The Mitford Vanishing: A Mitford Murders Mystery

by Jessica Fellowes

Overview

A mystery with the fascinating Mitford sisters at its heart, Jessica Fellowes's The Mitford Vanishing is the fifth installment in the Mitford Murders series, inspired by a real-life murder in a story full of intrigue…

“Downton Abbey meets Agatha Christie in this witty and twisty mystery.” —In Touch Weekly on The Mitford Murders

1937. War with Germany is dawning, and a civil war already rages in Spain. Split across political lines, the six Mitford sisters are more divided than ever. Meanwhile their former maid Louisa Cannon is now a private detective, working with her policeman husband Guy Sullivan.

Louisa and Guy are surprised when a call comes in from novelist Nancy Mitford requesting that they look into the disappearance of her Communist sister Jessica in Spain. But one case leads to another as they are also asked to investigate the mysterious vanishing of a soldier.

As the two cases come together, Louisa and Guy discover that every marriage has its secrets—but some are more deadly than others. Suddenly home feels a long way away...

Product Details

ISBN-13:	9781250819208
Publisher:	St. Martin's Publishing Group
Publication date:	01/18/2022
Series:	Mitford Murders Series , #5
Pages:	416
Product dimensions:	9.40(w) x 6.20(h) x 1.30(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 director 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

11/08/2021

Set in 1937, Fellowes’s cleverly plotted fifth mystery featuring the real-life Mitford family (after 2020’s The Mitford Trial) deepens the personality of series lead Louisa Cannon. Louisa, who was once a servant in the Mitford household, has come up in the world. She’s married her beau, former Scotland Yard inspector Guy Sullivan, and the couple have opened Cannon & Sullivan, a London detective agency. Business is slow, until the Mitford parents ask Louisa and Guy to help find their 19-year-old daughter, Jessica, known as Decca, who has disappeared. Decca told her parents she was traveling to Dieppe, France, to visit friends, but the older Mitfords have since learned that Decca lied about her plans. Meanwhile, Louisa and Guy get another client searching for a loved one when Julia Attwood consults them about her sister, Petunia, who hasn’t been heard from for three weeks. The PIs fear foul play after learning that Petunia alleged fraud at the insurance company she worked for as a secretary. Fellowes has plausibly transformed Louisa from amateur to professional sleuth. Maisie Dobbs fans will be pleased. Agent: Caroline Michel, Peters Fraser and Dunlop (U.K.). (Jan.)

Publishers Weekly

"Fellowes's cleverly plotted fifth mystery featuring the real life Mitford family deepens the personality of series lead Louise Cannon. Fellowes has plausibly transformed Louisa from amateur to professional sleuth. Maisie Dobbs fans will be pleased."—Publishers Weekly

"A fascinating story based on real people and places."—Kirkus Reviews

"A twisty plot and premise sure you hook you in."—Book Riot, "The Most Anticipated Historical Fiction Reads in the First Half of 2022"

"The author skillfully weaves a second disappearance into this cleverly plotted mystery, and a surprise into its resolution."—Historical Novel Society

Praise for the Mitford Murders mysteries:

“With nearly as much period detail as an episode of "Downton [Abbey]," this delightful romp satisfies like a cup of strong nursery tea accompanied by a Battenburg cake.”—The Washington Post on The Mitford Murders

"A real murder, a real family and a brand new crime fiction heroine are woven together to make a fascinating, and highly enjoyable, read. I loved it." —Julian Fellowes, creator and writer of Downton Abbey and Belgravia on The Mitford Murders

"Exactly the sort of book you might enjoy with the fire blazing, the snow falling etc. The solution is neat and the writing always enjoyable." —Anthony Horowitz, New York Times bestselling author of Magpie Murders on The Mitford Murders

"True and glorious indulgence. A dazzling example of a golden age mystery." —Daisy Goodwin, author of Victoria and The American Heiress on The Mitford Murders

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

"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" on The Mitford Trial

"A richly detailed period piece. . .[A] deft weaving of historical fact and imagined intrigue." - Kirkus on The Mitford Scandal

“Fellowes excels at depicting the inherent tensions between the upper classes and their servants.”—Publishers Weekly on Bright Young Dead

“Fellowes captures the style and frenetic energy or the ‘bright young things’ of the upper class in the Roaring Twenties. The characters are engaging, and the story’s historical basis makes it ring true. Fans of Downton Abbey and mysteries by Jacqueline Winspear will enjoy this classic mystery.”—Library Journal on Bright Young Dead

From the Publisher

08/01/2021

In this latest in Fellowes's series featuring the Mitford sisters, former Mitford maid Louisa Cannon has become a private investigator, working with policeman husband Guy Sullivan. A call from Nancy Mitford, concerned that Communist sister Jessica has disappeared in civil war-shattered Spain, leads Louisa to yet another case: a soldier has also disappeared. With a 50,000-copy first printing.

Library Journal

2021-10-27
A fifth dose of murder involving the Mitford family carries a maid-turned-detective from London to the Continent in the middle of the Spanish Civil War.

It's 1937. Having proven her worth in solving a number of mysteries, Louisa Cannon, who once worked as a maid for the notorious Mitford family, is married to a former police detective with whom she’s partnered in a detective agency. In that capacity, she receives a note from Nancy Mitford begging for help in finding her sister Jessica, aka Decca. The political leanings of the family range from fascists and Nazis to Decca, who claims to be a communist. She’s supposed to be vacationing in France, but none of her friends and relatives know where she is. In addition, Louisa takes on the case of Petunia Attwood, a missing woman who was involved in a dispute at work. The police have no interest in looking for an adult woman, but Louisa fears she may be in trouble. The man Petunia crossed swords with at work is also missing, and his downtrodden wife seems glad he’s gone. At length Louisa discovers that Decca has run off with her communist cousin Esmond Romilly, who’s been in Spain and plans to return there. The detecting duo travel back and forth as go-betweens for the family while Louisa becomes more deeply involved in a possible murder closer to home and several missing persons whose fates also involve the war in Spain.

A fascinating story based on real people and places.

Kirkus Reviews