ShortBookandScribes #BookReview – Miss Beeton’s Murder Agency by Josie Lloyd
Miss Beeton’s Murder Agency by Josie Lloyd will be published by HQ on 24th October 2024. My thanks to the publishers and Rachel Quin for the gorgeous blogger package.
Alice Beeton never meant to wind up single and childless on the wrong side of fifty. Like her distant relative Mrs Beeton – yes, that Mrs Beeton – she had hoped to have her own spic-and-span household by now. In reality, she lives in an immaculate but dingy basement flat in a rather shabby block in Kensington with Agatha, her fiercely intelligent, if rather over-territorial, corgi-Jack Russell cross.
Now Alice runs the Good Household Management Agency, providing discreet domestic staff to extravagant townhouses and sprawling country piles. So when Camille Messent calls in urgent need of a new housekeeper, Miss Beeton sends out new hire Enya. She’s rather forward but she does come with impeccable references and is fluent en français.
But in the early hours of New Year’s Day, Alice is rudely awakened with the news that Enya has been found dead. As the intriguing, if somewhat scruffy, Detective Rigby struggles to drum up an adequate investigation and the wealthy family and their party guests close rank, Miss Beeton takes it upon herself to solve the crime…
Alice Beeton runs the Good Household Management Agency which provides housekeepers, cleaners and other staff to those in need of them, and a jolly good job she does of it too, with her eye for detail and her two trusty colleagues, Jinx and Helly. I must mention her other trusty sidekick, her gorgeous little dog, Agatha (named after Agatha Christie).
Trouble comes along when Alice finds a position for Enya, a new person on her books, and very soon afterwards Enya is found dead. Alice turns into an unlikely detective, which rather messes up her orderly life but which also gives her a little thrill, which may be aided by the presence of Detective Rigby in her life.
I thought this was a delightful read. I don’t read a lot of cosy crime but this was an excellent example of the genre, firmly rooted in the modern day and yet with a hint of old-fashioned charm, helped along by the references to the main character’s ancestor, the famous Mrs Beeton. Recipes are scattered throughout the text too, a feature which I found so appealing.
The plot itself is rather clever and Miss Beeton turns out to be a very able and cunning detective. I loved all the characters, many of whom were Alice’s friends who stepped into the breach to assist her – there’s a real sense of camaraderie between them all. I think Agatha might just be the star of the show though!
I have a feeling this may turn out to be the start of a series and I’d definitely like to read more books featuring Alice, Jinx and Detective Rigby. I foresee many capers ahead. Although Miss Beeton’s Murder Agency is set partly at Christmas and New Year, it’s not overly Christmassy so would be a brilliant read for any time of the year.
Josie Lloyd‘s first novel, It Could Be You, was published in 1997 and since then she has written 15 bestselling novels, (under various pen names), including the number one hit Come Together, which she co-authored with her husband, Emlyn Rees, which was number one for 10 weeks, published in 27 languages and made into a Working Title film. Josie has also written several bestselling parodies with Emlyn, including We’re Going on a Bar Hunt, The Very Hungover Caterpillar and The Teenager Who Came to Tea.
