The Affair of the Bloodstained Egg Cosy
This is the first in a trilogy of Golden Age murder mysteries set in the elegant surroundings of Alderley House, home to the 12th Earl of Burford. The second in the series was reviewed in HNR 44, having been reissued by the publisher ahead of this. But no matter, for both books can be read a standalone tales. The Earl and Countess of Burford are hosting a Long Weekend party with a cast of quintessential 1920s-1930s characters. It is a fiendishly, perhaps bordering on ludicrously, plotted tale of murder, theft and false identity, and solved by the appropriately eccentric Inspector Wilkins. Good fun!
