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Tode Hall #2
Phone For the Fish Knives
The Todes are back, and they're taking on Hollywood...
When Hollywood wants to do a remake of the film that made Tode Hall famous, India and Egbert are delighted. They envisage a summer of free money and star-studded dinner parties ahead...
But the Hall is soon overrun by wardrobe trucks and catering tents, and lusty, insecure actors squabbling about nudity clauses. When the movie's producers threaten to sue over the exact colour of Tode Hall's rolling lawns, India and Egbert realise that having a film crew on their doorstep isn't such a breeze after all. With so many egos in one place things were bound to end badly, but no one would have predicted quite so literal a backstabbing . . .
When Hollywood wants to do a remake of the film that made Tode Hall famous, India and Egbert are delighted. They envisage a summer of free money and star-studded dinner parties ahead...
But the Hall is soon overrun by wardrobe trucks and catering tents, and lusty, insecure actors squabbling about nudity clauses. When the movie's producers threaten to sue over the exact colour of Tode Hall's rolling lawns, India and Egbert realise that having a film crew on their doorstep isn't such a breeze after all. With so many egos in one place things were bound to end badly, but no one would have predicted quite so literal a backstabbing . . .
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Published June 17, 2021
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Displaying 1 - 23 of 23 reviews
June 17, 2021
Phone for the Fish Knives is the madcap, comedy murder mystery sequel to In the Crypt with the Candlestick, and although I haven't read it's predecessor, it works perfectly well as a standalone. Set against the backdrop of Hollywood and the glamorous and prominent Tode family, this is a lighthearted murder mystery verging on the cosy side of things. There's, humour, witty banter and some real bonkers behaviour and this can sometimes overshadow the murder a little, but it's a fun, quick and entertaining mystery with a lot of charm. A bonus is that I don't think there's anything else quite like it on the crime market.
June 24, 2021
Actual Rating 3.25
Thanks to Netgalley for this review copy in exchange for an honest review.
Egbert is the heir of Tode Halls and lived happily with her wife India and children. They have allowed using Tode Halls for remaking of a novel based film. They are happy to get half a million and a chance to communicate with two Oscar-winning stars who are working in the movie. India wants to show off her GIANT home and impress the film crew especially Oscar stars, for which she has arranged a dinner. Rapunzel piece who is the sole owner of the copyrights of the novel along with her son is also in Tode Hall while shooting is done. So many people are attending the dinner including Oliver, Alice, her triplets, Ecgbert and his sister. But dinner isn't what India had planned, it ended up on bad terms and the same night someone died.
I liked the world-building and character development. There were so many characters but their unique development made it easy to remember all of them. The author tried to cover so many issues that it stopped feeling like a mystery. I was expecting a really good mystery but it wasn't. The ending felt so rushed and we didn't get to know the details of the killer. I really wanted to know Killer's POV. The ending was abrupt which means all the side stories ended up so roughly. There were so many loose strings which made me annoyed. It could have been better but...
Thanks to Netgalley for this review copy in exchange for an honest review.
Egbert is the heir of Tode Halls and lived happily with her wife India and children. They have allowed using Tode Halls for remaking of a novel based film. They are happy to get half a million and a chance to communicate with two Oscar-winning stars who are working in the movie. India wants to show off her GIANT home and impress the film crew especially Oscar stars, for which she has arranged a dinner. Rapunzel piece who is the sole owner of the copyrights of the novel along with her son is also in Tode Hall while shooting is done. So many people are attending the dinner including Oliver, Alice, her triplets, Ecgbert and his sister. But dinner isn't what India had planned, it ended up on bad terms and the same night someone died.
I liked the world-building and character development. There were so many characters but their unique development made it easy to remember all of them. The author tried to cover so many issues that it stopped feeling like a mystery. I was expecting a really good mystery but it wasn't. The ending felt so rushed and we didn't get to know the details of the killer. I really wanted to know Killer's POV. The ending was abrupt which means all the side stories ended up so roughly. There were so many loose strings which made me annoyed. It could have been better but...
