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Kelling & Bittersohn #1
The Family Vault
Great-uncle Frederick has passed away, and the Kelling clan of Boston has made plans to put the old gentleman's remains in the family vault on Beacon Hill. When the vault is opened, however, there's someone already there that no one could have ever expected -- the skeleton of a burlesque queen who disappeared thirty years ago!
With the help of private detective Max Bittersohn, it's up to Sarah Kelling to hold the shocked family together, and try to find out what happened. What they unravel is a complex murder plot that not only stretches into the past, but also has Sarah marked as a victim!
1 pages, Audio CD
First published March 1, 1979
432 people are currently reading
1970 people want to read
About the author
Charlotte MacLeod
92 books257 followersNaturalized US Citizen
Also wrote as Alisa Craig
Charlotte MacLeod, born in New Brunswick, Canada, and a naturalized U.S. citizen, was the multi-award-winning author of over thirty acclaimed novels. Her series featuring detective Professor Peter Shandy, America's homegrown Hercule Poirot, delivers "generous dollops of...warmth, wit, and whimsy" (San Francisco Sunday Examiner and Chronicle). But fully a dozen novels star her popular husband-and-wife team of Sarah Kelling and Max Bittersohn. And her native Canada provides a backdrop for the amusing Grub-and-Stakers cozies written under the pseudonym Alisa Craig and the almost-police procedurals starring Madoc Rhys, RCMP. A cofounder and past president of the American Crime Writers League, she also edited the bestselling anthologies Mistletoe Mysteries and Christmas Stalkings.
Also wrote as Alisa Craig
Charlotte MacLeod, born in New Brunswick, Canada, and a naturalized U.S. citizen, was the multi-award-winning author of over thirty acclaimed novels. Her series featuring detective Professor Peter Shandy, America's homegrown Hercule Poirot, delivers "generous dollops of...warmth, wit, and whimsy" (San Francisco Sunday Examiner and Chronicle). But fully a dozen novels star her popular husband-and-wife team of Sarah Kelling and Max Bittersohn. And her native Canada provides a backdrop for the amusing Grub-and-Stakers cozies written under the pseudonym Alisa Craig and the almost-police procedurals starring Madoc Rhys, RCMP. A cofounder and past president of the American Crime Writers League, she also edited the bestselling anthologies Mistletoe Mysteries and Christmas Stalkings.
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Displaying 1 - 30 of 225 reviews
January 20, 2024
Describing this as a “cozy” mystery seems wrong and yet this story does include some of the familiar features of a cozy including quirky characters, a spunky heroine, gentle suspense, and a mystery decades old.
But it also features an eccentric family with more than one closet filled with skeletons and complicated relationships. And there’s a wistful sadness at times. Deeper than the usual cozy.
And this heroine is slightly different than usual— she’s spreading her wings and that’s affecting all those around her.
I’ve already got the next book in this series cued up on the kindle— I gotta admit— those Boston Kellings are crazy but sure fun to read about!!
And I didn’t even begin to get started on Max… I don’t dare surmise where that polite partnership is headed.
(Reviewed 7/7/22)
But it also features an eccentric family with more than one closet filled with skeletons and complicated relationships. And there’s a wistful sadness at times. Deeper than the usual cozy.
And this heroine is slightly different than usual— she’s spreading her wings and that’s affecting all those around her.
I’ve already got the next book in this series cued up on the kindle— I gotta admit— those Boston Kellings are crazy but sure fun to read about!!
And I didn’t even begin to get started on Max… I don’t dare surmise where that polite partnership is headed.
(Reviewed 7/7/22)
May 13, 2021
The beginning of what promises to be a good detection series
Fine prose, dialogue, characters and interesting situations. The mystery is also interesting but predictable in some places. An awful lot of holes in the detection process. Assumptions are frequently accepted as fact with no proof or evidence. Still a good read.
I didn't like it as much as MacCleod's Peter Shandy series but more than her other books which I've tried.
Fine prose, dialogue, characters and interesting situations. The mystery is also interesting but predictable in some places. An awful lot of holes in the detection process. Assumptions are frequently accepted as fact with no proof or evidence. Still a good read.
I didn't like it as much as MacCleod's Peter Shandy series but more than her other books which I've tried.
November 8, 2012
1979, #1 Sarah Kelling/Max Bittersohn, Beacon Hill, Boston; genteel cosy, still wonderful despite age. High jinks (and murder) in High Society, but with a very dark edge
Mrs. Sarah Kelling has lived a very privileged life in the highest social circles of Boston, living on Beacon Hill and having a very extended - and locally famous (or infamous, but more on that later...) family. While she hasn't been pampered much, she has been sheltered from much of the daily grind most folks know, and lived in a sort of bubble for nearly all of her 26 years. Married to a man almost twice her age (who she's loved since childhood), she shares a large, rather shabby home in The Best Part of Boston (well, according to those living there, anyway) with his peculiar - and difficult - mother, the matriarch of the large Yankee clan.
Sarah finds out there are snakes in this garden, many, many dark things happening just under the surface when an elderly relative dies who has made plans to be buried in a family vault that nobody has used for decades. A most unexpected body is found therein, leading to family secrets coming to light and big changes in the lives of many family members. The resulting mayhem and brou-ha-ha not only leads Sarah to a lot of disquieting information about many of her (so-called) respectable relatives and friends, it also helps her, finally, to grow up.
This first Sarah Kelling/Max Bittersohn novel is easily one of the best in what is one of my favorite cosy series. Max, btw, plays a pretty peripheral - but necessary - role here, with what might seem to many folks to be extremely stilted behaviors and manners, but he grows as a character in later novels. This novel is quite funny, as are most of MacLeod's works, but also surprisingly dark and edgy as well, it connects rather strongly emotionally for this native Bostonian. YMMV.
Filled with wonderful bits about scrimping and saving among the wealthy of Boston (and the not-so-wealthy-any-more), it's a nicely tongue-in-cheek look at a style of living and a set of attitudes that are now long gone and which were, actually, pretty much on their way out when this was first published in the late 1970s. But for those wanting a nice fairyland-ish cosy, it's still a strong mystery, filled with interesting - and peculiar - characters, smoothly written and carefully plotted. And if you find the character of Sarah interesting or intriguing, then you've a lot more good reads ahead of you; there are eleven more books in the series.
