Another thoroughly enjoyable whodunnit from Jessica Fellowes. Once again, the story centres around the Mitford family. I was besotted by the Mitfords when I was younger. I read everything about and by them so reading about familiar events in their lives, their unique way of speaking and behaving, and the assorted eccentricities of family members was a real pleasure.

Just enough of the storyline is based on fact for it to feel authentic. There are several murders and I didn’t guess whodunnit until the murderer was revealed. The ending is a little bit melodramatic but that’s forgiven because the book asa whole is very well written, very well researched and kept me interested throughout. This is No. 3 in the series and I’m looking forward to more.

I enjoy the aspect of real historical people and events mixing with fiction in this series. The overwhelming sense of time in the 1920-30's in this book is the real star. Diana Mitford's life of privilege is well portrayed, athough it, rightly, doesn't show her in the best manner. Her actions and words at times would lead to much fiercer reaction these days. I love the focus on her maid, Louisa, and on the actual mystery story and that's what keeps bringing me back to this series.

I have always been interested in the Mitfords and have read extensively about them. I was really curious to see how this novelisation of part of their lives would work. I've read other, fictionalised versions of real life events or characters and really enjoyed them. Not so much this one. It's not that the author hasn't got a good grasp of the Mitford history, because she really has. It's that it very much feels to me like the whodunnit part of the book is tacked on as an afterthought. There was no tension in the murder part of the book for me because everything is so drawn out and takes place over such a long time period. I wanted more drama and urgency in that part of the book. I really enjoyed the Mitford parts of the book but the two bits didn't really successfully gel for me.

I wasn't sure when I started the book whether I would like it but after the first chapter, I was hooked!

Wow, those Mitford girls were unbelievable particularly Diana and Nancy . What times they lived in, party, party, party. How on earth did they keep it up?

I thought Louisa was a typical maid, discreet, noticing everything but keeping her own counsel. Although she is a fictitious character, she blends so well into the real life ones and the events could so well have happened.

Jessica Fellowes has the golden touch, it must run in the family! I am the biggest fan of Downton, cannot get enough of it, so to read this kept the momentum going.

At least Debo seemed to be different from the other girls but she was quite a bit younger from the older ones .

Thank you net galley for my copy.

I would like to thank Netgalley and Little, Brown Book Group UK for an advance copy of The Mitford Scandal, the third novel to feature lady’s maid Louisa Cannon and the newly promoted DS Guy Sullivan.

After a spell away from the Mitfords Louisa is asked to become lady’s maid to the newly married Diana Guinness, née Mitford. Life for Louisa is relatively easy as the mercurial Diana cuts a swathe through London society but there several accidental deaths to be dealt with.

I thoroughly enjoyed The Mitford Scandal with its mixture of real historical figures and fiction which give the reader a sense of being immersed in the period. It spans several years from 1928 to 1932 but only highlights important events so there is no sense of drag or padding. In fact, the novel moves along at a fairly rapid pace, full of incidents and drama. It has three threads to keep the reader interested, the accidental deaths and Guy’s investigation of them, Louisa and Guy’s potential romance and Diana Guinness’s life. In keeping with Diana’s high society lifestyle the location isn’t restricted to London and the English countryside with visits to Paris and Venice as well.

I found the plot interesting and it held my attention throughout as I wondered what was really going on. Ms Fellowes plays her cards close to her chest so the denouement is quite a surprise, if not one hundred percent convincing. Mostly, however, I like this series for wealth of period detail and the immersive atmosphere. The brittle, febrile lifestyle of the rich is easily drawn and very believable.

Much of the novel centres on Diana Mitford, a real life character who married the rich Bryan Guinness at nineteen. Her life becomes a whirlwind of parties, spending money and self indulgence. She doesn’t come out of it well and it is a fascinating glimpse of the young Diana in light of what she became.

The Mitford Scandal is a good read which I have no hesitation in recommending.

The Mitford Scandal is not at all what it is sold as - it is not a 1920's whodunit - but rather a tedious excursion through late 1920's Europe where I turned every page just waiting for something to happen, only for each 'event' to be the ending of a chapter, rather than a beginning.
The writing style is odd in the extreme, some events told in explicit detail, others glossed over as though not important, and the years, yes years, covered in this novel, are done so in choppy chapters that seem to add little or nothing to the story.
I think the author struggles to reconcile the life her 'main' character, the lady's maid, Louisa has, with the events that are being narrated. It just doesn't work, not at all, and the odd few chapters told from the viewpoint of Guy are equally as jarring.
Hugely disappointing as I am a fan of a good 1920's murder-mystery, but this is not one, only morbid curiosity kept me reading until the end (it is not a long book), which is as poorly constructed as the rest of the novel.
Apologies. I really don't like to leave negative reviews, but my thanks to the publisher and Netgalley for my review copy.

