Get Me to the Grave on Time is part of the Eliza Doolittle and Henry Higgins mysteries, a cozy mystery series that is unusual, delightful, and refreshing. I grew up during the years where musicals were popular and never tire of watching them. My Fair Lady was my introduction to Eliza Doolittle, but I understand this series is based more on George Bernard Shaw’s play, Pygmalion.

No matter the version, however, you’ll still find the beloved characters of Eliza, Higgins, Pickering, and Freddy. Time has passed, and now Eliza and Higgins are much involved in the solving of murder mysteries that come their way. Get Me to the Grave on Time (gotta love that title!) is intelligent, vivid in historical detail, setting, and fashion – and is delightfully funny.

The narrative flows smoothly and is filled with witty dialogue. It’s fun to reconnect with the two main characters and see how they have developed. Higgins is still the charming curmudgeon who “found Eliza a delightful companion, but he’d swallow a tuning fork before admitting it.” And Eliza has become a woman of independent means … “Not only did she give elocution lessons at 27-A Wimpole Street, she recently became part owner of a victorious racehorse.”

There’s a lot of detail about customs and fashions of the time, which sometimes slows the plot down, but I enjoyed these elements overall. The mystery itself – involving weddings, murders or attempted murders, and a connection to India – was well plotted and entertaining.

Get Me to the Grave on Time is a fun story that fans of cozy mysteries will enjoy. Recommended.

OMG, this was great it's like four weddings and funeral I so loved my fair lady and reading the books makes it even better. Eliza and Henry or wedding bound just not to each other. The mystery is souls and so is the writing and character development of each person in this series.

Thanks Grainger Press and netgalley for this ARC.

This series makes me so happy! I love Eliza and Higgins cranky, odd, and cuckoo adventures. One of kind!

A fun mystery with a madcap setting - but as a cozy you've got to really DIG these characters and, unfortunately, they just didn't click for me. Would recommend though for fans of Agatha Raisin and cozies set in the past.

Murder and mayhem in high society. I absolutely adored this book! I love books set in early 1900's England, so this was a perfect book for me. Although I've never seen My Fair Lady or read any other books in the series, I had no problem following along. I loved the mystery and the humor, and I can't wait to read more of this series.

I really like the setting, it’s quite vivid and it sounds accurate, if a bit too much upper-class for me. The authors spend a great deal of time describing all the wonderful things these characters have access to, especially considering that most of them are very rich and often nobles. But apart from this (which is totally just me), the cast of characters is very nice. Everybody is likable - expect the ones you’re not supposed to like – and I really enjoyed the dialogues - fresh, natural and witty -which I find to be the authors’ strong spot. The banters between characters is the element that I enjoyed the most.

The mystery, instead, was quite disappointing. Yes, it is exciting while reading because something is happening all the time, but once the story ceases relying on action and must come to explanations… well, things fall apart quite apparently.
First, events become not as logical as they should be, and I felt this happened because the authors needed to force a few elements into the plot so to move it the direction they needed. There are a couple of chapters clearly falling into this category. Secondly, the characters’ reasons – and I mean the reasons of the characters who act the mystery – are never very clear. I found the murder’s reasons particularly lame, certainly not strong enough to push a person to kill another person… let alone more than one.

This gave me the impression that while the authors are very comfortable telling about the cosy side of the story, when they come to the mystery side they proceed more haltingly. And because the murder’s reason aren’t strong enough, it’s quite difficult to follow the way the sleuth discovers the culprit, even when they come to the explanation. Personally, after the array of red herrings, I felt Eliza found the culprit more by chance than by deduction.

Quite a shame, because this is a very enjoyable read, with great characters and a rich setting. The mystery just wasn’t satisfying enough for me.

A stellar installment in an amazingly brilliant series!

I knew I was going to be in for a wonderful adventure of reading when I heard of the first book in this series, WOULDN’T IT BE DEADLY. Eliza Doolittle and Henry Higgins solving mysteries? Yes, please! What could be better? The Phantom of the Opera (Erik) and Christine turning sleuths? (Are you reading this, D.E.? Erik and Christine? Huh? ;-) )

This book in one word? Perfect! Weddings and murders and glorious mayhem are in store for readers of GET ME TO THE GRAVE ON TIME. There was so much going on in this tale, I couldn’t . . . okay, wouldn’t put the book down! The story sailed across the pages at a delightful pace, and was penned with skilled writing, filling every chapter with mystery, intelligence, and humor.

When reading the books in the Eliza Doolittle & Henry Higgins Mysteries, I am transported to the very homes and streets I saw in the charming musical. I hear the voices of Audrey Hepburn and Rex Harrison clearly in my head. And I love the situations D.E. Ireland gets these two timeless characters into. Watching the characters from the musical (I admit to never having read the play, PYGMALION) change and grow in book one of this series, through to GET ME TO THE GRAVE ON TIME, has been some of the best and most entertaining hours of reading I have ever spent!