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MURDER AT HONEYCHURCH HALL
by Hannah Dennison
Minotaur Books, May 2014
291 pages
$24.99
ISBN: 1250007798


Buy in the UK | Buy in Canada

Hannah Dennison, who worked for an antiques dealer, spent her childhood in Devon, and whose mother bought a wing of an old manor house, has taken the old adage of "write what you know" to heart—and it shows, both in Dennison's apt descriptions of antiques and old houses and in her obvious love of the Devon countryside. But MURDER AT HONEYCHURCH HALL is far from an autobiographical tale. The protagonist, Kat Stanford, frequently finds herself thinking she's in the midst of a farce and, indeed, to some extent, she is.

This first novel in Dennison's latest series (she also writes the Vicky Hill mysteries) opens with Kat, having quit her job as a host of a popular TV program, learning that her recently widowed mother Iris has bought a carriage house on an estate in Devon. Since Kat had planned for her mother to be a partner in an antiques shop, she takes the news of the change in plans badly. And when she arrives at her mother's house to find her mother with a bruised face and broken arm living in what is basically a ruin and wearing pajama bottoms, a poncho, and penguin-head slippers, she's even more distressed. Add to that a dire warning about "evil" from a nanny who disappears, a little boy who thinks of himself as a fighter pilot—complete with goggles and scarf—a disheveled policeman, a housekeeper obsessed with designer shoes, and plenty of family bickering and sabotage, and you do, indeed, end up with some farcical situations. But you also have the set-up for a classic cozy with a few unexpected twists.

Somewhat reminiscent of the intrigues that run rampant upstairs and downstairs in Downton Abbey, this novel focuses on the owners of Honeychurch Hall and their servants, all of whom seem to be related in one way or another and who have served and been served by each other for years. That history breeds both loyalty and contempt and that, of course, leads to plenty of drama—and plenty of plot twists, especially when Kat and her mother appear on the scene. Iris herself, as Kat discovers, has some major secrets of her own that lead to her being a prime suspect in the murder case. Meanwhile, romantic troubles in and out of the family, as well as Kat's own struggles with her love life, add more subplots.

From ghosts and murder to nefarious plans, eccentric characters, and complicated relationships, there is plenty in this novel to keep the reader interested and the pages turning. While parts of it are easy to see through, it also delivers some nice surprises. And while Kat can seem a little too overbearing and quick to judgment when it comes to her mother, and her mother can be a little too infuriating and self-centered, their relationship mostly rings true, and Kat is presented as a strong, capable, practical woman who will be an interesting character to follow as the series continues, as will Iris, if she appears in future books.

§ Meredith Frazier, a writer with a background in English literature, lives in Dallas, Texas

Reviewed by Meredith Frazier, April 2014

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Contact: Yvonne Klein (ymk@reviewingtheevidence.com)


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