August 27, 2021
This was a big disappointment. Perhaps I’m just not suited to whimsical murder mysteries, though there seemed little mystery about the murderer.
What was the point of the triplets? Why were they always in the background giggling? I don’t know of any 21 year old boys who giggle like this.
And I really, really got fed up of the use of ‘Egbert(Mr)’ and ‘Ecgbert(Sir)’ throughout the text! I can read, therefore I can differentiate between them.
So basically, I feel this book is a waste of the author’s literary genes.
October 15, 2022
this murder was not a mystery
July 6, 2024
3.5-4⭐️ It was really funny and easy to read.
August 6, 2021
trigger warning
This book is badly written, not at all plotted, the characters are as three dimensional as cardboard cut outs, and I want to say this was a waste of time, but that feels mean.
The advertisement was false. This is not a cozy crime, this is an unending list of unneccessary drama that occurs at a place where a corpse turns up. There is no investigation, not by anyone alive at least. We have a random ghost who sticks her nose into everything because it's her family's estate and that's how things are done - she is the only character who comes close to feel like a person, and she gives a visible green stink when upset and lives in a sugar jar.
We have this estate which is rented by a film crew for a few weeks to shoot the remake of the adaptation of a classic, which nobody read, not even the regisseur. The family living at the estate is excited to meet famous people, and said famous people are miffed because the third most important role was given to a newcomer who regrets signing his contract and is happily despising actors.
Who has just dumped whom is the part of the story the author had most focus on, to a degree at which regular suspense of disbelief is not working - the police turns up, gets the corpse before it starts to stink, and leaves.
Sensitive topics like mental illness, homophobia, misogyny, get used as cheap plot devices. The characters love to talk big words, and sure, the author is poking fun at people who care about other people, but I still can't get over the feeling the author is using words she doesn't get the meaning of. They are used as tabloid headlines and form a meaningless word vomit.
Yeah, well done, you've shown all the special snowflakes where their place is.
But maybe I just get a faulty copy, because the other reviewers seem to have read an entirely different book, only the names seem to match.
Listen, I feel scammed. And I don't think this has been edited at all.
The arc was provided by the publisher.
This book is badly written, not at all plotted, the characters are as three dimensional as cardboard cut outs, and I want to say this was a waste of time, but that feels mean.
The advertisement was false. This is not a cozy crime, this is an unending list of unneccessary drama that occurs at a place where a corpse turns up. There is no investigation, not by anyone alive at least. We have a random ghost who sticks her nose into everything because it's her family's estate and that's how things are done - she is the only character who comes close to feel like a person, and she gives a visible green stink when upset and lives in a sugar jar.
We have this estate which is rented by a film crew for a few weeks to shoot the remake of the adaptation of a classic, which nobody read, not even the regisseur. The family living at the estate is excited to meet famous people, and said famous people are miffed because the third most important role was given to a newcomer who regrets signing his contract and is happily despising actors.
Who has just dumped whom is the part of the story the author had most focus on, to a degree at which regular suspense of disbelief is not working - the police turns up, gets the corpse before it starts to stink, and leaves.
Sensitive topics like mental illness, homophobia, misogyny, get used as cheap plot devices. The characters love to talk big words, and sure, the author is poking fun at people who care about other people, but I still can't get over the feeling the author is using words she doesn't get the meaning of. They are used as tabloid headlines and form a meaningless word vomit.
Yeah, well done, you've shown all the special snowflakes where their place is.
But maybe I just get a faulty copy, because the other reviewers seem to have read an entirely different book, only the names seem to match.
Listen, I feel scammed. And I don't think this has been edited at all.
The arc was provided by the publisher.
March 13, 2022
This is not a style of writing I enjoyed or would choose to read again. I was frustrated with the author reminding me the difference between Ecgbert and Egbert (Sir) and (Mr) respectively. If the author felt this was needed then they already must be aware of the issues with their story?
