Publishers Weekly
★ 09/18/2017
Set in 1920, Ellicott’s spectacular series launch reunites two old schoolmates in the U.K. When forthright American Beryl Helliwell, who attributes her youthful appearance to a “love of quality gin and an adamant refusal to bear children to any of her ex-husbands,” spots the ad for a lodger placed by her friend Edwina Davenport, a proper Englishwoman who has run short of funds, she can’t believe her luck. Retiring to the quiet hamlet of Walmsley Parva is just the reprieve Beryl wants from her madcap life, as well as from Prohibition back in America. Beryl surprises Edwina by crashing her car into one of the stone pillars flanking the drive to Edwina’s house. Soon after Beryl settles in, someone attacks Edwina while she’s walking her dog in her garden. After the friends discover a young woman’s body in a field, they take it upon themselves to fill the gaps left by the local constable’s inadequate investigation. Reflections on the changes in post-WWI society lend substance to this light mystery. Ellicott is a pen name of Jessica Estevao, author of the Change of Fortune series (Whispers Beyond the Veil, etc.). Agent: John Talbot, Talbot Fortune Agency. (Nov.)
From the Publisher
"You'll love this delightful new series about two ladies of a certain age who refuse to let Society's expectations hold them back from bringing a killer to justice. The very British Edwina and the too American Beryl are a wonderfully mismatched pair who will keep you turning pages until they solve the crime."
--Victoria Thompson, bestselling author of Murder in the Bowery
"Remember the name Jessica Ellicott. Her deftly executed debut novel, in which two female amateur detectives, one American and one English, work together to solve an old mystery and a new murder in post-World War I England, is a delight from start to finish. The characters are interesting, the plot is intriguing, and there is the added attraction of a cute little dog. What more could fans of historical cozies ask for?"
--Kathy Lynn Emerson, author of Murder in a Cornish Alehouse
"Absolutely delightful. Readers will fall in love with this intrepid new pair of sleuths as they sniff out the secrets hiding just beneath the surface of even the most unassuming English village."
--Anna Lee Huber, bestselling author of the Lady Darby Mysteries
"You'll fall in love with genteel Edwina and gregarious Beryl, a quirky pair of sleuths who pool their respective talents and doggedly get the job done. Great fun from start to finish, murder has never been so adorable!"
--Alyssa Maxwell, author of A Pinch of Poison
Library Journal
★ 10/01/2017
In 1920, American adventuress Beryl Helliwell, in need of some peace and quiet, reads an ad from "a well-bred lady" requesting a lodger. It leads her to her old schoolmate Edwina Davenport, who is down on her luck in the hamlet of Walmsley Parva. To defray local rumors about Edwina and her reduced finances, Beryl informs the village gossip that the two women are secret agents. The next evening Edwina is attacked in her garden, and the friends realize this quiet village holds some deadly secrets. They start questioning the wartime disappearance of a land girl who worked on the local estate. When another former land girl dies, only Beryl and Edwina consider her death murder. This new cozy launch from Ellicott (a pen name for Jessica Estevao, author of Whispers Beyond the Veil) introduces a pair of delightful odd-couple amateur sleuths, a confident American adventuress and a ladylike British spinster. VERDICT With its strong sense of place and time in post-World War I England, this will be welcomed by fans of Frances Brody's "Kate Shackleton" mysteries.—LH