I love this series as a light hearted cozy mystery series, and I also enjoyed this installment.

The characters are fun to read about, the writing is gripping. It's nice to see the characters grow up and evolve as well.
If you're looking for a cozy mystery series to follow that you'll enjoy and read for entertainment. Here's one :)

Thanks a lot to Netgalley and the publisher for this copy in exchange for an honest review.

** spoiler alert ** 2.5 stars


I didn't enjoy this as much as the last in series.
A lot of it was just scene setting.
The jumps in time were a little confusing (I had advance copy from netgalley,it may be better in the published book) yet the pregnancy went on forever.
Really I just felt as if it was a book of Louisa finding bodies,trying to decide why they were murdered and then a murderer comes completely out of blue.
The fact I finished it meant I still enjoyed the style of writing if not hugely the content this time.

This is the latest in the Mitford Murders series by Jessica Fellowes revolving around the turbulent political and economic period from the late 1920s and early 1930s, with the 1929 Wall Street Crash, followed by the Great Depression and the rise of fascism in Europe, and under Oswald Mosley in Britain. Fellowes does her research on the Mitfords, the circles they moved in and how their lives played out, and those of you aware of Diana Mitford's life will know where it is all heading in the novel. It is 1928, and Louisa Cannon has left the service of the Mitfords for London, hoping to become a policewoman, but it is not to be, finding herself earning a poor income as a seamstress and working as a maid. Working at a fashionable society party, Louisa is there when a maid falls to her death from a skylight, in what appears to be a tragic accident. Attending the party is the now 18 year old beautiful Diana, and Bryan Guinness, heir to a huge fortune, who proposes to her.

As Diana marries Bryan, Louisa becomes her lady's maid, not exactly what she was wanting, but it pays well. Through Louisa's eyes, we follow the fashions, music and culture of the day through her role in Diana's life, in Paris, Venice and London, along with notable characters of the time, such as Evelyn Waugh. Diana and the crowd around her are the rich, bright young things, in their social whirl of parties where drugs can be so easily acquired. In Paris, a rich young man dies of an apparent sesame seed allergy, but once again it all appears to be a unforseen tragic death. Guy Sullivan has since been promoted to DS, and in Paris to see Louisa, who he hasn't seen for so long and still misses so desperately, although he has since become engaged to Sinead. Guy is there with his best friend, Harry, now married to PC Mary Moon, looking to find a missing woman from London, Rose Morgan, thought to be in Paris. Louisa begins to like Diana less and less as the years go by, but is in Venice with Diana when another death occurs. Through time it begins to dawn on Louisa that perhaps these deaths are murders.

Fellowes writes a terrific historical yarn that blends fact and fiction of a period that encapsulated so much change, in gender roles, with the cold winds of an economic downturn, the generational divide over how things had been and how they now were, class, shifting morality, and hints at the future rise of fascism. The frivolous, if exciting society circles inhabited by Diana and her sisters, were all intensely followed by the media at the time. The Mitfords have always attracted a great deal of attention, particularly with the scandals that followed them, and using the device of seeing them through the eyes of a lady's maid works so well here. The murder mysteries untangled by Louisa and DS Guy Sullivan provide suspense and tension in this entertaining and gripping novel. A great read. Many thanks to Little, Brown for an ARC.

A cosy-style mystery lifted by the real-life complications of Diana Mosley's disturbing association with British fascism. For me, this is the best of the Fellowes' Mitford books to date, perhaps because Nancy and Diana are both grown up now and so their real biographies can now be woven into the story.

I still find the insertion of Louisa Cannon awkward: it's hard to swallow that a working-class girl who is a maid at the Guinness' party can also be best friends with the Mitfords - but it's necessary for the story. I'm also a bit bored of Guy still mooning over Louisa and their romantic misunderstanding at the start...{groan}

Still, this is light-hearted and fun - good switch-off reading.

This is the third enthralling book ( but also a perfect standalone novel) in The Mitford Murders series following the lives of a cast of impossibly privileged socialites and fictional servant as well as heroine of the story, Louisa Cannon - who is not only a maid to the Mitford family but also a part-time sleuth. The Mitford Scandal is set during the 1920’s and is fashioned around the hedonistic social whirl of the Bright Young People, including Diana Mitford, her husband, Bryan Guinness and various members of the Bloomsbury set.