And if you enjoy MacLeod's light-but-silly touch with humour and mystery, she also wrote three other series that offer varying shades of silliness and darkness, all, IMO, still very entertaining even after all these years. Peter Shandy, a professor at a very odd college in western Massachusetts (some are just funny/silly, others are completely over-the-top - the first is REST YOU MERRY, a very funny Christmas mystery); The Grub'n'Stakers, a truly strange gardening club in a small town somewhere in the middle of Canada (really, really far-fetched but sweetly funny - the first is G&S move a Mountain); Madoc Rhys, RCMP in New Brunswick, Canada (her only attempt at an almost police procedural, it's actually even more character-driven than her other series, very "personal", not procedural at all - the first is A PINT OF MURDER). The Rhys series and the G&S series were written under the name of Alisa Craig.
Mrs. Sarah Kelling has lived a very privileged life in the highest social circles of Boston, living on Beacon Hill and having a very extended - and locally famous (or infamous, but more on that later...) family. While she hasn't been pampered much, she has been sheltered from much of the daily grind most folks know, and lived in a sort of bubble for nearly all of her 26 years. Married to a man almost twice her age (who she's loved since childhood), she shares a large, rather shabby home in The Best Part of Boston (well, according to those living there, anyway) with his peculiar - and difficult - mother, the matriarch of the large Yankee clan.
Sarah finds out there are snakes in this garden, many, many dark things happening just under the surface when an elderly relative dies who has made plans to be buried in a family vault that nobody has used for decades. A most unexpected body is found therein, leading to family secrets coming to light and big changes in the lives of many family members. The resulting mayhem and brou-ha-ha not only leads Sarah to a lot of disquieting information about many of her (so-called) respectable relatives and friends, it also helps her, finally, to grow up.
This first Sarah Kelling/Max Bittersohn novel is easily one of the best in what is one of my favorite cosy series. Max, btw, plays a pretty peripheral - but necessary - role here, with what might seem to many folks to be extremely stilted behaviors and manners, but he grows as a character in later novels. This novel is quite funny, as are most of MacLeod's works, but also surprisingly dark and edgy as well, it connects rather strongly emotionally for this native Bostonian. YMMV.
Filled with wonderful bits about scrimping and saving among the wealthy of Boston (and the not-so-wealthy-any-more), it's a nicely tongue-in-cheek look at a style of living and a set of attitudes that are now long gone and which were, actually, pretty much on their way out when this was first published in the late 1970s. But for those wanting a nice fairyland-ish cosy, it's still a strong mystery, filled with interesting - and peculiar - characters, smoothly written and carefully plotted. And if you find the character of Sarah interesting or intriguing, then you've a lot more good reads ahead of you; there are eleven more books in the series.
And if you enjoy MacLeod's light-but-silly touch with humour and mystery, she also wrote three other series that offer varying shades of silliness and darkness, all, IMO, still very entertaining even after all these years. Peter Shandy, a professor at a very odd college in western Massachusetts (some are just funny/silly, others are completely over-the-top - the first is REST YOU MERRY, a very funny Christmas mystery); The Grub'n'Stakers, a truly strange gardening club in a small town somewhere in the middle of Canada (really, really far-fetched but sweetly funny - the first is G&S move a Mountain); Madoc Rhys, RCMP in New Brunswick, Canada (her only attempt at an almost police procedural, it's actually even more character-driven than her other series, very "personal", not procedural at all - the first is A PINT OF MURDER). The Rhys series and the G&S series were written under the name of Alisa Craig.
June 24, 2014
I determinedly collect Charlotte MacLeod’s works. “The Family Vault” débuts a grand series. Memorable people and plots are indubitably her gifts. Sarah Kelling’s family is unusual, lacing the inaugural volume with flair. As they look into burying cousin Dolph’s guardian, we learn the Kellings enjoy funerals in droves. Frederick decreed interment in a disused family crypt. Charlotte’s writing grips us -always- with crispness and humour at once. “Nobody had so chosen for the past 146 years but Great-Uncle Frederick could safely be counted on to make a pest of himself to the last”.
Horrifyingly, a missing dancer was within. Sarah, a sketch artist, married a distant cousin Alexander, when he was 40 and she 18. He grew strange the moment she described what she and Dolph found. One can’t describe very many back stories without spoiling large events that reach a climax along the way. This novel doesn’t hesitate to shock readers and shift comfort zones into which we thought we might settle. Two other important characters are Max Bittersohn, a private investigator specializing in art and Caroline; the Mother-in-law whom Sarah continued calling ‘Aunt’. Her history is formidable: a once competitive swimmer losing her hearing and Alexander’s Father in a squall. Her vision failed later. Rather than be a deaf and blind invalid, Sarah, Alexander, and a close friend learned to communicate with her and hauled her on errands. They would breath more freely if not at her back and call but everyone pandered to the consequences of her sacrifice.
The novel carries us between stark personal dilemmas and wondering whom to trust, pertaining to the dancer and a more recent victim. Sarah is interesting: confined to family but unafraid to speak up and dig deeper. Max’s shrewd efforts add a lot of hope and light to grim circumstances.
Horrifyingly, a missing dancer was within. Sarah, a sketch artist, married a distant cousin Alexander, when he was 40 and she 18. He grew strange the moment she described what she and Dolph found. One can’t describe very many back stories without spoiling large events that reach a climax along the way. This novel doesn’t hesitate to shock readers and shift comfort zones into which we thought we might settle. Two other important characters are Max Bittersohn, a private investigator specializing in art and Caroline; the Mother-in-law whom Sarah continued calling ‘Aunt’. Her history is formidable: a once competitive swimmer losing her hearing and Alexander’s Father in a squall. Her vision failed later. Rather than be a deaf and blind invalid, Sarah, Alexander, and a close friend learned to communicate with her and hauled her on errands. They would breath more freely if not at her back and call but everyone pandered to the consequences of her sacrifice.
