MURDER AT THE MANSIONS is the seventh book in Sara Rosett’s “1920s High Society Lady Detective” cozy mystery series featuring lady detective Olive Belgrave. Olive has recently moved into the stylish South Regent Mansions. This story finds the sinister in the everyday. South Regent Mansions is now home for Olive, and she sees her innocuous neighbors regularly in some way or another, but she soon finds suspicious behavior and surprising motives for murder. When Olive’s friend and neighbor Minerva hires Olive to investigate what she thinks was a foot from a dead body rolled up in some carpeting in the hallway, something previously unthinkable turns very real very quickly.
The hint of a dead body displayed in such a casual way while carelessly concealed, makes me think of some of my favorite Alfred Hitchcock films. There is a macabre humor mixed in with the murder mystery. Although South Regent Mansions is an apartment building, Sara Rosett imbues it with as much character as any deliciously gothic haunted house. The building and its residents are explored thoroughly by Olive, Minerva, and Olive’s dashing partner in detection, Jasper. I was initially stumped with how the sleuths would start their investigation and figure chase a phantom corpse. They begin from a perspective of practicality and try to figure out how a body hidden in a carpet would be transported. The building, much like Olive’s neighbors have secrets. The snooping around South Regent Mansions yields a lot of info, but not all the action takes place there. Olive hunts down clues and verifies alibis in her spiffy car and by train. This story has many elements that cozy mystery readers love, but as the story progresses, the sense of danger and urgency increase. There is a moment near the end when both the reader and Olive, as the sleuth, seem to grasp the true horror of what happened at the same moment. For me, that’s an example of great storytelling, when the reader becomes invested in the story and empathetic with the characters. Jasper is a fun and charming romantic and investigative partner for Olive. I like that he’s never condescending or tries to tell Olive what to do. He’s good to have as backup, and entertaining to have on a journey.
MURDER AT THE MANSIONS has a determined lady sleuth set on exposing a murderer who is rotten to the core. The apartment tenants make fab supporting characters. Each suspect is believable as an innocent ordinary citizen, but Sara Rosett does a good job of casting just enough doubt to make you wonder. As a fan of Golden Age mysteries, I enjoyed the various nods to classic mysteries – both fictional and true crime. I look forward to Sara Rosett’s next 1920s mystery.
South Regent Mansions has all the modern conveniences . . . including murder
London, February, 1924. Discreet sleuth for the high society set, Olive Belgrave is delighted with her new flat at South Regent Mansions where she's made several friends, including the modern career woman, Minerva, who draws a popular cartoon about a flapper for a London newspaper.
But then Minerva comes to Olive for help after catching a glimpse of a disturbing sight-a dead body. At least, that's what Minerva thought she saw, but there's not a dead body anywhere in the posh building, and the residents are continuing with their lives as they normally do. Is Minerva seeing things? Is she barmy? Or is there a more sinister explanation?
To help restore Minerva's peace of mind, Olive investigates her neighbors. They include: society's "it" girl of the moment, an accountant with a fondness for gadgets, a snooty society matron, and a school teacher turned bridge instructor. Olive uncovers rivalries, clandestine affairs, and hidden jealousies. With dashing Jasper at her side, Olive must discover whose secret is worth killing for.
If you like sophisticated whodunits, charming characters, and novels with a lighthearted tone, you'll enjoy the seventh installment of the High Society Lady Detective series, Murder at the Mansions, from USA Today bestselling author, Sara Rosett.
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