Two housemaid plunge to their death through a skylight whilst trying to take vicarious pleasure in a glamorous house party. Louisa happens to be working at the party and the stage is set for a fast-paced, dazzling whodunnit, which oozes the glamour and decadence of the era.

A spate of suspicious deaths and drug overdoses amongst the socialites quickly follow - which is Louisa’s cue to team up with newly promoted Detective Inspector, Guy Sullivan of Knightsbridge Police to investigate. The period detail is immaculate and every bit as authentic as in the previous two books and the historical events, including Diana Mitford’s first marriage and meeting Sir Oswald Mosley add an additional layer of intrigue to this intelligently written, wonderfully enjoyable fictional murder mystery. There is also the tender unfolding of Guy and Louisa’s ‘will they won’t they?’ relationship.

I really hope there will be another book so we can see what the fabulous character of Louisa does next. Perfect for fans of Downton Abbey, period detective murder mysteries. More please, Jessica Fellowes!

It is 1928 - Diana Mitford has turned eighteen and she has the whole world and society at her feet. The Guinness' are holding a glamorous party where you need to be seen. 

It is 1928 - Louisa Cannon is at the glamourous party too, not wanting to be seen as she supplements her meagre income as a seamstress with work as a maid at these parties. 

On that fateful night many things happen-

A maid plunges to her death.

Bryan Guinness proposes to Diana Mitford and she accepts. 

The maid's death is recorded as an accident.

Diana and Bryan marry and embark on a honeymoon in Paris. But Diana wants to take Louisa Cannon away with her as her ladies maid. Louisa not keen but seemingly always drawn to the Mitford sisters as they grow agrees.

In Paris they are not alone, all societies up and coming people and some not so, including Evelyn Waugh as well as Diana's own sister Nancy, still not yet married are also there. 

Then another death occurs and Louisa cannot help that although two years have past since the death of that maid, there is something familiar about it. 

Back in London, Guy Sullivan, now a Detective Sergeant is looking into the possible disappearance of a maid who was also at the party in 1928. His investigations take him to Paris as well. Is there a possibility of a link. 

The third in the series, which combines fascinating fact with fiction - the murders luckily are all fiction but a number of the events covered in the book are based in truth, which is why I enjoy them immensely and the fascination keeps me hooked right to the end. 

A captivating book which concentrates on Diana, the third Mitford sister, all of them are mentioned and Nancy and Pamela the two elder are more prominent than the younger ones. But this book really sees the character of Louisa Cannon our main protagonist in this series develop into a stronger character. Her detective and reasoning skills are developing as is her relationship with Guy Sullivan. 

The book is well plotted, well written and totally in keeping with what you would expect from a Golden Age Mystery - I am sure at some point Poirot is going to appear! 

I look forward to the next in this series and cannot wait to be totally immersed in this true and fictional world that Jessica Fellowes has wonderfully created. If they could be adapted into the small or even big screen I think it would be wonderful!

This ARC was courtesy of netgalley - all thoughts and opinions are mine and unbiased

I've always been intrigued by the Mitfords so this jumped out at me - so happy to have been able to read an advanced copy

Glamorous and fun, this is a quick, enjoyable read

The perfect summer read - I shall certainly be looking out for more

I have absolutely loved this series.
A fun fast and enjoyable read spanning many locations
Brilliantly written and engaging

There's something so glamorous yet warm about this book series and these fabulous characters and i really just can't get enough.
I love Louisa especially and her friendship with the Mitford sisters is a lovely thing to watch unfurl.


Great mystery, great execution, great writing, what more could you want?

I absolutely love this series - I have always been intrigued by the Mitford family, ever since I read Nancy’s novel In Pursuit of Love many years ago.

This book (and the series) has a touch of realism as it’s woven around facts about the Mitfords (such as Diana meeting Oswald Moseley) with the imagination of the author.

Yet again, our heroine is Louisa who, as Diana’s lady’s maid, experiences far more freedom in this book than before. This frees her up to think about the intrigue and become more closely intertwined in the stories. There’s quite a cast of characters but the story is structured well so it’s easy to follow who’s who...

A fun, fast and enjoyable read which spans London, Paris, Venice and the English countryside. I loved it, my only disappointment is that I finished it so quickly. More please!!!

5*