The novel carries us between stark personal dilemmas and wondering whom to trust, pertaining to the dancer and a more recent victim. Sarah is interesting: confined to family but unafraid to speak up and dig deeper. Max’s shrewd efforts add a lot of hope and light to grim circumstances.
September 25, 2012
The Family Vault is the first book in the Sarah Kelling and Max Bittersohn mystery series and, like the others, is a splendid screwball “whodunit” that readers of cozies will love. Often called “America’s Agatha Christie,” MacLeod wrote charming and humorous mysteries, and this particular series is one of the best. The Family Vault introduces the eccentric northeastern Kelling clan. Sarah Kelling’s great-uncle wishes to be buried in the family’s vault – but upon inspecting the tomb to prepare for his funeral, the family discovers the body of a missing burlesque dancer. Sarah teams up with Max Bittersohn and the two sleuths work out the case while doing their best to stay out of the vault themselves.
October 6, 2016
Narrated by Andi Arndt. A very nice, easy mystery novel. A great start to the series. A young wife, an older husband, and deadly family secrets keep one enthralled until the end.
Even though I *knew* one of the characters was going to die in this novel (because of foreshadowing), and I knew what had happened to the family jewels, in a generic way, I was still quite surprised by this little gem of a novel. You might be so, too. Give it a try.
Four stars, and recommended for lovers of mystery.
Even though I *knew* one of the characters was going to die in this novel (because of foreshadowing), and I knew what had happened to the family jewels, in a generic way, I was still quite surprised by this little gem of a novel. You might be so, too. Give it a try.
Four stars, and recommended for lovers of mystery.
February 27, 2019
Just a short review this time. I am not a huge fan of the genre known as cozy mysteries, although I do read them. I am especially leary of American ones. The authors don't tend to have a good grasp of tempo or something.
I got "The Family Vault" by Charlotte MacLeod on sale and have it a try. I liked it. It is well written, witty and fun.
I was a bit worried early on when I suspected an important character was probably going to have to be bumped off, but MacLeod handled it tastefully and smoothly.
Another series I think I will like.
I got "The Family Vault" by Charlotte MacLeod on sale and have it a try. I liked it. It is well written, witty and fun.
I was a bit worried early on when I suspected an important character was probably going to have to be bumped off, but MacLeod handled it tastefully and smoothly.
Another series I think I will like.
November 29, 2014
I bought this ebook a while ago, but just now got to reading it. I wish I had read it earlier. Charlotte McLeod is an excellent writer with a sense of humor and a gift for creating very likable characters. I couldn't even hate the bad guys (the few there were). This is definitely a "cozy" mystery. Oh, and I didn't figure out who did it (entirely), which was nice.
The story opens with Sarah Keeling waiting in a Boston cemetery for the opening of her family's tomb.
"Great-uncle Frederick had vowed he wouldn’t be caught dead with Great-aunt Matilda, who had already preempted their assigned space in the more recent Kelling family plot at Mount Auburn Cemetery in Cambridge."
Instead, Frederick is being buried in the family's historical tomb, which is located in an equally historical cemetery. It all seems mundane and tedious until the crypt is opened to revealed a body that should not be there:
"It must have been a woman’s. The flesh was rotted away, but the skeleton was still encased in the moldered remains of an hourglass corset and a crimson skirt. High black boots with frisky red heels held the leg and foot bones together. But what had turned Mr. Ritling’s stomach and would haunt all their nightmares forever after were the tiny chips of blood-colored rubies that winked flashes of burning scarlet from between the grinning teeth."
Hardly what you expect to find in a very old, aristocratic tomb that hasn't been opened - supposedly - in 146 years. Sarah soon finds herself in the role of amateur detective - investigating her own family, including her husband, for it is obvious that Alexander knows a lot more about the skeleton than he is letting on.
The Keelings are a very old - and rather inbred - New England family. Even though they are Yankees (I'm Texan), they seem very familiar to me, right down to referring to older members of the family as "Aunt" or "Uncle," whether they are or not. Sarah is married to her fifth cousin (once removed), Alexander, and has always referred to his mother as "Aunt" Caroline. I enjoyed the Keelings and their friends. I even like Cousin Dolph - grouchy and selfish though he is.
If you are looking for a fun, interesting cozy with likable characters and a good mystery, then try this. You won't be disappointed.
The story opens with Sarah Keeling waiting in a Boston cemetery for the opening of her family's tomb.
"Great-uncle Frederick had vowed he wouldn’t be caught dead with Great-aunt Matilda, who had already preempted their assigned space in the more recent Kelling family plot at Mount Auburn Cemetery in Cambridge."
Instead, Frederick is being buried in the family's historical tomb, which is located in an equally historical cemetery. It all seems mundane and tedious until the crypt is opened to revealed a body that should not be there:
"It must have been a woman’s. The flesh was rotted away, but the skeleton was still encased in the moldered remains of an hourglass corset and a crimson skirt. High black boots with frisky red heels held the leg and foot bones together. But what had turned Mr. Ritling’s stomach and would haunt all their nightmares forever after were the tiny chips of blood-colored rubies that winked flashes of burning scarlet from between the grinning teeth."
Hardly what you expect to find in a very old, aristocratic tomb that hasn't been opened - supposedly - in 146 years. Sarah soon finds herself in the role of amateur detective - investigating her own family, including her husband, for it is obvious that Alexander knows a lot more about the skeleton than he is letting on.
The Keelings are a very old - and rather inbred - New England family. Even though they are Yankees (I'm Texan), they seem very familiar to me, right down to referring to older members of the family as "Aunt" or "Uncle," whether they are or not. Sarah is married to her fifth cousin (once removed), Alexander, and has always referred to his mother as "Aunt" Caroline. I enjoyed the Keelings and their friends. I even like Cousin Dolph - grouchy and selfish though he is.
If you are looking for a fun, interesting cozy with likable characters and a good mystery, then try this. You won't be disappointed.
April 14, 2013
Love Charlotte MacLeod's books.
This is the first in the Sarah Kelling and Max Bittersohn series.....
