Murder at Merisham Lodge

Miss Hart and Miss Hunter Investigate Series, Book 1

By: Celina Grace

Narrated by: Ruth Urquhart

Length: 5 hrs and 5 mins

Publisher's summary

A mansion, a title, and marriage to a wealthy Lord, Lady Eveline Cartwright has it all. Unfortunately, it's not enough to prevent her from being bludgeoned to death one night in the study of Merisham Lodge, the family's country estate in Derbyshire. Suspicion quickly falls on her ne'er-do-well son, Peter, but not everyone in the household is convinced of his guilt. Head kitchen maid Joan Hart and lady's maid Verity Hunter know that when it comes to a crime, all is not always as it seems. With suspicions and motives thick on the ground, Joan and Verity must use all the wit and courage they possess to expose a deadly murderer who will stop at nothing to achieve their aim...

©2015 Celina Grace (P)2018 Tantor

Great story

Wonderful story that was well told. I can’t wait to read the next book in the series

engaging and unexpected

Appreciated the unexpected ending. The reading really put the story in context. Took me back to visits to English manor houses, the societal caste system at the time well illustrated.

Tried too hard

This book tried too hard to be a mystery by announcing it throughout the book. Good mysteries of this type are more subtle and they simply find things out instead of constantly announcing that they are going to investigate when the character is not an investigator. There was also little mystery as the killer was obvious. The intellectual level of this book is more of a teen book.

It’s okay

It gets somewhat more interesting after a slow start setting up the characters. However, after that, the mystery still moves along slowly because it is less about sleuthing than it is about day-to-day thoughts of the maid and her life as a servant with occasional observations about the family above stairs. The narration of characters is very good, but the first-person narrative is sing-song, with little variation. There are a few modern thoughts and phrases to overlook. Though I was able to finish it, I would have enjoyed more mystery solving, third person narrative, and fewer of the maid’s personal feelings and observations about her job—let us see that rather than be told about it over and over.