A review by what_heather_loves
Murder at Maybridge Castle by Ada Moncrieff

funny lighthearted mysterious fast-paced

• Plot- or character-driven? Plot
• Strong character development? It's complicated
• Loveable characters? Yes
• Diverse cast of characters? No
• Flaws of characters a main focus? Yes

3.0

"Mrs Thewley stroked Duke's ears absent-mindedly. The beginnings of something we making themselves known. She had had a light breakfast - a simple porridge with nettle tea - so it couldn't be one of her funny turns. No, there was something else. Something that was starting to tickle that corner of her brain that usually fluttered into action when she found herself up against a charlatan clairvoyant or a fraudulent medium. She looked again at the invitation.

Maybridge Castle. It was Maybridge Castle that was behind it. Only a few hours now until she would be there. Until Mrs Thewley would uncover quite what it was about Maybridge Castle that was unsettling her."

The third in the Christmas Murders, historical cosy crime series, I think they could each be read standalone. With London journalist, Miss Daphne King at the helm, she finds herself investigating a brutal death at her relative's supposedly haunted Cumbrian castle.

Inter-war cosy crime and, for this novel, a locked room whodunit in a ramshackle castle. I welcomed the cast of characters at the beginning, always helps when most of the characters are meeting one another for the first time. Daphne is a joy, as ever, and I relished her new partner this time in elderly Mrs Thewley and her cat, Duke, there to debunk the spiritualists cousin Charles has lined up. The other characters staying in the castle for a few days before Christmas were varied and eccentric and many had potential motives. It's funny too, poking fun at itself whilst celebrating the Agatha Christie-esque format. Fast-paced and set over three days, there's plenty of action and it has short chapters. I did guess whodunit, but didn't mind that, found it an enjoyable, seasonal read.