Customer Reviews

Wedding Rows (A Manor House Mystery)

5 star:		(5)
4 star:		(3)
3 star:		(0)
2 star:		(0)
1 star:		(1)

 

 

Residents of the small town of Sitting Marsh in England are looking for a distraction from the worries of World War II and find it during the wedding of Priscilla Pierce and Captain Willy Carbunkle. The residents band together, even donating their own rations, to give Priscilla and Wally a perfect wedding. Unfortunately, the wedding celebration is marred by the stabbing death of a stranger who wasn't even invited to the wedding. When it turns out that the victim was the boyfriend of one of the bridesmaids and they had been seen arguing earlier, suspicion falls on her and her family. But Lady Elizabeth Hartleigh Compton has solved a few mysteries in the past and isn't convinced the police have the right suspects and decides to investigate the murder herself.

This is yet another delightful entry in Kate Kingsbury's Manor House mystery series. The mystery was intriguing and well plotted and Kingsbury threw in a nifty red herring that had me convinced early on that I knew who the murdered was, but I was totally wrong. The historical background is interesting, especially the details of rationing and blackouts. The real strength in these books are the characters: Lady Elizabeth struggling with her duties as Lady of the Manor and her love for Major Earl Monroe (who is regrettably in the background for much of this book); her faithful servants Violet and Martin; the various village ladies; and, of course, Sadie and Polly, young girls looking for love in war torn England.

Unfortunately, this is the second to last book in the Manor House series. The series will be missed, but this gives Kingsbury a chance to tie together the many themes that have gone on through all the books, including the identity of the "three musketeers" and a resolution of Elizabeth's relationship with Earl.

It's not easy putting on a fancy wedding in England during World War II but many of the villagers contributed their rationing coupons so Priscilla Pierce and Captain Willy Carbunkle have the wedding of their dreams. Many of the attendees, including Lady Elizabeth Hartleigh Compton noticed a stranger at the wedding who wasn't invited by the bride or the groom. After the newlyweds leave for their honeymoon in Scotland, the guests discover the stranger in the basement, a cake knife in his chest.

It turns out the victim is Brian Sutcliffe who came to be with his girlfriend Tess Winterhalter, one of the bridesmaids. Several guests saw them argue; when the constable confronts her, she explains he was cheating on her. Her father admits that he was furious with the fortune hunter and Tess' mother is glad he can't hurt her daughter anymore. All of the Winterhalters come under suspicion but Lady Elizabeth intends to undertake her own investigation since she is almost positive they are innocent.

The latest Manor House cozy is a fine historical mystery with the lady of the manor talking to the guests who were at the wedding in the hopes figuring out who the real killer is. What make this series so special are the effects of WWII on a small suburban village. Kate Kingsbury is a talented writer who provides a compelling mystery that relies on brainpower, not blood and gore to find the solution to the who-done-it.

Harriet Klausner

I have read all of Kate Kingsbury's WW2 series and find them so relaxing and full of the most wonderful escapist writing. This last one maintained the high standard and I look forward to the next

For those who have enjoyed the excellent Pennyfoot Hotel series by Ms. Kingsbury, this series will prove delightful, moving from the Victorian era to the English countryside during World War II in a manor house setting.

I enjoy these books very much.As I grew up in London during the war I find it brings back some good memories of how people were then.Kate Kingsbury has really caught the "flavour" of those times.
I can't wait to read her next one in this series.

This series has been so much fun to read. It has (a who-done-it) mystery, romance, great characters, a beautiful setting in a small coastal village in the English countryside.

This was a cute little cozy mystery. I would recommend it to anyone looking for a nice lite read.

I really, really did not like this book. Yes, it's very light-hearted and skips along at a fair pace, but the mystery itself takes up only about half the book! The other half is some nonsensical tripe about several of the local ladies being kidnapped by a couple of rouges WHO HAVE NOTHING TO DO WITH THE MYSTERY AT HAND. What?!? Why am I reading about them?? What on God's green earth does this have to do with the main story? The mystery itself is interesting enough conceptually, but it's ignored for so much of the book that it remains completely underdeveloped. The denouement itself takes about two pages; that's how simple it was, almost as though it were an afterthought.

As usual, a nice "lite" read for a mystery but just the thing to have in one's purse or pocket to fill in time on a train, bus or where you have some moments free. If you are an Anglophile, then this will be just your cup of tea!