Take a photo of a barcode or cover
A review by crazygoangirl
Murder at Mallowan Hall by Colleen Cambridge
lighthearted
mysterious
fast-paced
- Plot- or character-driven? A mix
3.5
Came across a recommendation for this series on the YouTube channel, Jen’s Reading Life. Since it features Agatha Christie and her fictional housekeeper Phyllida Bright as the amateur sleuth, I couldn’t resist. I read this for free on Kindle Unlimited and listened to it on Storytel simultaneously. Disliked the narrator, especially the voice she used for Christie.
We follow Phyllida Bright, the fictional housekeeper of Christie’s fictional residence Mallowan House, who fancies her mistresses famous creation Hercule Poirot. She is the amateur sleuth and the main character in the book, with Christie herself downplayed. When Phyllida finds a dead man’s body in the library at Mallowan House, she endeavours to solve the mystery of his death and that leads her on a rather tortuous path until she reaches the final solution. I didn’t care for the motive much, but I recognise it’s a popular motive of the times (the series is set in the 30s’ I think). I did think the mystery was well plotted and paced though.
Phyllida was a mixed bag for me. Initially I liked her no-nonsense personality, efficiency and her camaraderie with her employer, but I didn’t appreciate her willingness to keep evidence from the police (even if she did eventually share it) and her smugness and condescension in the climax when she thought she was Hercule Poirot! Also, she doesn’t like dogs 😱 I did however enjoy the cast of supporting characters, the staff at Mallow House - the butler, the cook, various maids and the chauffeur. I would have liked more interaction between Agatha and Phyllida and I suppose Cambridge will elaborate on Phyllida’s vague mysterious past that she keeps hinting at and that frankly doesn’t interest me at all at the moment.
I will read the series for the supporting characters, especially Bradford and Myrtle and the random references to Christie books and characters. This is a quick, easy palate cleanser kind of read.
We follow Phyllida Bright, the fictional housekeeper of Christie’s fictional residence Mallowan House, who fancies her mistresses famous creation Hercule Poirot. She is the amateur sleuth and the main character in the book, with Christie herself downplayed. When Phyllida finds a dead man’s body in the library at Mallowan House, she endeavours to solve the mystery of his death and that leads her on a rather tortuous path until she reaches the final solution. I didn’t care for the motive much, but I recognise it’s a popular motive of the times (the series is set in the 30s’ I think). I did think the mystery was well plotted and paced though.
Phyllida was a mixed bag for me. Initially I liked her no-nonsense personality, efficiency and her camaraderie with her employer, but I didn’t appreciate her willingness to keep evidence from the police (even if she did eventually share it) and her smugness and condescension in the climax when she thought she was Hercule Poirot! Also, she doesn’t like dogs 😱 I did however enjoy the cast of supporting characters, the staff at Mallow House - the butler, the cook, various maids and the chauffeur. I would have liked more interaction between Agatha and Phyllida and I suppose Cambridge will elaborate on Phyllida’s vague mysterious past that she keeps hinting at and that frankly doesn’t interest me at all at the moment.
I will read the series for the supporting characters, especially Bradford and Myrtle and the random references to Christie books and characters. This is a quick, easy palate cleanser kind of read.