At the beginning of the book, Sarah is a lot, weary girl married to her second cousin Alexander whom she adores. Alex is about 20 years older than she is. The whole family seems to turn to Alexander when there is a problem and he is constantly dancing attendance on his mother who has become deaf and blind. She is still very involved with committees, etc. and expect Alex to wait on her pleasure for chaperoning her to those meetings and interpreting for her. The outside trouble starts when Great-Uncle Frederick does not want to be buried in the family cemetary with another Great-Uncle. He has stated in his will that he wants to be buried in the old, historical family vault. Sarah has gone to meet some of the other cousins to get the vault opened, even though they asked for Alex. But Alex has taken his mother to an appointment and Sarah resents the relatives constant demands on him. So, Sarah has gone in his place.
When the vault is opened, there is a brick wall inside the door - and behind the brick wall, a body. It is Ruby Redd, with her rubies still in her teeth. She disappeared quite some time ago. And Sarah recognizes the pattern the bricks behind the door are laid in - and the bricks. It is a pattern that Alex and his mother had created years ago and had used bricks scavenged when an old building was torn down.
Sarah is an heiress in her own right and Alex is her trustee. But Alex and his mother are supposed to be supremely wealthy themselves. Only the three of them are living off the interest of Sarah's inheritance - since she can't touch the principal until she is 27.
With the discovery of Ruby's body, Sarah begins to grow up. She has always been treated like a child, but has discovered she wants to be treated like a wife and an adult. So one evening, she sits Alex down to find out what has been going on because he has been distraught since Ruby's body was found. She discovers that his mother has lost all of their money - he doesn't know how. And she insisted he marry Sarah, whom he loved, but he thought she might prefer someone nearer her own age. But Sarah has always adored him. So, she lets him know there will be some changes. As a wife, she wants his attention more than his mother does. So they begin to work out a new way of living. Then, at a blow, Alexander and his mother die and Sarah is bowled over. But she has begun to throw her weight around and demand respect from the people around her who always ignored her as inconsequential. She is also suspicious of Alex's death and is sure it was not an accident. Then she discovers the author she has been suppposed to make drawings for for a book, is actually an insurance investigator tracking jewelry and art theft......
The characters are all a little quirky, Sarah not the least. The Kellings are a large and old family who tend to marry second and third cousins to keep the money in the family and Sarah doesn't know anyone much beyond family. Except for Max Bittersohn, the detective. She has several great-uncles and cousins however, who immediately take up for her in family disagreements as she is learning to stand on her own.
This is the first in the Sarah Kelling and Max Bittersohn series.....
At the beginning of the book, Sarah is a lot, weary girl married to her second cousin Alexander whom she adores. Alex is about 20 years older than she is. The whole family seems to turn to Alexander when there is a problem and he is constantly dancing attendance on his mother who has become deaf and blind. She is still very involved with committees, etc. and expect Alex to wait on her pleasure for chaperoning her to those meetings and interpreting for her. The outside trouble starts when Great-Uncle Frederick does not want to be buried in the family cemetary with another Great-Uncle. He has stated in his will that he wants to be buried in the old, historical family vault. Sarah has gone to meet some of the other cousins to get the vault opened, even though they asked for Alex. But Alex has taken his mother to an appointment and Sarah resents the relatives constant demands on him. So, Sarah has gone in his place.
When the vault is opened, there is a brick wall inside the door - and behind the brick wall, a body. It is Ruby Redd, with her rubies still in her teeth. She disappeared quite some time ago. And Sarah recognizes the pattern the bricks behind the door are laid in - and the bricks. It is a pattern that Alex and his mother had created years ago and had used bricks scavenged when an old building was torn down.
Sarah is an heiress in her own right and Alex is her trustee. But Alex and his mother are supposed to be supremely wealthy themselves. Only the three of them are living off the interest of Sarah's inheritance - since she can't touch the principal until she is 27.
With the discovery of Ruby's body, Sarah begins to grow up. She has always been treated like a child, but has discovered she wants to be treated like a wife and an adult. So one evening, she sits Alex down to find out what has been going on because he has been distraught since Ruby's body was found. She discovers that his mother has lost all of their money - he doesn't know how. And she insisted he marry Sarah, whom he loved, but he thought she might prefer someone nearer her own age. But Sarah has always adored him. So, she lets him know there will be some changes. As a wife, she wants his attention more than his mother does. So they begin to work out a new way of living. Then, at a blow, Alexander and his mother die and Sarah is bowled over. But she has begun to throw her weight around and demand respect from the people around her who always ignored her as inconsequential. She is also suspicious of Alex's death and is sure it was not an accident. Then she discovers the author she has been suppposed to make drawings for for a book, is actually an insurance investigator tracking jewelry and art theft......
The characters are all a little quirky, Sarah not the least. The Kellings are a large and old family who tend to marry second and third cousins to keep the money in the family and Sarah doesn't know anyone much beyond family. Except for Max Bittersohn, the detective. She has several great-uncles and cousins however, who immediately take up for her in family disagreements as she is learning to stand on her own.
September 13, 2021
The Family Vault by Charlotte MacLeod is the first book in the Sarah Kelling and Max Bittershon cozy series. A charming cozy set in Boston with an intricate plot that had frequent twists that kept me turning the pages. I enjoyed meeting the Kelling family as they are all quite unique and often humorous.
October 25, 2019
First book I read by this author and I loved it. A bit dated and a few pieces of the plot were a tad bit implausible but on the whole it was a very fine first novel in a series. I say implausible in that after years our heroine Sarah Kelling grabs hold of a little insight and pieces together the crimes without a shred of evidence and once the evidence is discovered she has guessed correctly all of the time. But I like Sarah as the heroine of the series, even though she gets a bit brash at times. The series is set in Boston and we see the Brahmin community on display. All revolves around an old family vault that was used because one of the family members designated it for where they wanted to be buried. Once the vault is opened the chaos, murder and thievery is uncovered. The book is well-paced but really picks up steam during the last few chapters. An ingenious plot and very interest family to say the least! I have already begun Book 2 of the series.
