Murder by Invitation Only by Colleen Cambridge Series: Phyllida Bright Mystery #3
Published by Kensington Books on September 26, 2023
Genres: Historical Mystery
Pages: 272
Format: eBook
Source: Library
Goodreads
Amazon, Audible, Libro.fm, Barnes & Noble, Apple
“A murder will occur tonight at Beecham House . . .” Who could resist such a compelling invitation? Of course, the murder in question purports to be a party game, and Phyllida looks forward to using some of the deductive skills she has acquired thanks to her employer, Mrs. Agatha, who is unable to attend in person.
The hosts, Mr. and Mrs. Wokesley, are new to the area, and Phyllida gladly offers their own overwhelmed housekeeper some guidance while events get underway. Family friends have been enlisted to play the suspects, and Mr. Wokesley excels in his role of dead body. Unfortunately, when the game’s solution is about to be unveiled, the participants discover that life has imitated art. Mr. Wokesley really is dead!
In the absence of Inspector Cork, Phyllida takes temporary charge of the investigation, guiding the local constable through interviews with the Murder Game actors. At first, there seems no motive to want Mr. Wokesley dead . . . but then Phyllida begins to connect each of the suspects with the roles they played and the motives assigned to them. It soon becomes clear that everyone had a reason to murder their host—both in the game and in real life. Before long, Phyllida is embroiled in a fiendishly puzzling case, with a killer who refuses to play by the rules . . .
The Christies are away, the new vacuum cleaner is in route, the maids are love crazy over the new valet, and a mysterious invitation to a murder is delivered to Mallowan Hall. Phyllida soon discovers that someone is not playing games when the corpse at the party turns out to be truly dead. Colleen Cambridge’s Phyllida Bright mysteries seem to get better and better each new installment.
Murder by Invitation Only is the third in a 1930s era historical cozy mystery series. The mysteries are all standalone, but the ongoing development of characters and relationships makes them best when they follow each other in order.
I’ve enjoyed throughout this series how there are several little Easter eggs tucked in hinting at plots for Agatha Christie’s books and also having Agatha Christie and her husband Max as minor characters in an otherwise fictitious plot. Phyllida Bright and her circle of below stairs fellow staff and some of the villagers make up the prominent ongoing cast. The acrimony between Phyllida with Dobble the butler, her masterful leadership of the household, and her ongoing mutual sarcastic encounters with Bradford the chauffeur all make for fun times even while a murder needs solving.
Phyllida seems to be a murder magnet. She is now in the close vicinity of a corpse for the third time. Each encounter leaves her better prepared and more skilled at her amateur investigations. This time, a storm and a knocked out bridge keep Scotland Yard from arriving on time so Phyllida tugs up her garters and steps in to not only assist (cough, ahem) the constable, but give the staff in the deceased’s home a well-needed boot up the bum. Murder is no excuse for dull furniture or late tea.
Either I’ve finally gotten adjusted to Phyllida’s top-lofty ways or she was toned down a bit so I was not irritated by her know-it-all superiority and could simply appreciate an efficient woman get to the bottom of things in a house full of suspects who slowly divulge what they know and how each has a motive for killing off Wokesley. I cottoned to the solution right away and the why not long after when certain things came out in the witness interviews, but that didn’t take away from my enjoyment of the story.
In the previous book, I was a little disappointed not to get any hints as to the mystery of Phyllida’s past or even that of Bradford. This was not the case in Murder by Invitation Only. No full disclosures happened, mind, but there were some pretty big hints and I can’t wait to see if I’m right as the series progresses.
All in all, this was my favorite of the series so far and I’m now caught up on the series and must eagerly anticipate the newest release. I recommend this to those who enjoy historical cozy mysteries and particularly the ‘upstairs-downstairs’ array of characters.
About Colleen Cambridge
Colleen Gleason (aka Colleen Cambridge, C.M. Gleason, and Alex Mandon) is a New York Times and USA Today bestselling and award-winning author who can’t seem to decide what type of book to write…so she writes a lot of different genres!
So far, Colleen has written everything from vampire hunters to dystopian romance, to steampunk, historical romance, and mysteries with a supernatural flair or a historical setting. One element, however, that appears in all of her stories, is that of partnership…whether it be professional, romantic, or both.
All of Colleen’s books feature strong heroines experiencing fast-paced adventures, danger, mystery, and of course, romance. But at the core of each story is the belief that every woman deserves a partner who accepts her for her strengths as well as her weaknesses—and vice versa.
Colleen lives in the midwest United States with her family and two dogs, and is always working on her next book.
As a lifelong reader, it was inevitable that Sophia would discover book blogs and the joy of blog reviewing.Sophia is a prolific reader and audiobook listener which allows her to experience so many wonderful books, authors, and narrators.Few genres are outside her reading tastes, but her true love is fiction particularly history, mystery, sci-fi, and romance.Though, sorry, no horror or she will run like Shaggy and Scooby.
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This sounds very fun! Makes me want to hurry and read it without reading the others in this series first.
It was a fun country house party mystery. LOL, you could get away with one out of order with this one. 🙂
This sounds like your kind of story. Glad it was good for you.
Oh yeah, this was all me, Mary. 🙂
Happy to hear the series is even better as it goes along! I love the premise! I must look it up!
Yes, it just took me extra time to connect with this series, but I love it now. 🙂
I may need to check out book 1
Glad to tempt you in, Carole. 🙂