An Unmentionable Murder
This delightful cozy mystery, set in World War II rural England, is the latest in the author’s Manor House series. Elizabeth Compton, lady of the village manor house, has a heavy burden of responsibility. Not only does she have the duty of running the great house under trying wartime conditions, but the residents of Sitting Marsh depend on her for everything from a cheerful visit to solving crimes. If that wasn’t enough, her elderly butler goes missing, her American pilot friend is on a dangerous mission, and there’s that thief that makes off with women’s knickers from the village’s clotheslines. Soon, a body is discovered…
This is great entertainment: charming, at times amusing, but with a dose of reality that is just enough to emotionally involve the reader. It also stands as a marvelous look into the lives of ordinary English villagers, thrust into a new reality by the intrusion of the war. However, lest one grow too nostalgic for those days, the author reprints the actual wartime recipe for Lord Woolton Pie, a most abominable concoction even by the standards of English cuisine. Highly recommended for all mystery lovers.
