An Unmentionable Murder (A Manor House Mystery) [Paperback]

Kate Kingsbury (Author)

Book Description

Series: A Manor House Mystery | Publication Date: August 1, 2006

Meet Elizabeth Hartleigh Compton. She's the house-rich, money-poor keeper of the manor—and keeper of the peace...In World War II England, the quiet village of Sitting Marsh is faced with food rations and fear for loved ones. But Elizabeth Hartleigh Compton, lady of the Manor House, stubbornly insists that life must go on. Sitting Marsh residents depend on Elizabeth to make sure things go smoothly. Which means everything from sorting out gossip to solving the occasional murder...In the thick of the Allied invasion, Elizabeth is sick with worry for Major Earl Monroe. To make matters worse, people and things keep going missing from the manor—namely Martin, the elderly butler, and ladies’ knickers from the washing line. Before Elizabeth can track either down, a man is found shot dead. Few will miss bad-tempered Clyde Morgan, and the police are ready to call it a suicide. But Elizabeth’s not so sure…

--This text refers to the Kindle Edition edition.

Product Details

• Paperback: 224 pages
• Publisher: Berkley (August 1, 2006)
• Language: English
• ISBN-10: 0425211142
• ISBN-13: 978-0425211144
• Product Dimensions: 6.6 x 4.1 x 0.8 inches
• Shipping Weight: 0.8 ounces
• Average Customer Review: 3.7 out of 5 stars  See all reviews (6 customer reviews)
• Amazon Best Sellers Rank: #387,889 in Books (See Top 100 in Books)

More About the Author

I grew up in London, England, and at a very early age began telling stories to my school friends during the London Blitz of WW II while huddling in bomb shelters. I moved to the U.S. in the early sixties, and had passed my 50th birthday when I published my first book. Since then I've written over fifty romance and mystery novels. I have one son, and married for the second time shortly after my 60th birthday.

Customer Reviews

Most Helpful Customer Reviews

23 of 23 people found the following review helpful:

4.0 out of 5 stars The last of the series, August 14, 2006

By 

Dragashani "Eclectic" (Beyond the Sun) - See all my reviews

This review is from: An Unmentionable Murder (A Manor House Mystery) (Paperback)

The Manor House Mystery series was an entertaining romp through the life of a small English village during the Second World War. An Unmentionable Murder draws everything to a conclusion with the same typical, not so difficult to solve murder mystery that has made up the rest of the series. What really makes this series enjoyable is the detail with which it portrays life during that era.

The mystery portion of this particular installment centers around the death of a not very likable man, Clyde Morgan, who, as usual, Lady Elizabeth finds reason to believe died of foul play rather than the suicide the local police are ready to write it off as. In addition, there's the sub-storyline of who's been stealing the ladies' underwear off the clotheslines around the village, Elizabeth's ongoing romance with an American Air Corp Major, and a mystery surrounding Martin, Elizabeth's sometimes senile butler.

To sum it up, if you've been following the series you'll definitely want to pick this book up to see how things end for all the residents of the Manor House. It's still okay as a stand alone story, but you'll really be lost when it comes to references of characters and/or events from previous stories.

9 of 9 people found the following review helpful:

5.0 out of 5 stars Reprinted from the Nov 2006 "The Historical Novels Review", November 25, 2006

By 

Ken Kreckel "author" (Casper, Wy) - See all my reviews

This review is from: An Unmentionable Murder (A Manor House Mystery) (Paperback)

This delightful cozy mystery, set in World War II rural England, is the latest in the author's Manor House series. Elizabeth Compton, lady of the village manor house, has a heavy burden of responsibility. Not only does she have the duty of running the great house under trying wartime conditions, but the residents of Sitting Marsh depend on her for everything from a cheerful visit to solving crimes. If that wasn't enough, her elderly butler goes missing, her American pilot friend is on a dangerous mission, and there's that thief that makes off with women's knickers from the village's clotheslines. Soon, a body is discovered....

This is great entertainment: charming, at times amusing, but with a dose of reality that is just enough to emotionally involve the reader. It also stands as a marvelous look into the lives of ordinary English villagers, thrust into a new reality by the intrusion of the war. However, lest one grow too nostalgic for those days, the author reprints the actual wartime recipe for Lord Woolton Pie, a most abominable concoction even by the standards of English cuisine.

Highly recommended for all mystery lovers.

9 of 9 people found the following review helpful:

3.0 out of 5 stars Last Book in Series is Disappointing, August 28, 2006

By 

drebbles (Arlington, MA USA) - See all my reviews
(VINE VOICE)    (TOP 1000 REVIEWER)   

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This review is from: An Unmentionable Murder (A Manor House Mystery) (Paperback)

Lady Elizabeth Hartleigh Compton has her hands full watching over the residents of Sitting Marsh, England, during World War II. She is worried about American Major Earl Monroe who, as a pilot, is fighting the war in the air. Elizabeth has other problems - her elderly butler, Martin, keeps disappearing for hours at a time and someone is stealing ladies knickers from clotheslines all over the village. Elizabeth soon has a bigger problem; a dead body is found when a munitions factory is torn down. Although the police and his widow insist that Clyde Morgan committed suicide, Elizabeth is convinced it was murder and decides to investigate. Little does she realize that someone will do anything to prevent Elizabeth from finding out the truth.

Although I've enjoyed the entire Manor House mystery series, I found "An Unmentionable Murder", the last book in the series, to be a bit of a disappointment. The mystery itself was fine, with a poignant twist at the end. But the book felt rushed, as Kate Kingsbury tried to tie everything up neatly at the end. The last chapter especially felt rushed, I would have liked a few more pages wrapping things up. The subplot about Martin's disappearance was somewhat amusing, if unbelievable. The explanation of who was stealing the knickers was also a bit disappointing. And Kingsbury failed to even mention the "three musketeers", a serious oversight since she had built up that particular mystery over the course of several books.

Fans of this series will want to read "An Unmentionable Murder" if only to find out what happens to Elizabeth and Earl at the end, but it's not one of the better books in the series.