Dear Diary,
Here we go. I am slowly but surely catching up on my Netgalley IOU list from 2021. This time it is the turn of 7th installment of A Lady and Lady’s Maid Mystery series by Alyssa Maxwell.
Even though A Deadly Endowment is the book 7 in the series, it is the second book of adventures by Lady Phoebe Renshaw and her lady’s maid Eva Huntford.
Set in 1920s England, in one of the most picturesque area – Cotswald, A Deadly Endowment is a journey into life of manor house, a village next to it and its inhabitants.
Yes, there is a murder, even 2. Yes, there is mystery and suspense. And yes, there are trials, errors, dangers and excitement of sleuthing. Moreover, there is very interesting dynamic of relationship between members of Renshaw family (brother and sisters and their grandparents), between upstairs and downstairs and between Renshaw household and ther rest of the village.
What I found very interesting is the narrative on English country manors either moving on with times or trying to stay stuck in the old ways of landed gentry. The very setting of the novel is just on that: Renshaw sisters decided to open their house for tours (to raise a bit of money as the income from farms have basically dried out). This idea came to an ubrupt halt because of the murder, but… Renshaw young generation are still set on moving on with times. However, some of their neighbours are not… Well, you’d have to read the book to find out for yourself.
All in all, A Deadly Endowment is a cozy, comfortable, interesting and fun read. It is out since the New Year’s Eve and is published by Kensington Books.
Svetlana Tishchenko 