Ratings7
Average rating3.4
As head of household for none other than Agatha Christie, Phyllida Bright finds her position includes polishing silver, serving luncheons...and drawing inspiration from the crime author's fictional detectives when mysterious deaths at Mallowan Hall baffle her famous employer... Tucked away among Devon's rolling green hills, Mallowan Hall combines the best of English tradition with the modern conveniences of 1930. Housekeeper Phyllida Bright manages the large household with an iron fist in her very elegant glove. In one respect, however, Mallowan Hall stands far apart from other picturesque country houses. For the manor is home to archaeologist Max Mallowan and his famous wife--Agatha Christie... Phyllida is both loyal to and protective of the crime writer, who is as much friend as employer. An aficionado of detective fiction, Phyllida has yet to find a gentleman in real life half as fascinating as Mrs. Agatha's Belgian hero, Hercule Poirot. But though accustomed to murder and its methods as frequent topics of conversation, Phyllida is unprepared for the sight of a very real, very dead body on the library floor... It soon becomes clear that the victim arrived at Mallowan Hall under false pretenses during a weekend party. And when another dead body is discovered--this time, one of her housemaids--Phyllida decides to follow in M. Poirot's footsteps to determine which of the Mallowans' guests is the killer. Now only Phyllida's wits will prevent her own story from coming to an abrupt end...
Featured Series
4 primary booksPhyllida Bright Mystery is a 4-book series with 4 primary works first released in 2021 with contributions by Colleen Cambridge.
Reviews with the most likes.
I like the character of Phyllida and that she can observe the upstairs and downstairs groups. I like that Agatha is a side character. The ending was a little believable and a little unbelievable. It kinda brought me out of the historical part of the story.
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This was such a fun read. Book one of a new historical mystery series with Agatha Christie as one of the main side characters. I really liked the twist of having the housekeeper Phyllida Bright be the chief detective, as apposed to Agatha herself. I also found it to be well written and well paced. The setting (Mallowan Hall) was lovely. The plot was engaging and kept me guessing right until the end. Phyllida is quite a likable main character (do I detect a little future bit of romance with the chauffeur?) And there are also plenty of intriguing and charming secondary characters. This was a solid start to this series and I can't wait to see what these characters get up to in the next book!
ARC Via NetGalley