Murder at the Spring Ball by Benedict Brown (Lord Edgington Investigates Book One)

 

Publication Date:

March 1, 2021

Genre:

Cozy Mystery

Length:  231 pages

Series: Lord Edgington Investigates

Book description courtesy of Goodreads

A little music, a little dancing, a little murder at the spring ball.
England, 1925. After years shut away from the world, former detective Lord Edgington of Cranley Hall plans a grand ball to celebrate his seventy-fifth birthday.

But when someone starts bumping off members of his scheming family, the old man enlists his teenage grandson to help find the killer, before one of them is next.

The mismatched duo must pick the culprit from a gaggle of preening playboys, scatter-brained spinsters and irate inspectors in this Agatha-Christie-style whodunnit that will have you racing to spot the killer.

My Thoughts

I had already read the first Christmas book in the series and wanted to go back and start the first book. It sets the stage for Lord Edgington and his grandson Christopher's relationship and how it begins. Lord Edgington has been a recluse and missing his deceased wife and when he finally decides to live again he wants to celebrate with a ball, putting his grandson in charge of things. Flattered but unsure of himself, Christopher tackles it to the best of his ability and learns to become more independent. He also discovers his talent for sleuthing when two family members are murdered and he and his grandfather work to find out who wants them dead before it happens to all of the family.

I enjoyed the story between the two men as I did in the Christmas book. I also like the author and his back story. So I will continue with the series and plan to read his spinoff, Lord Edgington Investigates Abroad....where they go to exotic locations and murders occur! I also want to start his other series, Marius Quinn Mysteries. Having said that though....this story was a little far fetched for me. I enjoyed it and I like the characters but the plot was kind of over the top to be believable and the murderer's story a little out there too. I can't say a lot because of spoilers but let's just say I wasn't completely sold. So I'm glad I'd read the other one first or I might not have been attached enough to continue. 

I'll just chalk this up to a debut novel and that maybe it just won't be my favorite of the series. I always like to continue and see if I'm still hooked. The covers are gorgeous, the historical cozy vibe is done well, and Lord Edgington clearly has a back story all his own that is slowly being revealed. His children and their offspring are a hot mess and will be great for more stories going forward. Descriptions of the mansion and Christopher's awkwardness are charming and you can't help but love the way Brown depicts him....sweet, innocent, but smart, and hard working. 

This is a great series if you love strong male leads, family loyalty, and the 1920's cozy mystery feel along with the formality of nobility and manners. 

20 Books of Summer Reading Challenge

 

I'm very excited to be joining this challenge!  I didn't do the best my first time in another challenge about reading during the summer but that's okay. No pressure right?? I really like the "rules" because it makes me relax and focus on reading more books I already own. 

I decided to go through my Kindle and meticulously weed out all samples I know I will never read and to create my list from those books I have started and not finished but didn't DNF because I still want to finish them. Shockingly, I didn't have as many of those as I thought so I added a few books that I haven't started and put aside and want to try. Several are sequels, some are big books, and of course cozy mysteries. But all are a TBR pile that I need to finish or already own. I have also listed them in my preferred reading order but that might change. Currently I am reading Stormbird and listening to Murder at the Spring Ball. 

Here are the challenge rules. Head over to annabookbel.net  or click on the picture above if you want to join. Emma, from the blog, wordsandpeace.com is hosting too but the sign up Linky is on annabookbel.net

• The #20BooksofSummer2025 challenge runs from Sunday June 1st to Sunday August 31st
• The first rule of 20 Books is that there are no real rules, other than signing up for 10, 15 or 20 books and trying to read from your TBR.
• Pick your list in advance, or nominate a bookcase to read from, or pick at whim from your TBR.
• If you do pick a list, you can change it at any time – swap books in/out.
• Don’t get panicked at not reaching your target.
• Just enjoy a summer of great reading and make a bit of space on your shelves!

This is my list....no links as I'm short on time!

1. Stormbird  by Conn Iggulden

2. Murder at the Spring Ball  by Benedict Brown

3. The No. 1 Detective Agency  by Alexander McCall Smith

4. The Land Beyond the Sea  by Sharon Kay Penman (re-reading)

5. Bethlehem Road  by Anne Perry

6. Crouchback  by Sarah Woodbury

7. In a Dark Wood Wandering  by Hella S. Hasse

8. The Falcon of Palermo  by Maria R. Bordihin

9. Lord John and the Private Matter  by Diana Gabaldon (re-reading)

10.The Iron King  by Maurice Druon

11. Winter of the World  by Ken Follett

12. Here Be Dragons  by Sharon Kay Penman

13. The Sister Queens  by Mary McGrigor

14. The Enemy and Miss Innes  by Martha Keyes

15. The Summer Queen  by Elizabeth Chadwick

16. Blood Roses  by Kathryn Warner

17. Death of a Dishonorable Gentleman  by Tessa Arlen

18. The Man in the Brown Suit  by Agatha Christie

19. Murder at Everham Hall  by Benedict Brown

20. Murder at Rough Point  by Alyssa Maxwell

21. (if I am feeling ambitious...lol...Emma  by Jane Austen!)

Have you read any of these? What did you like? Dislike? I fully realize this list is ENORMOUS for me and has lots of big books too but I like variety. 

I am going to leave them in a TBR collection on my Kindle and bookshelves to inspire me to keep working through it. Everything else I own is brand new so this list is great for me to see I don't have nearly as many unfinished books as I thought. 

Happy Reading ya'll!