been hired to find her. In the course of this investigation 2 other women are discovered missing also, and a man who has been accused of fraud. The investigation takes the husband and wife back and forth to France and Spain, and is caught up in the Spanish war that has started abroad. There is a series of other plots with these characters but I am not hooked to indulge further.

[Shirley McAllister · Rating 4 out of 5]

Missing

In 1937 during the raging civil war in Spain one of the famous Mitford girls goes missing. The Mitford family engages their former maid turned detective Louisa Cannon and her husband Guy to find their daughter Jessica.

They travel to France to try and find the missing girl, in the meantime they are engaged on another case of a missing woman perhaps headed to Spain. Are the two cases related? Now they are hunting for two missing women and an elusive man that may hold information to the cases.

A good job of detective work. An English historical mystery. I enjoyed the clothing descriptions and the different places and people along the way.

It was a good mystery, perhaps a bit long, but a good story even so. I did enjoy the audio book and the narration was great.

Thanks to Jessica Fellowes for writing the story and doing a great job of narrating it, Macmillan Audio for publishing it and for NetGalley for making it available to me.

[Elizabeth (Miss Eliza) · Rating 2 out of 5]

*Special Content only on my blog, Strange and Random Happenstance during Murder Most Foul (February-May 2025)

Louisa and Guy are about to start the next chapter of their lives. After their disillusionment with the establishment they have set up a private detective agency, Cannon and Sullivan. They hope to help those who the police overlook, though Guy is more sanguine, warning Louisa that they are probably going to spend most of their time on petty domestic disputes. Given their history with the Mitfords it shouldn't come as a surprise to Louisa that they are going to be their first clients now that she has finished her maternity leave. Louisa is summoned to Rutland Gate by Nancy because Jessica, familially known as Decca, has run away. This shouldn't be such a shock to the family. The nineteen year old Decca started her "running away" fund when she was twelve, so actually running away while claiming to be on a motoring tour of France with friends seemed inevitable. The problem is, if the press gets wind of this it would ruin her and her future. So they are hoping that Louisa and Guy can discretely discover what has happened by popping over to France. What has happened is that Decca's run off to the Spanish Civil War as the bride of her cousin, Esmond Romilly. From the family's point of view things couldn't be worse. She has divorced herself from her family forever. Esmond is a known firebrand and a Communist. He also happens to be Winston Churchill's nephew. Which is how the foreign office gets involved. And once the press finds out, it's front page headlines. With their reputation on the line, Louisa and Guy realize that they must succeed in finding Decca. The Mitford case will put their name on the map if they succeed. And if they fail? Their business will be a bust before it's even begun. Seeing as the government is now involved, they decide that not both of them are needed in France and Guy continues on to Bayonne while Louisa heads home to their darling daughter Maisie, and another disappearance all together. Julia Attwood has come to Cannon and Sullivan because her sister Petunia has gone missing. Petunia was a secretary at Lee Worth. A middle-aged woman who had no political power or clout. Someone who wouldn't be missed. The exact opposite of Jessica Mitford. This is someone not even the police are looking for. The poignancy of this makes Louisa take the case to heart. She learns about Petunia and a contretemps with her coworker, Bernard Plum. As soon as she starts digging into the man she finds connections to the Spanish Civil War, and, as impossible as this may seem, even Decca and Esmond. Could Petunia's case, as well as two other missing women cases that fall into Louisa's lap, all be tied together with the Mitfords for some inexplicable reason? Only time and Bayonne will tell.

Seeing as each book in this series has been focused on one of the six Mitford sisters, in the order they were born, before the title was even announced I knew this book would be about Decca. Once the title was revealed as The Mitford Vanishing I knew it would be about Decca running off to the Spanish Civil War with her cousin Esmond Romilly. Because, as any Mitford fan has, I've read Jessica Mitford's stellar autobiography, Hons and Rebels . Which makes me question the purpose of this book. Why did Jessica Fellowes choose this event from Decca's life to dramatize? It's been well documented and there's not much new ground to cover. Unless it was that Jessica Fellowes wanted us to see it from the point of view of the Mitford clan, collective noun still to be finalized, and how they were furious with Decca. Flipping the script of Decca's own writing and seeing her as throwing her life away and being nothing more than a spoiled brat than a girl on a romantic adventure. Well, having read extensively about the Mitfords, I say running away was the healthiest decision Decca could have made. Her family was a next of fascist vipers who would eat their own and this break with her family is what made her. But Jessica Fellowes takes this selfishness further and applies it to anyone who went to fight in the Spanish Civil War. Yes, there were people who viewed it as an romantic adventure, much as Jessica did at the start, but looking down on those who were actually trying to stop the spread of hate is hypocritical when Jessica Fellowes is also saying that we need to look to the past to stop the spread of fascism now. Plus it was because of the journalists on the ground that we learned about the true horrors of what was happening in Spain. It's weird to think of this large country involved in it's own conflict outside of the rest of the European theater. Yes, maybe this book took away some of the romanticism of those who went to Spain, but anyone who looks seriously at war knows there's nothing romantic about it. And Jessica Fellowes just felt like she was preaching. Hating on the naivete of these people while trying to give a teachable moment to her very naive leads. At the end I came away with the distinct feeling that Jessica Fellowes doesn't really like any of the Mitfords. And as for her mystery with the missing women? It was implausible and amorphous. No, like really implausible. Guy was in London on the phone with Louisa only hours before he showed up in Bayonne. That is the most implausible thing ever.