May 30, 2016
I don't know how I managed to never read this first title of the series. It is lucky I did now since my system has only one copy of the first book left. This was sad, different and fun. It is really nice for once in a mystery to have the death happen to someone who was a sweet person and really missed and grieved for. Not that anyone was grieving his mother who died with him. I knew that Alexander was going to be dead since that is mentioned in virtually all the succeeding books. However, I didn't know how, so enjoyed the mystery. All the main characters seem to be introduced in this book so it seemed like revisiting dotty people I had already met while sane Sarah and Max try to deal with the fallout from this ludicrous family. I thoroughly enjoyed it and better get it returned to the library for the hold someone else has on the title!
September 11, 2020
Charlotte MacLeod is one of my all time favorite authors and The Family Vault is the first in the Sarah Kelling series. It is set in Boston with an odd selection of relatives and friends who showcase Sarah to fine advantage. While making arrangements to bury a family member Sarah finds a corpse in the family vault that doesn't belong there. We follow the unraveling of an old murder while peering into a lifestyle not often seen now.
12/5/2018 - I still love this book and I'm looking forward to revisiting the entire series.
12/5/2018 - I still love this book and I'm looking forward to revisiting the entire series.
September 22, 2020
Absolutely one of the BEST read I've had this year! I LOVED Sarah -- how MacLeod developed her character from a passive girl to a woman to be reckoned with. And the way MacLeod lures the reader into the story -- fabulous.
February 22, 2018
This is a title that was suggested to the Crimes & Thrillers reading group I attend by one of my readers (and now firm online friend) in Canada, and I find it absolutely incredible that I’m only now getting to discover this wonderful series featuring the amateur sleuths Sarah Kelling and Max Bittersohn—for the fact is its author Charlotte MacLeod is virtually unknown here in the UK.
Why? It’s my guess it has something to do with her original publisher’s territorial rights, and an unwillingness here in this country to take on a book that uses so much American terminology. If I’m right, how damnably parochial and very short sighted of them was that??!! As it’s still not being published here, the library managed to order us a few paperback copies from Amazon—which turned out to be printed here, so I imagine they’re probably print-on-demand. And people wonder why publishers have become an endangered species!
Great characters, great story, an attractive pair of detectives; quite simply a fab introduction to what promises to be a truly excellent series. But you probably know that already and have known it for years…unless, of course, you happen to live in the UK.
Why? It’s my guess it has something to do with her original publisher’s territorial rights, and an unwillingness here in this country to take on a book that uses so much American terminology. If I’m right, how damnably parochial and very short sighted of them was that??!! As it’s still not being published here, the library managed to order us a few paperback copies from Amazon—which turned out to be printed here, so I imagine they’re probably print-on-demand. And people wonder why publishers have become an endangered species!
Great characters, great story, an attractive pair of detectives; quite simply a fab introduction to what promises to be a truly excellent series. But you probably know that already and have known it for years…unless, of course, you happen to live in the UK.
June 1, 2017
Just an OK book. The mystery is not really believable. If you thought your husband or your mother-in-law was responsible for (capable of) murdering at least 3 people wouldn't you be weirded out? THis girl/woman seems to take it in stride. And the Boston references were all just a little "off".
March 22, 2022
I read these a long time ago. I discovered the audio on hoopla and just finished this one. The reading was well done and the story has "age" issues. Overall, a quick easy listen.
December 14, 2020
I am a fan of another of MacLeod's series, the Peter Shandy series, so I accidentally downloaded and read one farther along in this series (The Silver Ghost) thinking it would have Peter Shandy in it. It didn't, but I still liked it, so I went back to the beginning to read this first in the series. I really like the author's somewhat old fashioned traditional mystery style, and this one bodes well for this particular series with lots of interesting and eccentric characters. I'm looking forward to continuing on to the next Sarah Kelling and Max Bittersohn mystery.
May 24, 2021
I’ve been rereading a number of older cozies lately, some pale on the second reading, but not Charlotte McLeod. I love her mysteries and am glad I picked this one up again. Her characters are well drawn and well written. I remembered that Sarah Kelling & Max Bittersohn became a team, but had forgotten that she had been married prior to that. In this book, her husband’s death is part of the mystery & Max becomes acquainted with Sara. I’ll now continue to read the rest of the series. A light read, but engrossing.
May 29, 2012
This is a reread for me. Mom was getting rid of her MacLeod collection (some twenty years worth) and I remembered liking some of them as a kid and I hadn’t finished all of them so I said let me take them. This is the first in the series and I remember it well from my child hood. My version had a cover that was a black field (with vault-like edging) and a full set of red lips with a ruby in the teeth which at the time was provocative. The book dates to 1979 and I probably read a year or two after that. Honestly, rereading it now I’m quite sure that at thirteen I probably didn’t understand half of it. I didn’t really remember a lot of it until I hit one key element and the lights went on. I remembered that part (mostly because it was then and still is a cool plot twist).
The basic plot is this, Sarah Kelling is the young wife to her much older distant cousin Alexander. They live with his mother, Aunt Caroline, who lost both eye sight and hearing in a boating accident years ago. Sarah’s money is in trust until she’s twenty-seven (she’s not there yet) and Alexander is the holder of the trust. She seems devoted to him but it is a sexless marriage. Her life revolves around Caroline’s social schedule and she’s more or less the house frau to her mother in law since the one remaining servant in their beacon hill house, Edith, is useless. Among that social circle are Harry and Lelia Lackridge, a wealthy publisher that both she and Alexander do work for.
It opens with the death of another of the vast Kelling clan but he refuses to be buried next to his wife. He wants in the family vault so Sarah and Cousin Dolph go and open it up only to find it’s been bricked up (with the bricks in an oddly familiar pattern). Dolph insists the wall be torn down and inside is a skeleton with ruby-encrusted teeth. It just so happens an old man is in the cemetery and he knows those teeth. They belong to Ruby Redd, a stripper in a club he used to bartend in. She disappeared 30 years ago. Sarah is curious as to how this woman ended up in the family vault.
Honestly, it’s of really much of a mystery. The guilty – in theory – party confess half way through but then more murders happen and that’s where more of the mystery lies. Why is someone killing now, thirty years after the fact? Can Sarah figure it out before she, too, is killed? And who is this helpful man, Max Bittersohn, who Harry introduced her to? He was supposed to be writing a book on jewelry that she was to illustrate but he’s not what he appears to be and he keeps popping up everywhere.
