Customer Reviews

A Bicycle Built For Murder

5 star:		(8)
4 star:		(2)
3 star:		(4)
2 star:		(3)
1 star:		(1)

 

 

Whenever I pick up a book by Kate Kingsbury, I expect to be delighted and entertained, and once again, Ms. Kingsbury delivers. A Bicycle Built for Murder, the first book in her new Manor House series, was a joy to read--full of charming characters, interesting historical tidbits, and with a mystery that kept me turning the pages. Bravo! I can't wait for the next installment.

I just read the previous review from Eleanor Warder and I totally disagree. I am a computer programmer analyst and consider myself quite smart, but I didn't find the clues easy at all. And I don't think the book was fluffy. Ms. Kingsbury has built a reputation of writing cozies, and this book only enhances that reputation. I think the characters were strong, Ms Kingsbury strong point, as proven in her previous series, The Pennyfoot Hotel Mysteries. And the clues are not as easy as Ms Warder thinks they are. Maybe they are to her, but to the average reader, I think not. This is a delightful book, well entertaining, and I would rate it very highly and recommend it to all of my friends. It kept me guessing until the end who the murderer was, and I think it did to most people. Kudos to Ms Kingsbury for yet another wonderful start to another wonderful series. I can wait for the next one to come out.

While the Germans bomb London and other strategic locations during World War II, the villagers of Sitting Marsh look towards Lady Elizabeth Hartleigh Compton as a role model. The townsfolk are unaware that Elizabeth is broke due to her late husband's gambling habit. Her only source of income is rent she collects on the cottages on her estate. Still, she knows that the locals depend on her for leadership and since she enjoys the adulation and attention, she tries to meet their expectations.

The War Office informs Elizabeth that her Manor House will host American soldiers, a situation the class-conscious aristocrat loathes. At about the same time that Elizabeth prepares for the coming of the Yanks, Beryl Pierce's body is found on a nearby beach, an apparent drowning victim. Placing the American invasion on hold, neither Elizabeth nor the mother of the victim believes that Beryl fell off a cliff and drowned. Taking her leadership role to heart, Elizabeth sets out to prove murder occurred and to find the culprit.

Readers familiar with Kate Kingsbury's Pennyfoot Hotel mysteries will enjoy the author's new Manor House series because the plot is as well drawn and the historical perspective is simply fascinating. The audience lives history by observing life in a small village during World War II. Lady Elizabeth is an interesting person who acts like the big fish in a tiny pond adding to the aura of the reader feeling they are there, which, in turn, makes A BICYCLE BUILT FOR MURDER an entertaining novel.

Harriet Klausner

Kate Kingsbury, widely known for her Pennyfoot Mystery series, and Berkley Prime Crime, known for it's wide variety of successfully published mysteries, are together again, and the result is an exciting new mystery series. As in her last series, Ms. Kingsbury's new series is considered a cozy, and, in some corners, a historical mystery as well. A Bicycle Built for Murder is the first in the series.

The Manor House seaside village is called Sitting Marsh. It's World War II, a time of bombing, blackouts, rationing, and American soldiers on British soil. The main character Lady Elizabeth Hartleigh Compton is thirty-one and divorced. She inherited a Jacobean mansion, cottages, and vast acres after her parents were killed. She cares for her tenants beyond what is expected and proves it when a mother asks her to investigate the disappearance of her wayward daughter. When a disappearance turns to murder, Lady Elizabeth, with the approval of the local law, takes on the formidable task of listing suspects and clues to find out what happened to sixteen-year-old Beryl Pierce. After adding amateur sleuth to her list of obligations, Lady Elizabeth discovers she can add Hostess as well when a handsome major arrives to tell her American officers will be moving into her manor.

A Bicycle Built for Murder is expertly written.. The mystery stays in the front position with character introductions and long-term secondary plots blending in. The historical details and dialogue add to the intrigue. The main secondary characters are the manor house staff, Violet, Martin, and Polly. They provide some light moments in the mystery, and if first impressions are anything to go by, I can honestly say they will effectively help to carry the series. A Bicycle Built for Murder is an engaging read of murder and mayhem that takes place in a time far from forgotten.

The mystery in this book was OK, but there are so many errors and anachronisms that I was put off. The one that bothered me most - and it would have been so easy for an alert editor to catch - was that apparently the heroine's father has a living brother. Anyone familiar with the British peerage would have known that this brother would definitely have the title and probably the ancestral manor as well. Lady Elizabeth would be entitled only to what was not entailed. What's so annoying is the reference to this uncle was totally gratuitous. It could easily have been her mother's brother, or her father's sister's husband, or the paragraph could have been omitted entirely.

This is not an auspicious beginning to a series. I hope Kingsbury spends a little time getting to know her subject better.

Adequate start to a new series. However, the characters are a bit stereotypical and Lady Elizabeth is not particularly likeable. Easy Read.

Lady Elizabeth Hartleigh Compton has returned to her ancestral home after the death of her parents and the break up of her marriage. Thanks to her ex, there is little money left. She is trying to pick up the pieces of her life during the stressful time of World War II. She lives in her childhood home with the housekeeper Violet and the senile butler Martin. The lack of money has not diminished her status of lady of the manor however, so when a local girl disappears, her mother asks Lady Elizabeth rather than the police to find her. When Beryl is later found dead, Lizzie has a far more serious job, to find the murderer. The village is sure that it is one of the American soldiers stationed nearby, but Lizzie isn't so sure, especially since some of their officers have requisitioned her home as their new quarters.

While I will miss the Pennyfoot Hotel series, this is a very good replacement. The characters are a little strange, but very realistic, and the mystery was very good. I look forward to reading the next one.

Cozies are character driven and this book definitely has its share of characters.

Not only is Elizabeth Hartleigh Compton the Lady of Sitting Marsh Manor House, but she is also responsible for helping her tenants muddle through during World War II England. Little did she know that when Winnie stopped her to ask if she had seen her daughter Beryl - who has quite a reputation for hanging out at the pub and flirting with the Yanks; Lady Elizabeth would find herself in the middle of a murder mystery. Not only that, but she has to prepare for an American invasion all her own.

A great cast of characters including Violet the housekeeper and the irrepressible Martin the butler.

First in the Manor House Series.

I wanted to like this book because I'm always looking for a good historical mystery series. The setting seemed promising--an English manor house during WWII. Unfortunately, that's as good as it gets. The heroine is completely unlikeable, and she is surrounded by characters who are flat, annoying, or downright unbelievable (particularly the butler, who is portrayed about as realistically as the "Uncle Teddy" character in Arsenic and Old Lace). The mystery itself held no interest for me, and the resolution was deeply unsatisfying. Overall, the book seemed amateurish and hastily thrown together. I don't usually write reviews, but in this case, I felt like I should warn potential readers not to expect much.

There's a reason this was in the $0.50 pile at the used book store. It's not terrible, but not that good.

The main character is neither likable nor believable. Something felt so 'off' about the book that I had to look up the author to see if she was even British.

The series might improve but I won't spend any more money on it.