[Jacie Atteng · Rating 4 out of 5]

I’m thinking 4.5 actually. This is probably my favorite since the first in the series. I love that Louisa and Guy are finally married and getting to do detective work together! Their slow romance wasn’t my favorite ever but now that they’re a settled married couple, I adore them. I could also identify with Decca’s plot line in her escape and elopement story, having done both of those myself. I’m excited to see more cases of Canon & Sullivan!

[Anna Reads Mysteries]

Nah, I'm done.

I will no longer tourture myself with this dumb series. I could say subjectively dumb series, but no - the idea behind it is stupid.

When I picked the series up and read the first book, I loved it. It's an absolutely heartwarming story about a young girl named Louisa, who ends up working for a rich family, called Mitfords.
Now, at that time, I knew nothing about the Mitfords and all was well.

Then I read book two, which was a far cry from book one and I started looking into the Mitfords, only to find out that this was one of the worst families that lived in Great Britain that you can possibly write about. All of the sisters a horrible on some level (except Pamela, she is mostly alright), but the rest of them are heavily involved in politics, either budding up with the far right or the far left - one of them is in love and possibly had a fling with no other than a certain German leader with a weird moustache - AND YOU as an author chose to write about this family?
Yes, yes - it's only 'inspired' and yet there are clear mentions of which sister is up to what bullsht at what time - and you expect me to go along with their story and root for them not to get murdered!?

I did commit to these books longer than I should have, mostly because of Louisa and Guy and because most of the plots promised something interesting (like mystery on a cruiseship, a sceance, a Christmas murder etc)

But the story of Louisa and Guy and their relationship got tortured over the past books. The constant will-they won't-they was OK for a while, but after 4 books in a row Ms Fellows, one gets fed up as a reader.

And the other thing that bothered me was Louisa's character development.
It felt like we were following a new character each time and established things got erased like they never happened.
In The Mitford Trials, we discuss an interesting topic - Louisa is not keen on having children, she would like a career instead - and this book starts off with her having a one-year-old baby....
And I would be absolutely fine with it, BUT WHAT HAPPENED in between off-page that changed her mind?? Was it an accidental pregnancy? If yes, I would have loved to have a touching moment of inner reflection and character growth, as she decides to embark on the journey of motherhood. Or if she changed her mind because Guy pressured her, that changes a dynamic in the relationship and again, let me read about it.
Whatever the reason was, I as the reader will never know. Louisa is now a mother and again feels like a whole new character rather than the one I fell in love with in book 1.

There are constantly off-page plot points that keep coming up - and if I am only reading this series for goddamn Louisa and Guy (who got done dirty way too many times by this author and I'm not going to go into that rant again) then why am I here for? Because this family is definitely not worth my time.

And generally, as far as murder mysteries go, these are always solved conveniently. They stumble upon multiple mysteries and either all have the same murderer or solving of one solves the other.
Like at some point, they are in Italy - and look at that, both of their cases end in Italy....... (from all the places in the wide world)

I kept hoping the series picks back up, but I don't think I can do this anymore.
I'm sorry, this is me tapping out.

The Mitford Murders - 5 stars
Bright Young Dead - 3 stars
The Mitford Scandal - 2 stars
The Mitford Trial - 1 star
The Mitford Vanishing - DNF
The Mitford Secret - DNF

[Lisa of Hopewell · Rating 4 out of 5]

My Interest
Thank you to Netgalley for a copy of the audio of this book in exchange for a fair review.

The glamorous Mitford girls, daughters of Lord Redesdale (a first cousin of Clementine Churchill), were "influencers" (in today's terms) in posh society in 1930's London. Unity became one of the first well known stalkers--she was in love with Hitler and stalked him till she got to meet him. Nancy left a Guinness (yes, THAT Guinness family) for Sir Oswald Mosley, leader of the British Fascists, and Jessica was a communist who later wrote exposes on the funeral industry and birth "industry" in the USA among other works. They fascinate me for another reason, too. The tiny bit of truly "formalized" education any of the girls received (beyond a governess) was thru Charlotte Mason's Parents Education Union. I'd love to do some sort of fiction about THAT part of their lives!

