The Mitford Trial: A Mitford Murders Mystery

by Jessica Fellowes

Overview

A timeless murder mystery with the fascinating, glamorous Mitford sisters at its heart, The Mitford Trial is the fourth installment in the Mitford Murders series from Jessica Fellowes, inspired by a real-life murder in a story full of intrigue, affairs and betrayal...

It's lady's maid Louisa Cannon's wedding day, but the fantasy is shattered shortly after when she is approached by a secretive man asking her to spy on Diana Mitford—who is having an affair with the infamous Oswald Mosley—and her sister Unity.

Thus as summer 1933 dawns, Louisa finds herself accompanying the Mitfords on a glitzy cruise, full of the starriest members of Society. But the waters run red when a man is found attacked.

Back in London, the case is taken by lawyer Tom Mitford, and Louisa finds herself caught between worlds: of a love lost, a family divided, and a country caught in conflict.

Product Details

ISBN-13:	9781250316837
Publisher:	St. Martin's Publishing Group
Publication date:	01/19/2021
Series:	Mitford Murders Series , #4
Pages:	368
Product dimensions:	6.40(w) x 9.20(h) x 1.50(d)

About the Author

JESSICA FELLOWES is an author, journalist, and public speaker, best known for her five official New York Times bestselling companion books to the Downton Abbey TV series. Former deputy editor of Country Life, and columnist for the Mail on Sunday, she has written for the Daily Telegraph, the Guardian, The Sunday Times, and The Lady. Jessica has spoken at events across the UK and US, and has made numerous appearances on radio and television. She lives in Oxfordshire with her family.

Editorial Reviews

11/16/2020

In 1933, a few months after the Nazis take power in Germany, former Mitford family servant Louisa Cannon is approached by Iain, a British government agent, in bestseller Fellowes’s subpar fourth Mitford Murders mystery (after 2020’s The Mitford Scandal). Nancy Mitford, the eldest of the six Mitford sisters, recently offered to pay Louisa to accompany her mother and other family members on a Mediterranean cruise. Iain now asks her to accept Nancy’s offer, because he wants her to spy on two Mitford sisters who have expressed support for the Nazis, notably Diana, who has been having an affair with English fascist Oswald Mosley. Louisa lies to her new husband, CID Det. Sgt. Guy Sullivan, telling him that she’s going on the cruise to make some money. Guy ends up joining Louisa on the ship, where they’re soon investigating a passenger’s fatal bludgeoning. Flash-forwards to a murder trial with two defendants in 1935 inject some suspense, but this isn’t enough to make up for an uninspired plot. Series fans will hope for a return to form next time. Agent: Caroline Michel, Peters Fraser and Dunlop (U.K.). (Jan.)

Publishers Weekly

"Inspired by the larger-than-life Mitford family and a real-life murder, Fellowes delivers a ripping-good read." - Booklist

"If you like your historical capers served with a side of murder, consider the sleuthing adventures of Louisa Cannon, occasional amateur detective and erstwhile servant to the Mitfords, real-life aristocratic siblings – Nancy, Diana, Unity, Pamela, Decca, Debbo – who all made their mark upon the 20th century . . . Sparkly." - The Globe and Mail ("Loved Bridgerton? You'll Fall for this Crop of New Escapist Historical Fiction"

"A solid continuation of the series . . . hopefully it's not [the last]." - RedCarpetCrash

From the Publisher

08/01/2020

In Fellowes's The Mitford Trial, lady's maid Louisa Cannon is asked by a shadowy stranger to spy on Diana Mitford and her sister Unity, with someone ending up dead in the water when Louisa later accompanies the Mitfords on a cruise (75,000-copy first printing). Gentill's Shanghai Secrets takes Rowland Sinclair from Australia to Shanghai in 1935 on business, but the death of a Russian taxi dancer he steered across the floor one night complicates matters. In the latest Decker/Lazarus mystery, The Lost Boys, Peter Decker believes that a developmentally disabled man who vanished while on an outing from his residential home went off with someone he knew (100,000-copy first printing; originally scheduled for October 2020). Schaffhausen's Every Waking Hour features Ellery Hathaway, who is gingerly reentering normal life as a rookie Boston detective after escaping a serial killer as a teenager when a 12-year-old girl in her care disappears (40,000-copy first printing). In Tracy's Deep into the Dark, a series launch, LAPD Detective Margaret Nolan doesn't believe that emotionally shattered Afghanistan war vet Sam Easton is responsible for a murder and joins forces with him to find the culprit. A winner of Bram Stoker and British Fantasy awards, Tremblay stretches the imagination in The Little Sleep with a South Boston private detective who suffers from narcolepsy-induced hypnagogic hallucinations that may include reality talent show star Jennifer Times trying to hire him to retrieve her stolen fingers.

Library Journal

Narrator Rachel Atkins describes the darkening world of rising fascism in which the Mitford sisters grew up. When newlywed Louisa goes on a cruise as a lady’s maid to Diana, Unity, and their mother, listeners will clearly envision the surroundings of both the upper-class characters and their servants. The surprise visit Louisa receives from her husband, Detective Sergeant Guy Sullivan, turns into a working holiday when a murder occurs onboard the ship. Atkins succeeds in portraying the sinister Nazis and the equally nefarious English followers of fascist Oswald Mosley. She clearly expresses the frequent internal monologues by Louisa and Guy. Listeners stay right with them. V.M.G. © AudioFile 2021, Portland, Maine

MARCH 2021 - AudioFile