This book was better in my memory than in reread but part of it is I have to remind myself when it was written. People didn’t demand as much realism back then (and there are some really unrealistic things but I’ll save those for last under the spoilers). Women’s roles were different. I do remember the cocktail/card parties that populate this book. I think my family indulged in them at least twice a month if not more. It seems like a very unlikely book to start a series really but it did and a very long running one so there you go.
Now Spoilers
XXX
XXX
XXX
There really aren’t many red herrings or even suspects in the Ruby Redd killing. In fact when Alexander tells Sarah he believes his mother did it because he had been dating the stripper, Sarah doesn’t really react. Hell, Sarah doesn’t react to much of anything. She’s a very flat character in many respects. Not only does he tell her he thinks Aunt Caroline killed Ruby he tells her that he helped his mother wall her up in the vault. Also Aunt Caroline killed his father AND thinks she poisoned Sarah’s father so that Alexander would get control of her money. In fact she manipulated Alexander to marry the then-nineteen year old or Sarah would have died too.
What does Sarah do with this information? Nothing that really makes sense. She doesn’t rant and rail. She doesn’t demand they go to the police. She barely reacts to her father’s murder and decides well Uncle Gilbert (Alexander’s father) was a cold fish and impossible to live with so maybe it’s not so bad Caroline dumped his heart meds overboard and let him die on ship. What she does do is assure Alexander that she loves him and for the first time (that I can tell) they make love and sleep in the same bed. Yes, that’s a natural reaction to hey your mother in law murdered three people including your dad and uncle.
Later on as things start getting weird and Sarah thinks she’s being stalked and her house broken into what does she do? Nothing. She tells Max Bittersohn who keeps popping up (Hell I would have thought he was the killer). Turns out Max is a detective (private or police you’re not really told so I’m assuming the former). Max finds bugs in her phone and in her library. What does HE do? Removes them but doesn’t report them Someone tries to burn her alive in her house what do they do? Nothing. Max stays with her to be sure she’s okay. Um seriously? I don’t think 911 existed yet but I DO know you can call the cops especially after two more family members have been murdered (and she doesn’t tell the cops anything even when that happens).
So really there are a lot of things that might have flown in the 70’s but not any more. I’ll still read the rest of the series (or try. I know I did like some of it back then) However, the Braille diary hiding where it was (the thing I remembered) is still a cool idea.
The basic plot is this, Sarah Kelling is the young wife to her much older distant cousin Alexander. They live with his mother, Aunt Caroline, who lost both eye sight and hearing in a boating accident years ago. Sarah’s money is in trust until she’s twenty-seven (she’s not there yet) and Alexander is the holder of the trust. She seems devoted to him but it is a sexless marriage. Her life revolves around Caroline’s social schedule and she’s more or less the house frau to her mother in law since the one remaining servant in their beacon hill house, Edith, is useless. Among that social circle are Harry and Lelia Lackridge, a wealthy publisher that both she and Alexander do work for.
It opens with the death of another of the vast Kelling clan but he refuses to be buried next to his wife. He wants in the family vault so Sarah and Cousin Dolph go and open it up only to find it’s been bricked up (with the bricks in an oddly familiar pattern). Dolph insists the wall be torn down and inside is a skeleton with ruby-encrusted teeth. It just so happens an old man is in the cemetery and he knows those teeth. They belong to Ruby Redd, a stripper in a club he used to bartend in. She disappeared 30 years ago. Sarah is curious as to how this woman ended up in the family vault.
Honestly, it’s of really much of a mystery. The guilty – in theory – party confess half way through but then more murders happen and that’s where more of the mystery lies. Why is someone killing now, thirty years after the fact? Can Sarah figure it out before she, too, is killed? And who is this helpful man, Max Bittersohn, who Harry introduced her to? He was supposed to be writing a book on jewelry that she was to illustrate but he’s not what he appears to be and he keeps popping up everywhere.
This book was better in my memory than in reread but part of it is I have to remind myself when it was written. People didn’t demand as much realism back then (and there are some really unrealistic things but I’ll save those for last under the spoilers). Women’s roles were different. I do remember the cocktail/card parties that populate this book. I think my family indulged in them at least twice a month if not more. It seems like a very unlikely book to start a series really but it did and a very long running one so there you go.
Now Spoilers
XXX
XXX
XXX
There really aren’t many red herrings or even suspects in the Ruby Redd killing. In fact when Alexander tells Sarah he believes his mother did it because he had been dating the stripper, Sarah doesn’t really react. Hell, Sarah doesn’t react to much of anything. She’s a very flat character in many respects. Not only does he tell her he thinks Aunt Caroline killed Ruby he tells her that he helped his mother wall her up in the vault. Also Aunt Caroline killed his father AND thinks she poisoned Sarah’s father so that Alexander would get control of her money. In fact she manipulated Alexander to marry the then-nineteen year old or Sarah would have died too.
What does Sarah do with this information? Nothing that really makes sense. She doesn’t rant and rail. She doesn’t demand they go to the police. She barely reacts to her father’s murder and decides well Uncle Gilbert (Alexander’s father) was a cold fish and impossible to live with so maybe it’s not so bad Caroline dumped his heart meds overboard and let him die on ship. What she does do is assure Alexander that she loves him and for the first time (that I can tell) they make love and sleep in the same bed. Yes, that’s a natural reaction to hey your mother in law murdered three people including your dad and uncle.
Later on as things start getting weird and Sarah thinks she’s being stalked and her house broken into what does she do? Nothing. She tells Max Bittersohn who keeps popping up (Hell I would have thought he was the killer). Turns out Max is a detective (private or police you’re not really told so I’m assuming the former). Max finds bugs in her phone and in her library. What does HE do? Removes them but doesn’t report them Someone tries to burn her alive in her house what do they do? Nothing. Max stays with her to be sure she’s okay. Um seriously? I don’t think 911 existed yet but I DO know you can call the cops especially after two more family members have been murdered (and she doesn’t tell the cops anything even when that happens).
So really there are a lot of things that might have flown in the 70’s but not any more. I’ll still read the rest of the series (or try. I know I did like some of it back then) However, the Braille diary hiding where it was (the thing I remembered) is still a cool idea.
