Customer Reviews

High Marks for Murder: A Bellehaven House Mystery

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

 

 

"High Marks for Murder" is written by Rebecca Kent (a.k.a. Kate Kingsbury) who also writes the Pennyfoot Hotel mysteries. While I never enjoyed the Kingsbury series, I will definitely be reading the second book of this new series, the Bellehaven House Mysteries. The lead character, Meredith, has many layers that we have yet to see. She obviously has some sort of past, but not much is given away in this first book.

I loved the setting of an Edwardian girls school in the midst of the suffrage movement. Many of the secondary characters, teachers & servants, had strong opinions on women's suffrage. The secondary characters alone could actually make the book. I was also excited that the book had a supernatural twist when the ghost of the murder victim visits Meredith. Apparently, Meredith has a knack for seeing ghosts, & this idea seems to be the premise for future books.

When the gardener at Bellehaven Finishing School finds the body of Home Management teacher Kathleen Duncan, the police and headmistress Meredith Llewellyn initially think it was a tragic accident. But Meredith soon discovers that the tree limb that hit Kathleen on the head did not accidentally fall off the tree - it was sawed off and Meredith thinks it may have been used as a murder weapon. The police still say it was an accident so Meredith decides to investigate Kathleen's death without their help. But she won't be alone - Kathleen's ghost is eager to help her.

"High Marks for Murder" is the delightful first mystery in the new Bellehaven House cozy mystery series. Author Rebecca Kent previously wrote two cozy mystery series under the name Kate Kingsbury and this book is as good as any of the Kingsbury books. The mystery is set in England in 1905 and Meredith will reminder readers of a typical Kingsbury heroine - a feminist who struggles to conform to the times. Kent does a good job of capturing that period of time, especially with the students and the maids who aren't as willing as their elders to give in to the constrictions of that time. The book is filled with great characters including Meredith and her fellow teachers Felicity and Essie; Tom, the elderly gardener; Mrs. Wilkins the cook; and maids Grace and Olivia. The ghost of Kathleen added a nice supernatural atmosphere to the book that I really enjoyed and I also liked the gentle sense of humor throughout the book. The mystery elements were well done, although I felt a bit let down when the killer was revealed. I also didn't care for the romance that is hinted at between Kathleen and Stuart Hamilton, owner of Bellehaven, but perhaps it will grow on me in further books.

"High Marks for Murder" is a good cozy mystery and I look forward to reading more in this series.

In 1965 in the remote English village of Grickling Green in the Cotswolds, the suffragette movement has caught the interest of the ladies enrolled in Bellehaven Finishing School. The Headmistress Meredith Llewellyn is in St. Edmunds' church when she sees an evanescent image that coalesces into a female ghost. She becomes worried because home management teacher Kathleen Duncan is not attending the services and she never misses them.

When she leaves the church, Tom the gardener is visibly upset and takes Meredith and the other instructors to the body of Kathleen. Besides the corpse is a broken branch that was sawed off. It has blood on it so Meredith knows that her friend was murdered. As Kathleen keeps appearing Meredith vows to find her killer, but she does not understand the clues the ghost is presenting to her. Unless she can interpret what Kathleen is communicating to her when the ghost points at flowers, the killer will remain free.

This is a very atmospheric paranormal amateur sleuth historical mystery. The school building, the storms, and the darkness surrounding Bellehaven contribute a gothic feel to Rebecca Kent's fine tale. Meredith is a strong willed person who in some ways a futuristic anachronism as she ignores the rules of society that insist she find a wealthy husband. She is the only one who sees the apparition so her staff insists she is overwrought and imagining things. Readers will give high marks to Ms. Kent for an interesting creative whodunit.

Harriet Klausner

I have had this book on my Save for Later list for a while and finally got to it this weekend. The story sounded very interesting, all the ingredients for an gothic mystery- a girls boarding school, a murder, a ghost, what more could you want? I was so disappointed. The story was never fleshed out, the main characters stayed one dimensional, and other characters were introduced and seemed to have no purpose in the story. Why did we have the whole storyline about the maids? And the replacement teacher? I finally skimmed the book to find out whodoneit (not a big surprise) so I could move on to a better book. There are so many good ones out there, don't waste the time or money on this one.

