Its 1925 and Nell
Drury is chef at Wychbourne House in Kent, stately seat of
Lord and Lady Ansley. During a fancy dress ball, a body is
found behind a door as Nell takes a party of guests on a ghost
hunt. The deceased certainly had some enemies, but who would
actually want to kill him? Nell turns sleuth to discover whodunit.
If you like period country house mysteries, this ought to
have plenty of appeal. Nell was the apprentice of Escoffier
and is not a cook but a chef, and this sets the tone for a
novel which is set at a time when women’s roles were
starting to change. It is also a time when the old social
order is breaking up and there is more of a blur between the
family and their guests and the staff than there would have
been earlier. Nell’s old friend Guy is a bandleader
but he served as an officer during the war, and Nell herself
has her own car and behaves more like a modern caterer in
some ways. How accurate this is I don’t know, but it
all forms a backdrop to the mystery, which is fun to read
about. Lady Clarice and her ghost obsession was rather wearing
(in my opinion) and everybody is keen to humor her, some taking
a genuine interest. Although this is not a paranormal mystery
the inclusion of the ghost hunts might well appeal to readers
who enjoy this type of novel as well as fans of the popular
TV series Downton Abbey. An enjoyable cozy mystery that is
sure to be the first in a series.
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