MoonglotexasKa’s Review:
This is an enjoyable cosy mystery series, I love Edwina and Beryl, and the close friendship they share. However, this storyline was a bit of a stretch for me, it felt implausible.: too few pupils, too few suspects, my business brain just kept asking questions … some things just didn’t compute and detracted from the story for me.
Perhaps the next one will be back in the village with old Simpkins adding character and Edwina’s love interest making some progress. Guess we’ll just have to wait and see.
It was 3 out of 5 on the enjoyment scale.
Kel’s Review:
I find these two leading ladies just delightful and so enjoy joining them on their adventures. This time, they are off to their old finishing school which is in crisis. No sooner do they arrive and there is a murder!
If you have a business mindset, suspend it for the duration, the school’s plan to recover its status post-war is frightful! It distracted some from my enjoyment as I came up with alternative scenarios! That said, it’s a fun cosy and I’ll be looking for the next in the series!
It’s a three out of five on the enJOYment scale.
We received complimentary copies of the book from Kensington Books through NetGalley. Opinions expressed in these reviews are completely our own.
From the back cover:
Long before American adventuress Beryl Helliwell and prim and proper Brit Edwina Davenport teamed up as enquiry agents to solve mysteries, they attempted to unravel the mysteries of deportment and elocution. Now it’s back to school for the sleuths when murder strikes at their alma mater . . .
Neither Beryl nor Edwina are the least bit interested in attending events at their alma mater, Miss Dupont’s Finishing School for Young Ladies. Their lives are very full indeed in the village of Walmsley Parva. However, when a letter arrives from Miss Dupont herself requesting their help in a professional capacity, they reluctantly pack their bags for London.
Upon arrival, they learn from Miss Dupont that her business has seen a steep decline since the days before World War I and that now she is concerned a saboteur is attempting to damage the school’s reputation. Students have reported items missing, damaged possessions, and strange noises in the night. Some of the girls even insist ghostly forces are at play.
Then a former classmate of theirs and mother of a prospective student is found dead on the school grounds. The roll call of suspects is long, and if Beryl and Edwina are to have a ghost of a chance of solving the murder, they can’t rule out the possibility that Miss Dupont herself may have finished off the victim . . .