The author, Jessica Fellowes, is niece of Julian Fellowes, creator of Downton Abbey. So, she's not likely to make a hash of titles or forms of address, now is she?

The Story

1937--the Coronation of the new King George VI looms, war rages in Spain and the 5 of Lord Redesdale's six daughters has vanished! Former Mitford family nursery maid, Louisa Cannon, now a private investigator with her husband (a former police detective) is called upon to discreetly find her! Younger sister Deborah's (aka "Debo" later Duchess of Devonshire and one time sister-in-law of Kick Kennedy) debutante season and marriage prospects are potentially to be diminished by the possible scandal! (Someone pass the smelling salts! And, please, sweet tea and Sherry!) Meanwhile, two very ordinary women have disappeared--is there a link? Louisa and husband, Guy, must find out.

The story is based on the real life "disappearance" of Jessica, aka "Decca" Mitford when she ran off with some-degree-of-cousin-disant-enough-to-marry, Esmond Romilly--a nephew of Clementine Churchill. Married while already expecting the couple's first child--who would die from lack of a measles shot.

My Thoughts

I think this entire series is already on my TBR, but I wish I hadn't waited so long to jump into it. It's pretty well done for a who-done-it series! (I've posted about it before in this post). It's hard to write about mysteries without giving away the whole story. I liked the way the Mitford family is fictionalized--they are believable here. I also like the way Louisa has come into her own in the series--that's a great touch. That the topic of the "side" murders is something women today can relate too--i.e. a 1930's #metoo moment and battered wives, is ok with me. It's handled in the terms of the era of the story--nothing too modern occurs. And, one thing that happened I don't think Agatha Christie would have considered! That was a great idea [No spoilers].


I will definitely go back and start at the beginning--a rare compliment from me, previously given only to Louise Penny's Chief Inspector Gamache series!

Note to the editor of this book: It was called a "receiver," not a "hand set." Gosh, will this mistake never end? "Hand set" entered the language with cordless phones. And, an "invisibility cloak"? It was just used to describe something, but please.... Tiny things, but ....


My Verdict
4 Stars

(or should that be four peer's coronets?)

[Alan M · Rating 4 out of 5]

Another excellent book in the series, each of which is well-researched and perfectly evoke the period.

This time we find ourselves knee-deep in the Spanish Civil War, and the political extremes which are tearing the Mitford sisters apart. Their former maid Louisa, now happily married and with a young child and in business as a private investigator with her husband Guy, is drawn into their affairs once more when Jessica Mitford goes missing. Once it becomes clear that she has run off with her boyfriend and is heading for Spain, both Louisa and Guy find themselves shuttling back and forward to Bayonne in France to find the couple, accompanied by various members of the Mitford clan. Meanwhile, back in London, Louisa is also investigating another missing woman, and as that case develops it becomes clear there is something badly wrong, especially when a body turns up...

The historical setting is perfectly suited to modern readers, as we find ourselves living in equally politically extreme times, and the turbulent period of the 1930s is an apt metaphor for the somewhat messy shenanigans of the Mitford family. The sub-plot of the other missing woman turns into something much bigger, and while it eventually ties in with the main plot of Jessica's disappearance - in that it all ends in the same place - I wasn't quite so taken with it, despite the important 'message' that Fellowes was clearly trying to impress.

Nonetheless, this continues to be an excellent series and one that I will always make time for, so definitely recommended to fans of historical crime with a good grounding in fact and character development. 4 stars.

[Kate · Rating 4 out of 5]

I love this series. I've always been fascinated by the Mitfords and these crime novels focus on different sisters in turn - this time it's the turn of Jessica (or Decca), who, it seems, has turned communist, eloped and run off to the Spanish Civil War. Louisa and Guy (now private detectives) must track them down while also investigating the case of a missing woman. There are hints of the horrors of the war in Spain, as well as the increasing menace of fascism which so enthralled more than one of the sisters, but these are light and cosy crime novels and I always look forward to them. I listened to the audiobook, which was well-read but I think the treebook would be better due to the many brief chapters. Review to follow shortly on For Winter Nights.

[Ashley · Rating 5 out of 5]

This book is so good! It is intriguing, gripping, mysterious, full of twists and turns, and so much more! Whenever I picked up “The Mitford Vanishing”, I was whisked back in time, and has such a difficult time putting this book down.

