As England recovers from its costly involvement in the Great War, Lady Phoebe Renshaw and her lady’s maid, Eva Huntford, find the steady comforts of their lives unsettled by a local case of murder . . .
Eva is excited for a visit from her sister Alice, who lives in Suffolk with her husband and three children. But when Alice arrives alone, desiring a break from her family, Eva becomes concerned. Her dismay deepens as Alice starts spending time with a former beau, Keenan Ripley, who owns the nearby pear orchard. At the same time, Phoebe's sister Julia, now a widow and pregnant, is in a fretful state, and Phoebe struggles to be helpful to her.
When Keenan's brother Stephen, the new head gardener at the Renshaw estate, Foxwood Hall, is found impaled by a pair of hedge clippers, the police—including Eva's beau, Constable Miles Brannock—suspect his closest kin. Stephen had been eager to sell their orchard to an American developer, but Keenan had fiercely resisted. A table set with two teacups and scones suggests Keenan had company the morning of the murder—and Eva fears her sister was with him.
If Alice were to provide Keenan with an alibi, her reputation and marriage would be ruined. She denies being there but is clearly withholding secrets, much to Eva's consternation. Now, to protect her sister, Eva and Phoebe set off to expose the gardener's real killer, putting their own lives at risk . . . (Summary via Goodreads)
Every time I read a book written by Alyssa Maxwell it becomes my new favorite !! I love going back in time with her books and reading about a simpler time is some ways but a more difficult time in others....it's kind of hard to explain but I'll try.
A Silent Stabbing is the fifth book in her Lady and Lady's Maid Mystery series and the reader is hanging around with Lady Phoebe and her lady's maid, Eva.....and if you are a fan like me, you know they are going to be in the middle of things !!
While Eva is dealing with her sister Alice returning home for a visit without her husband and children causing her family to worry, Lady Phoebe and her grandfather find their new head gardener murdered and his assistant missing. Lady Phoebe and Eva decide to look into things when the police arrest the deceased brother for the crime and they know, in their hearts, that he is innocent.
You cannot help but love the relationship that Lady Phoebe and Eva have as well as everyone in their circle. They all take care of each other and look out for others. Lady Phoebe and Eva will do whatever they can to help others and if someone is hurt or murdered, they will go above and beyond, even putting themselves in harm's way.
Reading a story set back in the 1920's where times were very different than they are now can be enlightening. As there were no cell phones, computers and woman had very different roles in society it is a much simpler time unless there is a crime, especially murder. With a murder there is no way to quickly warn people, there is no DNA to test to solve the case, and finding the murderer can be very difficult. Even though things are done very differently and it seems like it is much harder to do, Maxwell makes it so much fun reading about it. You cannot help but love the way Lady Phoebe and Eva go about helping the police and the outcome is always a huge surprise !!
I love traveling back in time with Maxwell as the guide. I love hanging out at Foxwood Hall with Lady Phoebe, her family and their staff. I love what lady Phoebe is doing for her community and those affected by the war and that she has such determination in everything that she does !!! You will fall in love with this series and never want to leave Foxwood Hall.
Review by Missi M.
No comments:
Post a Comment