A review by dreichler
The Affair of the Bloodstained Egg Cosy/The Affair of the Mutilated Mink/The Affair of the Thirthy-Nine Cufflinks: An Omnibus Edition by James Anderson

5.0

I'll tell you up front I'm not going to give a plot summary, there are enough of those out there. This book doesn't take itself too seriously but has a complex murder mystery and believable likeable characters. There are three loosely related books in this trilogy. They all take place in a British Earl's country mansion: Adlderly, between the world wars and within a few months of each other. I read the third one first but the order doesn't really matter. The house, family and detective are the same in each but it is really the visitors who are different in each book that provide the entertainment and the mystery. Witty dialogue, misdirection and misunderstanding are the order of the day. I stumbled upon the third book in this series by accident. I don't understand why they are not more well known. And, of course, I did not guess "who dunnit", but then I [practically] never do! I was going to write that my favorite character was Lady Geraldine, the daughter of the Earl, but then the Earl himself, Lord Burford is quite entertaining and his wife, Lady Burford is a formidable character. And of course the detective, Inspector Wilkins, is sharp as a tack while appearing slightly bumbling and confused, and the butler, Merryweather, has some extremely funny tongue in cheek retorts up his sleeve. Very enjoyable!