Publication: 27th June 2024 – Storm Publishing
When intrepid reporter Abigail Dixon swaps Paris for an English manor to cover the wedding of the year, she expects afternoon tea on the lawn and cocktails in the drawing room, not a man lying dead in a stream and a woman strangled by her own silk stockings.
Spring 1925. Abigail Dixon arrives in Somerset to report on the high-society wedding of an American car tycoon’s son and an English aristocrat’s daughter. But when a man is murdered on a trout-fishing expedition, and with the quaint village abuzz with gossip of a local woman discovered dead in London, Abigail quickly finds herself entangled in a web of murder and scandal.
As she investigates, Abigail unearths some dark secrets lurking within Darrington Manor and clues linking the two murders. From the lovelorn estate manager to a tight-lipped butler and local mechanic with an axe to grind, everyone is a possible suspect.
Determined to expose the culprit, and with danger lurking at every turn, can Abigail unveil the truth before the ‘wedding of the year’ becomes the obituary column?
Fans of Agatha Christie and Downton Abbey will devour this page-turning 1920s whodunit brimming with twists, red herrings, and charming period detail.
I am a big fan of 1920s historical mystery novels and I think I’ve found a new favourite in the Abigail Dixon series by Nancy Warren. The protagonist of this series is a twenty-something American journalist expatriated to Paris to work for the Chicago International Post. Abigail dreams of being an investigative reporter, but her editor wants her to write for the women’s section about society and fashion. Her latest assignment takes her to Somerset to cover the wedding between the daughter of a duke and the son of an American car magnate. Abigail expects a week of dull festivities and writing about food and wedding clothes, not a series of mysterious and unfortunate “accidents” followed by the murder of one of the guests. Who would have wanted the victim dead? Is there a killer among the residents of Darrington Manor? And is this murder linked to the death in London of a former maid a week before? Abigail has every intention to find out.
I haven’t read the first book in the series, yet, so I can tell you that it can be easily read as a stand-alone. The story is very well-written and developed and the characters are quite intriguing. Abigail is not interested in writing about weddings and fashion and she doesn’t let her editor’s objections stop her from reporting a murder. She involves herself in the investigation and teams up with Inspector Henri Dechamps (who she first met in the first book and is a guest at the wedding) to solve the murder. I enjoyed her relationship with her flatmate and close friend Vivianne who, in time of need, turns into a personal maid and informer for her and the appearance from fashion designer Coco Chanel.
Death at Darrington Manor is an immersive and enjoyable cozy mystery and I am looking forward to reading more of Abigail’s adventures!
A huge thank you to Storm Publishing and NetGalley for providing me with a proof of the novel.
Nancy’s a USA today bestselling author of more than 100 novels. Nancy’s originally from Vancouver, Canada but she tends to wander. When she’s not writing, she’s hiking, skiing, traveling or sipping wine. She’s appeared on the front page of the New York Times (when her book, Speed Dating launched Harlequin’s NASCAR series), has been a clue in a crossword puzzle (National Post, Canada) and she’s been a finalist for the RITA award three times, honored by Romantic Times Magazine. She started her career as a romance author but lately is best known for her quirky cozy mysteries like The Vampire Knitting Club.
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