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Christmas 1919 and young Louisa
Cannon longs to escape from her impoverished life and, in
particular, her uncle. A chance meeting with an old friend
introduces her to Nancy Mitford and gives her an idea. When
events turn dangerous for her, Louisa is on the run and finally
ends up in her desired job as nursery maid to the Mitfords.
But on the same day she was travelling down by train for her
interview another passenger was murdered; nurse Florence Nightingale
Shore. It will be up to Louisa and wannabe detective Guy to
discover whodunit.
Ms Fellowes has written several companion books to the popular
TV series Downton Abbey so if you were a fan then you ought
to enjoy this book. Expect another immersion into 1920s country
(and town house) life above and below stairs as England recovers
after the war, Louisa settles down in her new role and railway
policeman Guy detects. If you are missing your Sunday night
fix of period drama and want to discover what life was like
at Asthall Manor when the Mitfords were children then I can
recommend this. Bold, confident Nancy is well drawn and Louisa
is an excellent foil to her, with her own backstory, which
runs through the book. If on the other hand you are hoping
for a golden age style detective story a la Agatha Christie,
which focuses mostly on the detective side of things, you
will be disappointed. There is certainly sleuthing going on
but more as a side dish to the main course of the Mitfords
and attendant period detail. The murder is based on a real
crime and there is a good evocation of how the Great War changed
everything and how people coped with the aftermath. This part
of the book was the most interesting for me, but at times
the various plot strands vied with each other and I would
have preferred more of an emphasis on detection for a novel
billed as a mystery. This is the first book in a planned series
with each book focusing on a different sister, so it will
be interesting to see where the author goes with it.
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