Murder at Madingley Grange, published in 1990, is a standalone book, and very different from the Barnaby series, with much more humor, and not intended to be taken so seriously.
Madingley Grange is the perfect setting for a 1930s murder mystery weekend; thus Simon Hannaford plots to convince his half-sister, Laurie, to let him use their Aunt Maude's home for a money-making scheme while their aunt is away on vacation. Laurie agrees, reluctantly, and the planning begins. Simon hires a butler and maid for the weekend, advertises for guests, and rents costumes. Felony & Mayhem, publisher of the edition I read, describes this novel as a "wonderful, hilarious satire of the country house mystery."
At first I had problems with some of the characters. Laurie is exceedingly shy and too innocent to be believed and behaves like a doormat. And I thought the humor was too over-the-top and not to my liking. But soon I was immersed in the story.
From beginning to end, this story was not at all what I thought it would be, but it turned out to be even better than expected. It was very clever mystery, where many of the characters are not what they seem. I was reminded of a Peter Dickinson style of plot, with many layers and hidden agendas and more than one twist.
To learn more about this book, see the review at Clothes in Books.
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Publisher: Felony & Mayhem, 2006 (orig. pub. 1990)
Length: 275 pages
Format: Trade paperback
Setting: UK
Genre: Country House Mystery
Source: On my TBR shelf for many years.
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