Murder At Merry Beggars Hall by Kay Blythe

Book Summary

Jemima Flowerday combines her skills as a dressmaker and sleuth to solve crime in the crumbling stately homes of 1920s Britain.

December 1922, and society dressmaker Jemima Flowerday receives a letter from Lady Hamlash of Merry Beggars Hall, requesting three new gowns for the Christmas season. Lady Hamlash does not travel, so Jemima will need to visit the Hall in deepest Suffolk to work in situ.

The commission appeals to Jemima for more than one reason. It will bring her some much-needed income. More interestingly, the remote manor house was the scene of a grisly murder earlier that year, when Lady Hamlash, inspecting her plants in the walled garden, found a man’s severed head beneath a terracotta asparagus cloche.

The murder was never solved.

Jemima, addicted to mystery novels and with a proud history of solving crimes in her own world, is sure she can crack the case. That ambition becomes a little more complicated when, within hours of her arrival at Merry Beggars Hall, the household cook dies in front of her...

This book was very easy to get into and I immediately warmed to Jemima. She is a sympathetic and down to Earth character, never taking advantage of her elevated status. She's also pretty smart and it seemed that she figured some things out quite quickly, so I wasn't sure why she didn't tell the police her suspicions earlier on! The descriptions of the places and the other characters were great too, I could picture their expressions, sitting around the dinner table.

I particularly enjoyed seeing the growing respect between Jemima and the inspector and I think there could be another story there in future. It would be very cool if she continued helping the police, or even became a civilian assistant.

I will definitely be looking forward to the next book in the Jemima Flowerday Mystery series!

Author Bio

Kay Blythe, who also writes as Natalie Meg Evans, is an award-winning historical author on both sides of the Atlantic, having reached the New York Times top 100 list with her debut novel, The Dress Thief.

Writing crime as Kay Blythe fulfils a long-held ambition.

It's cocktail hour at Merry Beggars Hall. Take your pick from a Strawberry Cosmopolitan or a Passion Fruit Daiquiri! For the Cosmo, blend 50ml vodka, 30ml strawberry puree, 30ml cranberry juice and 15ml lime juice with ice. For the Daiquiri, blend 50ml rum, 30ml passion fruit and 15ml lime juice with ice.