"High marks for murder" is both a mystery and a ghost story that takes place at a finishing school for debutantes in Edwardian England. This fact pertaining to the setting of the novel would have escaped me, had the very pretty cover of the book not pointed it out. The truth is, I expected a novel that would transport me to Edwardian, turn of the last century England within the British Cotswolds, but instead I found a rather boring story, not much different than those that any parent would tell their children at bed time, and with no sense of ambience at all.

The sleuth with paranormal abilities is Meredith Llewellyn, headmistress of Bellehaven Academy. She is disturbed one Sunday when her friend and fellow professor Kathleen Duncan does not make it to Church. As it will become evident quite soon, the reason Kathleen did not attend the services was because, quite simply, she's dead - murdered. After having apparitions of the dead woman's ghost, Meredith takes it upon herself to inquire after her friend's demise, along with her two other friends and fellow professors, tomboy Felicity and primadonna Essie.

The most important element in a mystery of this kind are the descriptions of historical setting, which in "High marks for murder" are simply lacking. There are no period words to describe the vehicle of transport of the time, i.e. the horse and carriage, such as the "fiacre", or the "plangent tones of the evensong" when attending mass. Moreover, the dialogue is dull, with the exception of one scene close to the end of the novel; and the set up for the sequel at the end of the novel is also dull and uninteresting. I would also have appreciated more detailed descriptions of the school and the mechanics of the classes, etc, as I find mysteries should be not only entertaining but enlightening as well.

I love cozies. An Edwardian setting is great for them. There is absolutely no way to tell this is Edwardian. Furthermore the plot leaves lots of loose ends. Incidents that should move the plot forward don't. Worst of all, there is a ghost.

I was anticipating this new book by Kate Kingsbury as I have enjoyed her Pennyfoot Hotel series and also her World War I series, however, this story left me wanting. It just wasn't up to her usual quality. So, I was disappointed. But, that would not stop me from hoping for another sequel or the other series, or a new more interesting one. The characters were not that interesting and just didn't hold my interest.

kept me guessing. i like the premise manor house in england ghosts. all in all a series i will keep up with.

My order has arrived on time. I'm pleased with the manner in which it arrived. Haven't read the book yet but it's next on my list!

A new paranormal cozy in Edwardian England, we are set in an all girls' finishing school named Bellehaven House, with Mrs. Meredith Llewellyn as the headmistress. Noticing the absence of one of her tutors during the Sunday church ceremony, Meredith becomes quite troubled until she finds that the woman's body has been found in the school's gardens, dead, with her head bloody from a nearby heavy branch. At first all thoughts were of an accident, until it was realized that the branch had been swung from a low angle - not something that could have fallen accidentally. Horrified, Meredith insists on an investigation but the local bobby will only rule it as a wrongful death by person or persons unknown. Fuming, Meredith's temper boils at the unjust behavior towards women - until she is literally frozen in her tracks - by the ghost of Kathleen Duncan.

Not normally given to fits or faints, Meredith does begin to doubt her own sanity, but she does see Kathleen in the mist around the flowers several times, trying to visually communicate (unsuccessfully). Completely unsure as to why she has been chosen to interpret these messages, Meredith takes the chance and asks her closest friends and fellow tutors Essie and Felicity for help. Once they get past the inevitable jokes, the friends do try to find clues, but all they are finding are flowers. Kathleen loved flowers, so that didn't narrow things down. But was it Davie, the gardener's helper, who'd been picking those flowers for Kathleen and gotten in trouble? Or was it the gardener who's knees weren't what they used to be, and couldn't quite get the job done anymore. Had one of the students confronted the home making tutor about a punishment? Meredith's mind swirled with possibilities, not realizing how difficult asking questions subtly to find out and identify so much information could be - not to mention getting her regular duties done on top of that! But when the information starts to filter thru and the mists begin to clear, Meredith is afraid that the answer is all to clear - and not one she wants to dig up.

This is the first in a new series by Kate Kingsbury - who has written several other series. She's a great cozy writer for people who don't like a lot of suspense, blood, gore, or violence - just a simple light whodunit. I, personally, get frustrated with her ability to draw out the slight romances she includes in her stories - for books and books....but the stories are amusing and a good way to pass a few hours.