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At last, I thought as I read the title! Finally, Lady Elizabeth and her American aviator, Earl Monroe are tying the knot, and we will all be spared her high school maundering which has been going on for eight books. Unfortunately, that was not to be. The wedding is of two of Sitting Marsh's older citizens, Priscilla Pierce and Captain Wally Carbunkle. An uninvited guest appears and is unfortunately found stabbed at the bottom of the cellar stairs. Suspicion immediately falls on one of the bridesmaids, Daphne, who it turns out was the wronged lover of the guest, and on her father who despised the man. Lady Elizabeth is not so sure that they are the culprits and sets out to find the real murderer. Her quest is hampered by the self-important but incompetent constable George and his mouthy sidekick, Sid. Both men were called out of retirement when the regular constables went off to war. They are enjoying their status but don't seem to know what to do with it. The most hilarious character is Rita Crumm, who believes that she should rightly be lady of the manor and not the daughter of a maidservant, as Lady Elizabeth is. Rita has bullied a group of women into a sort of auxiliary, the Housewives' League, a group prepared to fend off a Nazi invasion; however, clearly most of the members wish they were home in bed. Kingsbury is skilled in creating the atmosphere of wartime -- the rationing, the blackouts, the fear of spies and the worries about invasions by the Germans, not to mention the rumors of a secret invasion by America and England across the channel. The characters are a marvelous crew: although Lady Elizabeth is a bit over the top in her mooning about the major, the village comes to life as does Lady Elizabeth's bossy housekeeper Violet and her elderly butler Martin, who keeps seeing visions of the old owner of the manor. If you can ignore the treacle of Lady Elizabeth's passion, you will find this an engrossing mystery.
Reviewed by Mary Elizabeth Devine, February 2006
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Contact: Yvonne Klein (ymk@reviewingtheevidence.com)
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