September 9, 2019
Set in 1912, the pseudonymous Casey’s solid first novel and series launch focuses on the plight of Lord and Lady Avebury, who are near financial ruin: the only way to save their beloved Yorkshire estate, Danby Hall, is for their shy, botanist son, Patrick, to marry Annabel Clarke, an American heiress. The Countess of Avebury invites Annabel and a host of distinguished guests to a grand weeklong event, which includes a garden party, archery, and croquet, and a masquerade ball to help seal the engagement. During a formal dinner, the fatal poisoning of a celebrated explorer upsets everyone at Danby Hall and threatens Patrick’s marriage prospects. Annabel’s American maid, Jane Hughes, befriends Lady Cecelia Bates, Patrick’s feisty 19-year-old sister, and together, with the help of Jane’s cat, Jack, they set out to solve the murder. Jack plays a key role in the mystery’s resolution. Casey portrays an appealing aristocratic world, though some readers will struggle to keep track of the large cast of lords and ladies. Downton Abbey fans will look forward to the sequel. Agent: Gail Fortune, Talbot Fortune Agency.
September 15, 2019
An unconventional debutante enlists the help of a lady's maid and a cat to solve a murder. Time has taken its toll on Danby Hall and its inhabitants. Emmaline, Lady Avebury, launches a desperate plan to save the family home. She hopes to arrange a marriage between her son, Patrick, and Annabel Clarke, an heiress from San Francisco. Against all odds, beautiful, vivacious Annabel seems charmed by the reclusive Patrick. After a long series of teas, garden parties, and dinners, Lady Avebury hopes their engagement will be announced at the upcoming masked ball. But disaster strikes. At a formal dinner preceding the ball, handsome new footman Jesse Fellows offers world traveler Richard Hayes a dish that causes him to become violently ill and fall down dead. Chief Inspector Hennesy is suspicious of Patrick, who keeps a variety of toxins in his botanical laboratory. So Patrick's sister, Lady Cecilia Bates, who's just completed her first season out without making an engagement, enters the fray. She forms an unlikely friendship with Annabel's maid, Jane Hughes, fueled by their shared affection for Jack, Jane's cat. With Jane as her eyes and ears, Lady Cecilia tracks the complex world downstairs, including the elusive Fellows, housemaid Rose and her suitor, Paul, and stern butler Redvers. But Cecilia, knowing that wealth and class are no barrier to murder, keeps an equally close eye on those upstairs as well. Agatha Christie meets Jane Austen in a promising series debut.
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October 15, 2019
The Bates family plans a lavish house party at Danby Hall, hoping to impress Annabel Clarke, the American heiress whom Lady Avebury hopes will marry her botanist son, Patrick, and infuse cash into the family's dwindling coffers. Unfortunately, a guest dies violently at dinner, and it is determined he was poisoned, with Annabel insisting the poison was meant for her. Nineteen-year-old Lady Cecilia, determined to save her home and protect her brother, who becomes the chief suspect in the murder due to his interest in medicinal plants, investigates with the help of Jane, Annabel's maid, and Jane's precocious cat. With Cecilia subtly interviewing the guests and eavesdropping on occasion, and Jane talking to the servants, the two piece together the clues and identify the murderer. The lovingly detailed 1912 English setting frames a satisfying cozy full of plot twists and the developing warm friendship between Cecilia and Jane, intelligent young women, both of whom want more from their sheltered lives. A final twist will leave readers eagerly awaiting a sequel. A good bet for Downton Abbey fans.(Reprinted with permission of Booklist, copyright 2019, American Library Association.)
June 1, 2019
A pseudonymous RITA winner launches the "Manor Cat Mystery" series with the family of Lady Cecilia Bates fretting that they'll lose Danby Hall as agricultural depression sweeps 1912 England. Cecelia's parents hope that her brother will marry American heiress Annabel Clarke, arranging a splashy party upon Annabel's arrival at Danby Hall. Then a partygoer dies after drinking from a poisoned cup meant for the guest of honor, and Cecilia; Annabel's maid, Jane; and Jane's finicky-smart cat, Jack, join to solve the crime.
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