This entire review has been hidden because of spoilers.
March 30, 2021
What a wild ride! I've read many of books in this series and wondered why Book 1 which most authors discount occasionally (Yes, I'm a thrifty book-buyer!) had never been discounted. WELL-I see why! The book introduces Sarah Kelling and Max Bittersohn who become a couple BUT before that can happen, her husband must die. No! Sarah didn't do it. She loved Alexander. But someone didn't and her mother-in-law takes THE CAKE as the MOST DREADFUL EVIL M-I-L ever! What a tangled web and how many twists and turns before Sarah learns the truth. An awful truth. An amazing start to an excellent mystery series!
November 8, 2018
Enjoyable new to me mystery series. Reminds me of the old black and white movies with all the darlings, and holding the guy’s head against her breast. And the nasty mother in law. A lot of fun. , Nothing like finding a body in the family crypt when you’re preparing to bury a recently deceased family member.
April 18, 2021
This book was so good that my kids went to bed an hour late because I was busy reading and forgot all about them.
March 27, 2025
Reminiscent of Agatha Christie. Just a fun murder mystery
March 1, 2021
Charlotte MacLeod is concretely set into my top five favorite authors. I have read books from all of her series and loved them all. She was truly gifted in creating the most colorful characters. Her books make you feel good. The levity that is woven into the stories makes them quintessentially cozy. The first installment in this series is no different. It delivers a strong and intelligent protagonist who isn't so ego driven to be blind to her own vulnerabilities. MacLeod's ability to draw with words is uncanny. She knows the value of honesty and truth and makes that top priority in plots. I know that is why the mystery genre is my favorite. It is here we find characters who willingly risk their own lives to uncover truth and deliver justice.
Want to read
June 9, 2019Synopsis: the family needs the cemetery vault, but finds a fresh corpse in it! PIs Max Bittersohn and Sarah Kelling try to find out what's going on.
May 6, 2025
A family of Boston Brahmins who seem oddly familiar.
The Kellings of Beacon Hill live in each other's pockets, fight continuously, and marry their cousins. Good Grief! If they had prettier accents, they could be southerners.
I was depressed when I finished MacLeod's Peter Shandy series, sure I'd never find another cast of characters I liked as much as the crime-solving professor and the eccentric faculty and townspeople at Balaclava Agricultural College. I'd read two good stories featuring Sarah Kelling and Max Bittersohn, but I figured that series would be second-best. I was wrong.
Sarah Kelling is a sheltered young woman. Educated at home by her emotionally remote father, she was married at eighteen to Alexander Kelling, the handsome cousin whom she hero-worshipped as a child. Now middle-aged, he's still handsome. He's also weak and a momma's boy.
They must live with his mother (Aunt Caroline) because of her disabilities and her unwillingness to let go of her son. Although elderly, blind, and deaf, Caroline Kelling is still a beauty. As a young woman, she married a wealthy iceberg, finding excitement elsewhere. OK unless someone catches you. Boston is a conservative town and socialites are expected to follow the rules. Caroline follows rules. Her own.
Sarah wants her husband to herself and wonders why they must live so cheaply. Caroline and Alexander inherited a fortune when her husband died. They own the family mansion on Beacon Hill and a vacation home with acreage outside of Boston. Then there's the Kelling Rubies, said to be priceless. Why are they living on the interest of the small trust fund left to Sarah by her father?
The trouble starts when Great-Uncle Fred dies and leaves instructions to be buried in the family vault. When the vault is opened to receive his body, there's another body and Ruby Redd is NOT a Kelling. Who killed the flamboyant stripper and put her body in the family vault?
Sarah is making progress prying her husband loose from his mother, but then there's a terrible accident and two more people are dead. After years of taking orders, Sarah must take charge. No one wants to give her any information, but it's obvious that Aunt Caroline had some deep secrets and those secrets will determine Sarah's future.
Her main support comes from Max Bittersohn. He was introduced to her as the writer of a book on famous jewelry who wants her to draw the illustrations. Sarah senses that Bittersohn has more on his mind than getting a book published. He's on the trail of stolen goods and hoping to bag a black-mailer along the way. Who exactly IS Max Bittersohn and can he unravel the family secrets before the murderer/black-mailer kills Sarah?
The Kelling family (not to mention their friends) are eccentric enough to satisfy even me. Loved this first in the series and looking forward to the rest.
The Kellings of Beacon Hill live in each other's pockets, fight continuously, and marry their cousins. Good Grief! If they had prettier accents, they could be southerners.
I was depressed when I finished MacLeod's Peter Shandy series, sure I'd never find another cast of characters I liked as much as the crime-solving professor and the eccentric faculty and townspeople at Balaclava Agricultural College. I'd read two good stories featuring Sarah Kelling and Max Bittersohn, but I figured that series would be second-best. I was wrong.
Sarah Kelling is a sheltered young woman. Educated at home by her emotionally remote father, she was married at eighteen to Alexander Kelling, the handsome cousin whom she hero-worshipped as a child. Now middle-aged, he's still handsome. He's also weak and a momma's boy.
They must live with his mother (Aunt Caroline) because of her disabilities and her unwillingness to let go of her son. Although elderly, blind, and deaf, Caroline Kelling is still a beauty. As a young woman, she married a wealthy iceberg, finding excitement elsewhere. OK unless someone catches you. Boston is a conservative town and socialites are expected to follow the rules. Caroline follows rules. Her own.
Sarah wants her husband to herself and wonders why they must live so cheaply. Caroline and Alexander inherited a fortune when her husband died. They own the family mansion on Beacon Hill and a vacation home with acreage outside of Boston. Then there's the Kelling Rubies, said to be priceless. Why are they living on the interest of the small trust fund left to Sarah by her father?
The trouble starts when Great-Uncle Fred dies and leaves instructions to be buried in the family vault. When the vault is opened to receive his body, there's another body and Ruby Redd is NOT a Kelling. Who killed the flamboyant stripper and put her body in the family vault?
Sarah is making progress prying her husband loose from his mother, but then there's a terrible accident and two more people are dead. After years of taking orders, Sarah must take charge. No one wants to give her any information, but it's obvious that Aunt Caroline had some deep secrets and those secrets will determine Sarah's future.