This is the fifth book in Jessica Fellowes “The Mitford Murders” series, and Ms. Fellowes is such an incredible writer. Her writing style is detailed, researched, visceral, vivid, and brings the past to life brilliantly. Ms. Fellowes seamlessly blends history and fiction, and the result is a book that keep you on the edge of your seat waiting to see what happens next.

Louisa and her husband Guy are running a detective agency. Louisa used to be amaid to the Mitford family, and she receives a note from Nancy Mitford hoping that Louisa can find out what has happened to Jessica Mitford, also known as Decca, who has disappeared. As one mystery leads to another, will Louisa and Guy be able to find out what is going on? Are the mysteries connected in some way? If so, how? I do not want to say too much plot wise because of spoilers, but, I found myself reading chapter after chapter to see how everything would work out.

If you enjoy historical mysteries, I highly recommend this book! It kept me turning the pages to see what would happen next, and I look forward to reading what Ms. Fellowes writes next.

Thank you so much to Minotaur Books for the ARC of this book. All opinions expressed in this review are my own.

[Anita Lynch-Cooper · Rating 4 out of 5]

I read this for my mystery book club and was pleasantly surprised at how much I liked it. Louisa and Guy Sullivan are called on to find Jessica Mitford who has lied about her whereabouts . They find she has run off with her cousin Esmond Intending to join the International brigade in Spain.

Meanwhile the Sullivans get another missing persons case involving a former insurance company employee and three different women who were associated with him.

In real life,, The Mitford sisters were quite famous for their divergent views. A couple were fascists, a communist and a conservative. Two became novelists. Jessica did elope with her cousin Esmond and it was a bit of a scandal.

[Regan · Rating 3 out of 5]

I said this about the last one in this series, it's more a Cannon and Sullivan story than about the Mitfords. Sure, the Mitfords start Cannon and Sullivan off on their search for several missing persons, but it could have been anyone sending them off. Half the time it reads like a young adult which isn't that bad -- but if you're looking for a solid mystery it kind of falls short.

I do enjoy how Fellowes brings her readers back in time to the events around the Spanish civil war and what people went through.

[Livietta · Rating 4 out of 5]

Che abbia un debole per le Mitford attraverso gli occhi di Luisa ormai è un dato di fatto. Aspettavo a gloria che uscisse un nuovo capitolo su storytel e sono stata premiata.
Qui siamo nel pieno del periodo tra le due guerre, Decca scappa per amore verso la Spagna per andare a combattere contro i fascisti.
La Fellowes ci racconta la società del periodo in cui si muove donandoci storie piacevoli da seguire e mai noiose: traspare un po’ l’occhio moderno, soprattutto nei tratti di alcuni personaggi femminili, ma glielo perdoniamo comunque!

[Diana N. · Rating 3 out of 5]

How can so many people just go missing? This book followed a couple main disappearance cases (Jessica Mitford and Petunia Atwood).

While I ended up liking the mystery in the end, the first two-thirds drug on a lot without getting real far. There were just so many characters to keep track of. When really digging into Petunias disappearance, it felt like the story finally came together. Since I listened to the audiobook, the narrator really helped in getting through the beginning of the book. She was pretty engaging.

Thank you to the publisher and Netgalley for providing me a copy of this book for my review.

[Jessica · Rating 5 out of 5]

Thank you to NetGalley for providing an Advanced Listening Copy in exchange for an honest review.

I should start off by saying- you don't need to have read the previous books in the series to read this! I've only read the second book in the series, and had no issues following along. (I do have the others requested from the library, though.) 

The Mitfords are really having their moment right now (which I think that they would appreciate). With The Pursuit of Love being remade in 2021 and the 1930s in focus once again, it is time for the Mitfords. I think that Fellowes grounds the story in history well while still being creative and telling a fictional story, she really brings the family to life. And I've got to say, having Louise and Guy investigating in two different countries worked so well, and brought a lot more nuance to the book than I expected. 

Rachel Atkins is a perfect narrator for this story. She tackles the accents of different classes and regions well, and conveys emotions beautifully. 

[Tiffany E-P · Rating 4 out of 5]

This is my favorite by far in the series. Much better written. Maybe also because Jessica/Decca is easier to have sympathy for? The other Mitford sisters were all pretty jerky. I feel like Louisa’s character has really developed well too

[Marianne · Rating 4 out of 5]

3.75 stars

[Maria · Rating 4 out of 5]

Quite enjoyable. I appreciated the second story being weaved into the Mitford ‘mystery’ of this book. It gave it the the pulse to keep reading, wanting me to finish the story and not being able to put it down before the end.

[Janet · Rating 4 out of 5]

Still enjoying this series.