Saint Valentine's Day Murder

A Cotswolds Country House Murder Mystery (Heathcliff Lennox Investigates, Book 13)

De: Karen Baugh MENUHIN

Narrado por: NICHOLAS BOULTON

A duel at dawn. One man dead, the other gravely injured. What drove them to fight on a bitterly cold morning remains a mystery.

For years, Lady Bancroft’s Valentine’s Ball at Bancroft Hall had been a glittering gathering of high society’s most eligible men and women. Countless happy couples owe their love stories to her matchmaking, their gratitude keeping Lady Bancroft in the genteel comfort of her grand Cotswolds estate.

But this year tragedy strikes. A murder threatens to ruin everything.

Desperate, Lady Bancroft turns to her neighbour, the dashing Major Heathcliff Lennox. A decorated war hero and now a consultant to Scotland Yard, Lennox would much rather be fishing. But duty—and the insistent ex-detective Inspector Swift—calls.

What seems like a straightforward case takes a darker turn when another body is discovered. With secrets unraveling and suspects mounting, Lennox and Swift must race to uncover the truth before the killer strikes again.

Meanwhile, Lennox's wife, Persi, an archeologist, is handed a mystery of her own. The Valentine's Murder is not the only mystery at Bancroft Hall, there was the centuries old mystery of the lost Lady of Lisle.

In 1415 Sir Edward Parcival Bancroft joined King Henry the fifth's retinue to wage war in France. Edward distinguished himself at Agincourt and was ennobled for his bravery and valour.

King Henry returned in triumph to London. Lord Edward Bancroft rode south, exploring a country he'd become enchanted with. He reached Lisle, and fell in love with the daughter of the local Seignour, Lady Madeleine de Lisle. They married and he escorted her home to Bancroft Hall. For six months they appeared happy and content. Then one fine summer's day, Lady Madeleine walked out of the house and vanished, never to be seen or heard of again.

Unless Persi, and Swift's wife, Florence can find her, or at least, uncover what happened to her...

©2024 Karen Baugh MENUHIN (P)2025 KAREN BAUGH MENUHIN

Bring back Sam Dewhurst-Phillips!

This new narrator has not captured the character of Heathcliff at all! Many times I could not distinguish Heathcliff speaking from Swift in there scenes together. The very distinct upper class accent tinged with unintentional snobbery and the cluelessness of Heathcliff is missing. This book was Dull and will be my last one of this series unless Mr. Dewhurst-Smith returns as narrator.

Not the same

I’ve loved this series since the start. The books and mysteries are clever and intriguing, and the characters are interesting and thought out. However, this mystery in particular was harder for me to grasp and the conclusion seemed to come out of nowhere. I read each book, and then listen to the novel when the narration becomes available. I have been spoiled by the previous narrator, Sam Dewhurst-Phillips,stellar performance. While the new narrator appears to have listened to earlier books, he has not captured Lennox. In fact, the way Lennox is presented, his accent has changed and sounds like the snobby rich husband from Gilligan’s Island. His Scottish brogue is non existent, which does not bode well for the next novel set in Scotland. It has greatly reduced my enjoyment of the series. But, fingers crossed.

Not the same

I love all of the Lennox books, It’s what I look forward to before bed. However, I’m disappointed that Sam Dewhurst Phillips is no longer the narrator. He gave each character life, we got to know their temperament, their soft side, humor, how each dealt with to each another. All the characters not only sound different, but their tone is so vastly different from all previous books. What happened to lovable, soft spoken, kind Heathcliff? Bring back Mr. Phillips please!

I didn’t Guess who dunnit!

The denouncement at the end was not as revealing as I would have liked. The ending was done too quickly and I felt like something was missing. It was a cozy mystery in typical Lennox fashion. This one was a bit lacking in plot compared to some of the prior ones. However, I still enjoyed it. In terms of the narrator, he is good but not Sam. I do agree with some reviewers that Lennox sounds older that he should but I was able to better distinguish between Swift and Lennox.

new narrator

i have warmed up to Nicholas Boulton. He captures the main cast in a dimilar way to The previous narrator.