Her main support comes from Max Bittersohn. He was introduced to her as the writer of a book on famous jewelry who wants her to draw the illustrations. Sarah senses that Bittersohn has more on his mind than getting a book published. He's on the trail of stolen goods and hoping to bag a black-mailer along the way. Who exactly IS Max Bittersohn and can he unravel the family secrets before the murderer/black-mailer kills Sarah?
The Kelling family (not to mention their friends) are eccentric enough to satisfy even me. Loved this first in the series and looking forward to the rest.
February 23, 2023
This quasi-cozy mystery has a lot going for it, including some interesting twists, but I didn't enjoy it as much as Rest You Merry. That puts me in the minority among Ms. MacLeod's many fans, who prefer this series over her Peter Shandy novels by a modest margin. (I haven't read any of her novels written as Alisa Craig.) I found Peter Shandy to be a more 'natural' character than Sarah Kelling perhaps because I've known professors like Shandy but I have no personal experience of Boston brahmins and those who move in their circles. Ms. Kelling is very much a literary creation, although a pleasant one. Some self deprecation doesn't quite balance being beautiful, clever, talented and married to the "most handsome man you'll ever see" which makes her a bit too much like a cooking show host (or the author's literary alter ego). Despite that and some odd usages (like Americans saying 'blotto' and a group of people all knowing the meaning of 'parure' in 1979), this is a well-written novel that delivers a decent murder mystery. My other quibbles can't be described without spoilers, so let it suffice to say that the sleuthing is rather desultory. The characters are the focus, but the story moves steadily to a satisfactory conclusion. Along the way we're treated to more ordinary activities than get included in most mystery novels, like grocery shopping and cooking meals, but I'll chalk that up to character development. How much you like this novel depends on your level of interest in the Kelling clan and the somewhat underdeveloped Max Bittersohn. My interest level was mild, but I can recommend this novel to mystery fans.
September 18, 2020
The Family Vault — Charlette MacLeod (28 chapters) September 10-17, 2020
This is the first book in the Sarah Kelling & Max Bittersohn cozy mystery series. I read most of this series years ago when I was about to get out of college and then when I was married. I didn’t read the whole series though. I decided it was time to re-read and finish this series and review them.
Sarah and Alexander Kelling live an unusual married life, in that they are distance cousins, have no children; Alexander is at least 15 years older than Sarah, and they live with his blind and deaf mother.
When an old family vault is opened and a body with red ruby teeth appears, the mystery begins. Alexander begins to act weird and sickly, and Sarah grows concerned. She suspects but doesn’t know for sure if the dead body is related to his declining physical condition. The story proceeds as Sarah tries to figure out who the murdered woman is and how she is related to the family. An author writing a book on valuable stones enters the scene and suddenly she wonders if he is the one that killed the victim.
This was a well written book, with a lot of big, sophisticated words. (No lie. I had to look up a few of them.) I was sad to see some of the things happen in the book as I was starting to like the characters involved. The characters and their interactions were eccentric but the writing played it well.
Excited to read the rest of the series as the books are much shorter. Holds up well despite the antiquated late 1970’s-80’s (no cellphones, or digital devices,) technology.
Three stars.
This is the first book in the Sarah Kelling & Max Bittersohn cozy mystery series. I read most of this series years ago when I was about to get out of college and then when I was married. I didn’t read the whole series though. I decided it was time to re-read and finish this series and review them.
Sarah and Alexander Kelling live an unusual married life, in that they are distance cousins, have no children; Alexander is at least 15 years older than Sarah, and they live with his blind and deaf mother.
When an old family vault is opened and a body with red ruby teeth appears, the mystery begins. Alexander begins to act weird and sickly, and Sarah grows concerned. She suspects but doesn’t know for sure if the dead body is related to his declining physical condition. The story proceeds as Sarah tries to figure out who the murdered woman is and how she is related to the family. An author writing a book on valuable stones enters the scene and suddenly she wonders if he is the one that killed the victim.
This was a well written book, with a lot of big, sophisticated words. (No lie. I had to look up a few of them.) I was sad to see some of the things happen in the book as I was starting to like the characters involved. The characters and their interactions were eccentric but the writing played it well.
Excited to read the rest of the series as the books are much shorter. Holds up well despite the antiquated late 1970’s-80’s (no cellphones, or digital devices,) technology.
Three stars.
March 13, 2024
It's always great to find a fun, new mystery series, especially one from the 1970s - no holds! Yay!
Sarah Kelling is part of a large, mostly wealthy, old family of Boston. She married her fifth cousin who was decades older than her because she always adored him, but something is wrong. He's all out of sorts, especially since a more recent body was found in the old family burial vault.
Sarah starts diving deeper into the murder and what could be going on with her husband. Along the way she meets Max Bittersohn. She's been hired to draw some pictures for a book on jewelry that Max is writing. A family friend is the publisher and recommends Sarah.
Sarah learns that
I noticed on the cover that popped up on GR it says "America's Agatha Christie." I definitely wouldn't go that far. If I ever find someone that is as good as Agatha Christie I'll be in heaven, but even with all my mystery reading, no one has come close. This was still a fabulous read. I read it one sitting and immediately started book 2. It was a fantastic Saturday.
I like Sarah and Max and I'll keep detecting with them.
Sarah Kelling is part of a large, mostly wealthy, old family of Boston. She married her fifth cousin who was decades older than her because she always adored him, but something is wrong. He's all out of sorts, especially since a more recent body was found in the old family burial vault.
Sarah starts diving deeper into the murder and what could be going on with her husband. Along the way she meets Max Bittersohn. She's been hired to draw some pictures for a book on jewelry that Max is writing. A family friend is the publisher and recommends Sarah.
Sarah learns that
I noticed on the cover that popped up on GR it says "America's Agatha Christie." I definitely wouldn't go that far. If I ever find someone that is as good as Agatha Christie I'll be in heaven, but even with all my mystery reading, no one has come close. This was still a fabulous read. I read it one sitting and immediately started book 2. It was a fantastic Saturday.
I like Sarah and Max and I'll keep detecting with them.
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