MURDER FLIES THE COOP
A Beryl and Edwina Mystery # 2
Jessica Ellicott
Kensington Books
September 25, 2018
Funds are tight again for old school friends and living companions, Edwina Davenport and Beryl Helliwell. On the surface, the two make a very odd couple: Beryl a brash, much-married and divorced American globe-trotter, and Edwina, a spinster who has lived in sleepy Walmsley Parva all her life. But the two formed a strong friendship at their shared boarding school, and they live comfortably together. Beryl, in particular, is enjoying being part of village life after never belonging anywhere. Edwina's shortness of funds is nothing new, but Beryl's ex-husbands are slow sending her alimony checks. On the strength of solving a murder in Murder In An English Village, the two decide to set up an investigation agency.
Their first client is the Vicar, who is president of the local pigeon-racing club. The club treasurer has gone missing, along with several prize pigeons and the club funds. The Vicar is hoping Beryl and Edwina can find him, discreetly, and get the funds and pigeons back. The two search for him at his workplace, boarding house and discover his body at his pigeon loft. It's clearly murder, and there is no shortage of suspects; extra-marital affairs, missing jewelry, coal miner unrest and changes in social mores all play a part in this fast-paced, clever mystery.
Jessica Ellicott has a deft hand with characters and a humorous way of skewering class distinctions. The notion that a tradesman is somehow socially superior to a coal miner may seem strange to us but not in an English village in the 1920's, despite all the changes brought by WWI. Walmsley Parva has more than the requisite number of eccentrics, all vividly portrayed.
I look forward to more adventures of these "ladies of a certain age." Thanks to Net Galley and Kensington for an advance digital copy. The opinions are my own.
RATING- 3.5 Stars
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