The triplets seemed pointless and the giggling beyond ridiculous.
I didn’t enjoy any of the characters and struggled to get even a quarter of the way through the book. The blurb and taglines along with such an artistic cover drew me into this book but I could not finish it, it really wasn’t a style or story that was working for me.
I received this as an ARC from NetGalley for an honest review.
The triplets seemed pointless and the giggling beyond ridiculous.
I didn’t enjoy any of the characters and struggled to get even a quarter of the way through the book. The blurb and taglines along with such an artistic cover drew me into this book but I could not finish it, it really wasn’t a style or story that was working for me.
I received this as an ARC from NetGalley for an honest review.
June 15, 2021
I would like to thank Netgalley and Little, Brown Book Group for an advance copy of Phone for the Fish Knives, the second novel to feature Tode Hall and it’s denizens.
Egbert and India Tode are happy to take the money and allow a film company to remake Prance to the Music of Life at Tode Hall, but it seems that the glamour they imagined is overtaken by squabbling protagonists, rivalries, jealousies and murder.
I had not read the preceding novel when I asked to try Phone for the Fish Knives, so I had no idea of what it would be like. And now, having read it, I don’t know what to think of it. It is clever and well organised and reads well, but, to be honest, I didn’t find it funny. Silly, yes, but that’s intentional. I simply didn’t get much of the humour, not least what the title means, because it is so outside of my lived experience. There are digs at the self absorption of the actors which I can at least appreciate as probably exact, but the digs at left wing wokeness left me cold as I had no idea what she was talking about. I’m educated enough to recognise some, but probably not all, of the literary references, like Mellors the gamekeeper, but what’s the point of it as most of us reader’s don’t know much more than the name?
The plot basically consists of various characters scheming to protect their interests any way they can. It’s a caper and interesting to a certain degree, but as I said it’s nowhere near my experience or interests. It even has a ghost. Please.
Phone for the Fish Knives is not my kind of novel, but readers with a wider frame of reference than I have and who like a little acidity in their humour will probably enjoy it.
Egbert and India Tode are happy to take the money and allow a film company to remake Prance to the Music of Life at Tode Hall, but it seems that the glamour they imagined is overtaken by squabbling protagonists, rivalries, jealousies and murder.
I had not read the preceding novel when I asked to try Phone for the Fish Knives, so I had no idea of what it would be like. And now, having read it, I don’t know what to think of it. It is clever and well organised and reads well, but, to be honest, I didn’t find it funny. Silly, yes, but that’s intentional. I simply didn’t get much of the humour, not least what the title means, because it is so outside of my lived experience. There are digs at the self absorption of the actors which I can at least appreciate as probably exact, but the digs at left wing wokeness left me cold as I had no idea what she was talking about. I’m educated enough to recognise some, but probably not all, of the literary references, like Mellors the gamekeeper, but what’s the point of it as most of us reader’s don’t know much more than the name?
The plot basically consists of various characters scheming to protect their interests any way they can. It’s a caper and interesting to a certain degree, but as I said it’s nowhere near my experience or interests. It even has a ghost. Please.
Phone for the Fish Knives is not my kind of novel, but readers with a wider frame of reference than I have and who like a little acidity in their humour will probably enjoy it.
September 23, 2024
It could have been a good story. For someone who works in TV & Film I love reading stories about my industry. But Daisy Waugh is a confusing writer...
It isn't written clearly and everything seems to be overlapping too much / too much happening/ too much to write at once. like I'm reading a scramble of thoughts in your head all at once on a page and the pen cant keep up
Even the dedicated page of the household and guest members I felt wasn't written in a correct chronological order.
It took me so long to read. I really wanted to get stuck in but this was a chore and put me into a reading slump.
DNF
It isn't written clearly and everything seems to be overlapping too much / too much happening/ too much to write at once. like I'm reading a scramble of thoughts in your head all at once on a page and the pen cant keep up
Even the dedicated page of the household and guest members I felt wasn't written in a correct chronological order.
