Mydworth Mysteries – London Calling! by Matthew Costello

Barbara’s rating: 4 of 5 stars

Series: Mydworth Mysteries #3
Publication Date: 11/29/19

Another interesting mystery has now become a part of the Mydworth Mysteries series. This time, our intrepid investigators Kat Reilly and Sir Harry Mortimer are looking for a runaway girl – well, since she’s twenty-one, I guess she’s a runaway woman.

Lizzie Spence has been taking dancing lessons for years and years – and there is a talent agent who keeps telling her how good she is – he tells her she is a natural. The agent tells her that he can get her auditions and will set everything up for her – all she has to do it get to London for the auditions. Since Lizzie knows her parents would never approve, she decides to sneak off to London and leave her parents a note explaining.

“I’m running away from home, she thought. Me! Timid little Lizzie. Lizzie in the
corner, Lizzie head down, Lizzie never say “boo” to a goose? Nobody will believe
it!”

When they haven’t heard from Lizzie in several weeks, Glenys Spence, Lizzie’s mother, approached Nicola Green of the WVS (Women’s Voluntary Service) to ask for assistance in assuring that her daughter was safe. She’s not asking them to bring her home, just to assure that she is safe. Nicola, of course, asks Kat and Sir Harry to investigate.

Their investigation naturally begins in Mydworth at the dance class and rapidly shifts to London where they enlist the help of several friends – particularly Alfie who was Harry’s batman during the war. Alfie has many contacts – including many among the less than law-abiding citizens of London. Kat and Harry query their upper-crust friends while Alfie works his underworld contacts and it isn’t long before they realize what a mess Lizzy has gotten herself into.

It will take all of their wiles and a lot of skill and luck to rescue Lizzie. Can they do it? You’ll just have to read this fun tale for yourself to find out.

The book is filled with banter (like Nick and Nora Charles), quick wit, cunning and, of course, the romance between Sir Harry and Kat. I definitely recommend this book and this series.

Series: Mydworth Mysteries #2
Publication Date: 9/30/19
Number of Pages: 119

American Kat Reilly and Brit Sir Harry Mortimer are beginning to settle into their new life together in Mydworth. Kat is still a bit concerned that life in the quiet English countryside will be too quiet – especially since she’s not too fond of afternoon teas and other gentrified activities. Luckily, they’ve managed to keep busy with some local investigations – so maybe things won’t be too dull.

As much as Kat loved spending time admiring Harry working on his old motorbike that had been in storage since the war, she was really happy when their new phone rang. Nicola Green, from the WVS (Women’s Voluntary Service), was calling to ask Kat and Harry to stop by her office because she needed to speak with them.

The mother of a young poacher, Syd Buckman, doesn’t believe that her son died in an accident. Yes, the police have ruled that it was an accident, but she just doesn’t believe it. Her son was too good with guns to make such a rudimentary mistake. So, she approached Nicola and asked for her help and advice. Nicola, in turn, contacted Kat and Harry because of their reputations for solving mysteries.

At first, Kat and Harry were inclined to believe it really was an accident – but the more they learned, the more they became sure that Syd’s death wasn’t accidental. Why would anyone want to kill the young man? There are plenty of potential suspects around – other poachers, the owner of the land on which he was poaching, the land steward, a friend with whom he’d had an argument, even his father.

The investigation continues apace and leads in many directions – until at last, the final clues are revealed and the murder is finally solved.

I am really enjoying this series that reminds me a bit of the old Thin Man movies with the lighthearted banter between Kat and Harry – except Kat is more of a fully participating partner than Nora was in the movies. Definitely an entertaining read!