Thank you TCL BookTours, Kensington Books, #partner, for the finished copy of A Trace of Poison in exchange for my honest review. I borrowed the audiobook from the library.
Publisher: Kensington Books / Highbridge
Published: October 25, 2022
Summary:
In England’s stately manor houses, murder is not generally a topic for polite conversation. Mallowan Hall, home to Agatha Christie and her husband, Max, is the exception. And housekeeper Phyllida Bright delights in discussing gory plot details with her friend and employer . . .
The neighboring village of Listleigh has also become a hub of grisly goings-on, thanks to a Murder Fête organized to benefit a local orphanage. Members of The Detection Club—a group of celebrated authors such as G. K. Chesterton, Dorothy L. Sayers, and Agatha herself—will congregate for charitable events, including a writing contest for aspiring authors. The winner gets an international publishing contract, and entrants have gathered for a cocktail party—managed by the inimitable Phyllida—when murder strikes too close even for her comfort.
It seems the victim imbibed a poisoned cocktail intended for Alastair Whittlesby, president of the local writers’ club. The insufferable Whittlesby is thought to be a shoo-in for the prize, and ambition is certainly a worthy motive. But narrowing down these suspects could leave even Phyllida’s favorite fictional detective, M. Poirot, twirling his mustache in frustration.
My thoughts:
This is the second book in Colleen Cambridge’s Phyllida Bright Mystery series and I am quite enjoying this series. I love that we have Agatha Christie’s housekeeper as an amateur sleuth, with some cameo appearances from Agatha Christie herself!
What I love about these books, much like the books by Agatha Christie herself, is that they are perfectly plotted with plenty of twists and turns and some red herrings along the way! This time around, we have a group of writers gathering together for the Murder Fete, and I loved that as it certainly added another layer to the mix. Is that why the president of the writers’ club was targeted?
As in the previous book, Phyllida feels that the local police aren’t quite doing the most adequate of jobs when it comes to investigating the death, so she takes it upon herself to get things moving. I just love her moxie and how she relies on all her has learned from her conversations with her beloved employer.
This continues to be a fun series and will be reading the next book soon!
Audio thoughts:
I decided to listen to this one and just loved the way the narrator, Jennifer M Dixon, brought the characters to life. It was an easy book to lose myself in and I think it’s the way I will go with the rest of the books in the series.
Books in series:
- Murder at Mallowan Hall
- A Trace of Poison
- Murder by Invitation Only
