Death and the Singing Birds
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- £7.99
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- £7.99
Publisher Description
A summer festival ends in disaster for chef sleuth Nell Drury in this gripping historical mystery full of dark secrets, disturbing discoveries and page-turning twists.
1926, Kent. Chef Nell Drury is busy with preparations for Lady Ansley’s luncheon to welcome Wychbourne Court’s new neighbours, Sir Gilbert and Lady Saddler. The couple’s arrival has led to much rumour and intrigue swirling around the village, particularly with regards to the mysterious Lady Saddler.
Sir Gilbert belongs to a new artistic movement, the Artistes de Cler, and is organizing a summer festival in the grounds of Spitalfrith Manor, where the Clerries will gather to reveal their Africa-inspired paintings. The whole village is invited and buzzing with excitement. But at the festival itself, Nell witnesses some strange and disturbing events, and when a terrible discovery is made the following day, she is horrified to learn that Lord Ansley’s valet has been arrested. Can Nell clear his name while also confronting a face from the past?
PUBLISHERS WEEKLY
Set in 1926 England, Myers's uneven third Nell Drury mystery (after 2019's Death at the Wychbourne Follies) finds Nell, the chef at Wychbourne Court, preparing a luncheon for two guests, Sir Gilbert and Lady Saddler, who recently moved into nearby Spitalfrith Manor. During the awkward meal, Sir Gilbert says he's hoping to hold an art festival at Spitalfirth in two weeks. The festival does take place, but it's marred by the discovery of a dead body. When the valet of Lord Ansley, Nell's employer, is arrested for murder, Nell does some sleuthing to try to exonerate the valet before Scotland Yard Det. Chief Insp. Alexander Melbray arrives on the scene. Myers does a good job presenting the prevailing social mores and creating convincing characters, but she injects some jarring cozy elements into the plot, which involves shell-shocked WWI veterans and German collaborators, and the ending disappoints. Newcomers should start with the first in the series.
