If you love a cozy mystery housed in a historical fiction tale set in England, I have a recommendation for you. Murder at a London Finishing School by Jessica Elliott takes her readers back to the end of World War I with the hovering threat of another war. The former teacher of Beryl Helliwell and Edwina Davenport, Miss Dupont, runs the school and becomes concerned about who she can trust. She sends for the two women who have established a detective team since their years at her Finishing School for Young Ladies. The school has lost status since its heyday when they were enrolled and current happenings have added to loss of enrollment. Strange noises at night may indicate that the school is haunted or that a sinister person is afoot. In addition, items regularly go missing from current student rooms.
Both Beryl and Edwina have their own reasons for reluctance to leave Walmsley Parva, where they have established their reputation as sleuths, to go to London. Yet, they still care for their old teacher. With a cover story that they are checking the school out as a possible place for Beryl’s goddaughter, they arrive to investigate the strange night noises and missing items from current students’ rooms.
They are surprised when Veronica Delisle, their nemesis from bygone days, shows up and is also looking into the possibility of a school for her daughter. Complicating the scene are Veronica’s current and former husbands. Then Veronica is found dead in the grotto. Did she accidentally slip and fall or is there foul play? Suspects abound. Joining the husbands are the gardener, a long time strict teacher at the school, and even Miss DuPont herself.
The book is a good light read, a relaxing pastime with no attempt to make you better informed or a better person. I read it in an advance reading copy furnished by Net Galley. It will be out July 25 and is available for preorder.