Miss Beeton’s Murder Agency | Josie Lloyd
REVIEWED BY LINDA HILL
Alice Beeton runs a household management agency, but when she places Enya into the Messent family home, management turns to murder, mayhem and mystery!
Miss Beeton’s Murder Agency: book review & synopsis
Miss Beeton’s Murder Agency is fabulous. With its modern day London setting and Golden Age tone, the story is simply perfect for cosy crime and murder mystery lovers. Think an up-to-date Miss Marple mixed with Murder, She Wrote.
The story simply races along. It’s so well written as Josie Lloyd sets up what I hope will be an unstoppable series. There’s intrigue, subterfuge, hidden identity and superb twists and turns that are incredibly gripping and entertaining.
Of course the reader needs willingly to suspend their disbelief at some of the connections Alice and Jinx have and which help propel the fast paced plot, but this is part of the fun of the story. What I thought was simply perfect, was the way Josie Lloyd illustrates that crime fiction doesn’t have to be filled with visceral gore to be completely captivating and engrossing.
Alice Beeton is a joy to meet. It’s such a pleasure to have a protagonist on the “wrong side” of fifty and so many of her pithy thoughts echo exactly what the reader thinks too. She blends determination and strength with diffidence and uncertainty, so that when her loyalty to friends and her willingness to be just that little bit devious are added into her personality, she’s impossible not to love.
One of the elements that is so interesting is the way in which Alice is dismissed or ignored as she becomes invisible to those who perceive themselves to be socially superior. This is a story with a strong social conscience as well as an entertaining romp of a murder mystery.
Great characters, recipes and more!
The other characters are glorious too. The way in which the long departed Mrs Doulton is still very much a presence in the story, having obviously been a strong, intelligent woman is so cleverly done. Her wise advice permeates Alice’s thoughts and helps drive the story forward. I thought the vivacious Jinx was a wonderful contrast to the less glamorous Alice and I’m now desperate to encounter Detective Rugby in future stories.
In addition to a cracking story, Alice Beeton’s link to the famous Mrs Beeton ensures there are recipes sprinkled through the narrative as a sensational added bonus. This is a story that has the reader reaching for the mixing bowl and leaves them feeling rather hungry!
Miss Beeton’s Murder Agency is an absolute delight. Witty, pacy and, if I’m honest, just a little bit bonkers, it is fun and fabulous!
Miss Beeton’s Murder Agency by Josie Lloyd is out now (HQ, HB, £16.99) and available from Amazon.
Read more fiction reviews by Linda Hill including It’s Getting Hot In Here by Jane Costello, A Christmas In Prague by Helga Jensen, Edith Holler by Edward Carey, The Black Loch by Peter May, Rewitched by Lucy Jane Wood and Small Bomb At Dimperley by Lissa Evans.