It took me so long to read. I really wanted to get stuck in but this was a chore and put me into a reading slump.
DNF
August 29, 2022
The cover kinda fools you into thinking this is a 1920s glamorous Gatsby-esque novel but if I were to try to describe what you actually get, it’s a bit of a cross between Downton Abbey and Knives Out, with the satire dialled up to the max. There are two characters called Egbert, the ghost of a dead relative that randomly pops up as if it is normal, and a few more slightly unhinged characters that form part of the film set crew. This was a fairly lighthearted read to pass the time but also just…total madness and really bizarre!
September 10, 2026
An odd and sometimes quirky book that at times felt it was set in the 1930s but was in fact modern day.
Set at Tode hall with a film crew a body is discovered in a pantry yet no one seems that bothered and this is the tome throughout the book. At times the characters were confusing, thankfully we are giveb a list of who's who part way through.
None of the characters are likeable but they do have quirks which let's the reader distinquish from one another.
An okay book but not enough for me to continue with the series.
Set at Tode hall with a film crew a body is discovered in a pantry yet no one seems that bothered and this is the tome throughout the book. At times the characters were confusing, thankfully we are giveb a list of who's who part way through.
None of the characters are likeable but they do have quirks which let's the reader distinquish from one another.
An okay book but not enough for me to continue with the series.
June 19, 2021
A good fun story. Lots of people given some very stereotypical names and being totally different. Someone had fun naming characters. A nicely done cozy murder mystery.
Thanks to Netgalley and the publisher I read a free advance review copy of the book. This review is voluntary, honest and my own opinion.
Thanks to Netgalley and the publisher I read a free advance review copy of the book. This review is voluntary, honest and my own opinion.
July 6, 2022
Phone for the Fish Knives by Daisy Waugh has Hollywood coming to call at Tode Hall - it's being used for a film adaptation of a book, and so everywhere is overrun with crew, cast and trailers! And, of course, egos!
The normal residents and employees of Tode Hall are still around, though India and Egbery plan to jet off for most of the filming. But not before they have a grand dinner with selected people from the cast, crew and the daughter of the author of the book.
It's all going as well as you'd expect when murder happens, and everyone is a suspect!
This is set in the modern age, but feels like it's set in the time of Jeeves and Wooster crossed with Agatha Christie for the comedy and for the murder.
Phone for the Fish Knives was published on 17th June 2021, and is available from Amazon, Waterstones and Bookshop.org.
The first book in this series is In the Crypt with a Candlestick, and you can read my review here.
You can follow Daisy Waugh on Twitter and through her website.
I was given this book in exchange for an unbiased review, so my thanks to NetGalley and to Little, Brown Book Group.
The normal residents and employees of Tode Hall are still around, though India and Egbery plan to jet off for most of the filming. But not before they have a grand dinner with selected people from the cast, crew and the daughter of the author of the book.
It's all going as well as you'd expect when murder happens, and everyone is a suspect!
This is set in the modern age, but feels like it's set in the time of Jeeves and Wooster crossed with Agatha Christie for the comedy and for the murder.
Phone for the Fish Knives was published on 17th June 2021, and is available from Amazon, Waterstones and Bookshop.org.
The first book in this series is In the Crypt with a Candlestick, and you can read my review here.
You can follow Daisy Waugh on Twitter and through her website.
I was given this book in exchange for an unbiased review, so my thanks to NetGalley and to Little, Brown Book Group.
July 8, 2025
this was not a book i would read again, i am genuinely baffled by the plot and characters who were mostly unlikeable and undeveloped. the twins did not speak like actual human beings and there was not really a murder mystery as much as a body found in amongst a bunch of other drama. 0 investigation and honestly? i didn’t even care who did the murder, just wanted to finish the book by the end
August 11, 2021
Another book featuring the Tode family, hilarious and engrossing.
It's a sort of slapstick mystery, the plot flows and the mystery kept me guessing.
I had a lot of fun and liked the characters and the plot.
