Murder in an English glade

Early in Ellicott's delightful fourth 1920s mystery featuring American Beryl Helliwell and her English friend, Edwina Davenport (after 2020's Murder Comes to Call), the two proprietors of the Davenport and Helliwell Private Enquiry Agency are approached by Constance Maitland, of "an old, highly respected family" in Walmsley Parva, England. Mrs. Maitland says she suspects her sister-in-law is having an affair with a guest at an artists' colony she's hosting at her estate, Maitland Park. Beryl and Edwina agree to pose as guests, even though it soon becomes clear that their client wants them to conduct a sham investigation for her own nefarious purposes. When one of the guests at Maitland Park is strangled, the duo are in place to gain the confidences of household members in an effort to identify the killer. Shifting viewpoints move the plot briskly along right up to the surprising conclusion. Along the way, Ellicott does a good job conveying the fluidity of the British social order after WWI and how the paucity of men opened many opportunities for women. Downton Abbey lovers should be pleased. Agent: John Talbot, Talbot Fortune. (Nov.)

With some help from the help, Davenport and Helliwell Private Enquiry Agency scores another case. Neither Edwina Davenport nor her American partner, Beryl Helliwell, considers Constance Maitland's initial offer a plum. Constance, who shares a large fortune with Hubert, the brother who owns Maitland Cigarettes, wants to hire the lady sleuths not to solve an actual crime, but to pretend to investigate an imaginary illicit relationship between Hubert's wife, Ursula, and flamboyant artist Louis Langdon Beck. The point of the ruse is to pacify Constance's dotty cousin, Cressida, who insists without evidence that Ursula is cuckolding the much older Hubert. Little as Edwina and Beryl relish what they consider a pointless deception, they can see the wisdom of temporarily leaving their shared home since their housemaid, Beddoes, has recently threatened to leave their employment if Beryl doesn't stop trying to assist with the household chores. So they hurry off to Maitland Park, where Ursula is hosting an artists' colony while Cressida runs a Girl Guides jamboree. It's there that their pretend investigation runs smack into a real murder. Louis is found dead in the exact charming spot chosen for his plein air exercises. The police are called in, but their efforts just agitate the Maitland domestic staff. As the rumblings increase about how shameful it appears for them to work under police scrutiny, Constance pleads with Edwina and Beryl to abandon their fake investigation and just solve the doggone case. Plenty of shenanigans before domestic tranquility is restored. Copyright (c) Kirkus Reviews, used with permission.