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A review by meezcarrie
Death Sits Down to Dinner: A Mystery by Tessa Arlen
4.0
As soon as I read the opening line of Tessa Arlen’s Death Sits Down to Dinner, I wrapped myself up in this delightfully British & dignified-cozy mystery. Bringing to mind Agatha Christie or Sir Arthur Conan Doyle, Arlen has crafted a story that seamlessly blends the historic and the fictional. Sir Winston Churchill treads across the page – the murder occurs at his private birthday party, after all – and a marvelous note tacked on to the end of the book satisfies the historic-curious with insight into other real-life characters who make cameo appearances.
Some of the character names quite simply deserve to be said aloud for posterity’s sake. Marigold Meriwether. Trevor Tricklebank. Miss Biggleswade. And Gilbert Vernon Wildman-Lushington. Who, by the way, was an actual person – appointed as Churchill’s personal flying instructor in 1913.
Bottom Line: The upstairs/downstairs of Downton Abbey meets the Edwardian amateur sleuth in Tessa Arlen’s Death Sits Down to Dinner. Sophisticated and dignified Lady Montcort once again recruits her pragmatic housekeeper Mrs. Jackson to help her solve the gruesome murder of a friend’s dinner guest. Historical tidbits, along with insights into the expected etiquette belowstairs, added to the elements that make this a wonderfully entertaining read.
(I received a copy of this book in exchange for only my honest review.)
Some of the character names quite simply deserve to be said aloud for posterity’s sake. Marigold Meriwether. Trevor Tricklebank. Miss Biggleswade. And Gilbert Vernon Wildman-Lushington. Who, by the way, was an actual person – appointed as Churchill’s personal flying instructor in 1913.
Bottom Line: The upstairs/downstairs of Downton Abbey meets the Edwardian amateur sleuth in Tessa Arlen’s Death Sits Down to Dinner. Sophisticated and dignified Lady Montcort once again recruits her pragmatic housekeeper Mrs. Jackson to help her solve the gruesome murder of a friend’s dinner guest. Historical tidbits, along with insights into the expected etiquette belowstairs, added to the elements that make this a wonderfully entertaining read.
(I received a copy of this book in exchange for only my honest review.)