Recommended.
Many thanks to the publisher for this ARC, all opinions are mine
It's a sort of slapstick mystery, the plot flows and the mystery kept me guessing.
I had a lot of fun and liked the characters and the plot.
Recommended.
Many thanks to the publisher for this ARC, all opinions are mine
Read
August 7, 2021
Trigger & Content Warnings
Rape mentioned
Child abuse & neglect
Suicide mentioned
Recreational drug use
Drugging
Stalking
Rape mentioned
Child abuse & neglect
Suicide mentioned
Recreational drug use
Drugging
Stalking
October 21, 2021
It was an entertaining read but she added in so many side mysteries which were never resolved, and the ending wasn't that satisfying...
January 27, 2022
Nancy Mitford meets Agatha Christie in a comedy whodunnit. A funny read.
April 23, 2022
A cartoonish tone, but no actually comedy.
May 26, 2022
loved the first one, felt kind of disappointed by this one :(
February 16, 2023
Terrible … a waste of energy opening it
September 10, 2024
I loved the setting of this book and the atmosphere was created so well. I enjoyed the plot and it was a fun time to read, however, writing this review a week later I don’t actually remember the ending at all oops. There were a lot of characters which I found hard to keep track of but they were all developed well and this may be my fault as I read this as a standalone. I’ve seen some people mention lots of side mysteries that were never tied up but again I feel that this is probably sorted through if I read the other books. Overall a fun time but won’t be running to read the others.
June 18, 2021
Thanks to NetGalley and the publishers for giving me access to an e-arc of this book in exchange of my honest opinion. Disclaimer I would not have picked this book if I had to pay for it. It would have been my loss because I enjoyed it and will buy a physical copy later.
The Todes are back stronger than ever! The first book in this series « In the crypt with a candlestick » was, at first, a disappointment for me (I gave it 2 stars). I thought it would be a cosy mystery with Agatha Christie vibes but set in modern time. It was not. I hated every character to the point where reading this book got me angry for no reason. I hate leaving a series unfinished even more so here I am. And I have to say that when you know what you are getting into it’s an enjoyable read. It’s funny and you learn to love to hate the characters. Even India started to grow on me. It’s silly, with a lot of caricatural and self-absorbed characters. It’s the kind of book who doesn’t take itself seriously and it’s refreshing.
This time I enjoyed the story a lot more. It may not be my favourite books of all time but it’s a series I will continue reading if there is a sequel. My only worry is that it might get repetitive.
WHAT I LIKED
- The humour
- The characters
- The writing
WHAT I DID NOT LIKE
- Sometimes, to accentuate the selfishness of the characters the author tends to repeat herself (for example when she wants to show that India is a snobbish show-off the author makes her obsessed with the man wearing Diner jackets to diner and after two or three mentions of this the joke gets annoying)
The Todes are back stronger than ever! The first book in this series « In the crypt with a candlestick » was, at first, a disappointment for me (I gave it 2 stars). I thought it would be a cosy mystery with Agatha Christie vibes but set in modern time. It was not. I hated every character to the point where reading this book got me angry for no reason. I hate leaving a series unfinished even more so here I am. And I have to say that when you know what you are getting into it’s an enjoyable read. It’s funny and you learn to love to hate the characters. Even India started to grow on me. It’s silly, with a lot of caricatural and self-absorbed characters. It’s the kind of book who doesn’t take itself seriously and it’s refreshing.
This time I enjoyed the story a lot more. It may not be my favourite books of all time but it’s a series I will continue reading if there is a sequel. My only worry is that it might get repetitive.
WHAT I LIKED
- The humour
- The characters
- The writing
WHAT I DID NOT LIKE
- Sometimes, to accentuate the selfishness of the characters the author tends to repeat herself (for example when she wants to show that India is a snobbish show-off the author makes her obsessed with the man wearing Diner jackets to diner and after two or three mentions of this the joke gets annoying)
Displaying 1 - 23 of 23 reviews