This time, the mystery to be solved for Lord Edington and his grandson Christopher Prentiss comes for a new direction – Christopher’s mother. A good friend, the mistress of Parham House, writes a letter asking for help. While the Elizabethan-era house is undergoing extensive renovation, and a team of experts are examining artifacts, paintings, and ancient weaponry, someone is moving things around. Sometimes artifacts disappear and reappear in another part of the house. A vase has been found smashed.
Lord Edgington quickly assembles his chauffeur, family, and attendants (including the cook), and off the family goes to Parham House. They begin interviewing the experts and household servants, but every promising lead goes exactly nowhere. Lord Edgington is convinced that the odd occurrences are masking something more nefarious. When the might watchman is murdered, his belief is confirmed.
But the 78-year-old lord does not seem at his sharpest and most incisive. Something seems definitely off, and it’s Christopher, now 19 years old, who becomes the lead investigator. His grandfather has trained him, and trained him well, for the previous four years, and it’s the investigation into the mysterious goings-on at Parham House that sees that training paying off.
 |
| Benedict Brown |
The Puzzle of Parham House is the 13th mystery novel in the Lord Edgington series by British author Benedict Brown, who’s also written several novellas and short stories featuring his celebrated detective. In keeping with several of the previous stories, the home, in this case Parham House, is actually a real building in west Sussex. Brown invites owners of grand estates to have their houses featured in his 1920s-era mysteries. (Parham House and Gardens is also open for tours and visits.)
In addition to the Lord Edgington stories, Brown has written seven Izzy Palmer mystery novels and three novellas. A native of south London, he lives with his family in Spain. The Lord Edgington mysteries are likely aimed at both the general reader as well as the young adult audience. And they’re well-researched stories, full of information about the mid-1920s.
Related:
Murder at the Spring Ball by Benedict Brown.
A Body at a Boarding School by Benedict Brown.
The Mystery of Mistletoe Hall by Benedict Brown.
Death on a Summer’s Day by Benedict Brown.
The Tangled Treasure Trail by Benedict Brown.
The Curious Case of the Templeton-Swifts by Benedict Brown.
The Crimes of Clearwell Castle by Benedict Brown.
The Snows of Weston Moor by Benedict Brown.
What the Vicar Saw by Benedict Brown.
Blood on the Banisters by Benedict Brown.
A Killer in the Wings by Benedict Brown.
The Christmas Bell Mystery by Benedict Brown.
A Novel Way to Kill by Benedict Brown.
Top photograph: Parham House in West Sussex, England.
Some Thursday Readings
Noon After (after Millet: 1890) – poem by Marilyn McEntyre at Rabbit Room Poetry.
The Violin and the Enchantment of Western Culture – Michael De Sapio at The Imaginative Conservative.
My Name Ain’t Nobody – Dan Baldwin on writing at Harvey’s (Almost) Daily Journal.
No comments:
Post a Comment