One of my favorite cozy historical mystery series!

I’m off to Markham Hall with Matt and Kitty! At the behest of her grandmother’s best friend, Mrs. Craven, they are looking into the disappearance of a maid. Agnes Jones worked for Lord and Lady Faversham near Dartmoor at Markham Hall but her sister, Dora who is Mrs. Craven’s maid and sister to Agnes, is concerned because she hasn’t heard from Agnes for almost a month. Where had the girl gone and why hadn’t she taken her things? It’s almost inevitable that she’s come to no good end. Matt and Kitty need to find out the truth before one of the Faversham sons weds a wealthy American heiress to save the estate and Markham Hall.

I really enjoy this series and love the main characters. Although I miss the original setting of the Dolphin Hotel now that Matt and Kitty have married and moved to manage their detective agency, they don’t spend a lot of time at home and so each book takes us to a new location and a new crime to solve, most often a murder or two. I love the period details and descriptions of 1930s South Devon. Looking forward to the next installment and the continuation of an unsolved mystery from Matt’s past.

I was able to listen to the audio book while also following along in the e-book ARC, both provided by the publisher. The narrator, Karen Cass, did an excellent job of voicing all the characters and lending wonderful tone and appropriate dramatic flair to the novel. The production really enhanced my enjoyment of the book. I highly recommend this entire series!

Title: Murder at the English Manor
Series: A Miss Underhay Mystery #20
Author: Helena Dixon
Narrator: Karen Cass
Format: 🎧
Publisher: Bookouture Audio
Genre: Cozy Mystery
Audiobook Pub Date May 23, 2025
My Rating: 4.3 Stars
Pages: 309

When Kitty Underhay is summoned to afternoon tea by Mrs. Craven, she knows something is up!
Kitty and her husband Matt Bryant have packed for a weekend away they of course, include their dog Bertie.
Mrs. Craven needs their help in finding out what happened to Agnes her housekeeper's sister.

Kitty and Matt will be is attending an engagement party at the very grand Markham Hall.
Lord and Lady Faversham are having an engagement Ball for their eldest son Sebastian who is marrying Ruby, a wealthy American socialite.

Everyone is having a wonderful time at the party. Kitty and Matt are thinking about the missing maid. Kitty asks her husband- “Shall we dance and not think about investigating right now?”
The next morning, Kitty takes Bertie for a walk in the nearby woods as they have done previously only this time Birdie is more interested in a small building than in walking in the woods or even caching the ducks in the pond. Kitty sees that the building is a mausoleum. Birdie seems to want go in. Kitty tries the door and sure enough it isn’t locked, When they enters she sees why Bertie was so interested as he was trying to drawn her attention to a body - might this be the maid Agnes?
\Whodunit was a surprise as well as the ending!
I am looking forward to Kitty and Matt’s next adventure as we got a hint at the end of this story.

I really like these two.
I loved [author: Ashley Weaver]’s Amory and Milo Ames series but there has been any new stories in ages. So Kitty and Matt seem perfect for me!

Although this is book twenty in Helena Dixon’s Miss Underhay Mystery Series it was my first. I wasn’t sure if it would work but I found it easy to catch up with many of the recurring characters - I found it enjoyable and look forward to reading another.

Want to thank NetGalley and Bookouture Audio for this audiobook.
Publishing Release Date scheduled for May 23, 2025.

Originally I wasn't a fan of the narrator but I thought the story was interesting enough so I sat it out.

Not my usual type of book but fun none the less!

3.5⭐️ rounded up

This is exactly as it it says on the tin so to speak….. The book description is pretty much a great synopsis of the story with a few other additions of characters and details it gives you maybe even too much detail in my opinion! So in respect of reviewing the story itself there isn’t much I can add to this if you have read this then you have it already.

The characters are likeable it’s a warm cozy kind of Agatha Christie meets Cludeo who dunnit type of mystery something you can absolutely envisage as a television drama of Piorot or the likes.

Kitty and Marty the main characters in this are just immediately likeable and I felt like I was listening to a murder mystery weekend unfold it was a fun type of writing style easy listening and flowed well with good narration as well.

With thanks to NetGalley & Bookouture Audio for this ELC in return for an honest and open review. Wishing you all best wishes for publication on 23rd May 2025 📚🎧🙏🏽❤️

I was surprised by how the reveal played out, but I'm not sure if that is typical of this series (since I have only read this book and an excerpt from the very first book, which had intrigued me). so I am willing to believe it's a quirk of the series, which was interesting by virtue of being unexpected. Otherwise the book was what I expected it to be, a period cozy manor-house mystery. The only thing that came close to making me roll my eyes was that the dog that is only badly behaved when the story calls for it. In a different genre the arc for the engaged couple would have annoyed me, but they were written appropriately for this genre of story. I need to get my hands on book one and read past that excerpt, I'm really curious how the reveal was handled in that one.

The 20th book in the series and I love these characters just as much, if not more, than I did in the beginning. The characters are friends, the stories remain fresh, and the mysteries are compelling. Uniquely, this book includes a Dollar Princess (a wealthy American heiress willing to trade her wealth for an English title), much more common to the late 19th and early 20th centuries than the 1930s, but Ruby is a great character who should not be underestimated. Her father also escapes the trope of being a larger than life boor. When Inspector Lewis, he who readers love to hate, and Mrs. Cravens are added to the mix, it's quite an outing. If you are a fan of the series, you will enjoy this latest adventure. If you have not read the series, I do encourage you to start at the beginning, get a feel for Kitty, her grandmother, and The Dolphin Hotel, where Kitty develops those investigative chops. The ending sends a clear message there are more adventures to come, and I cannot wait.

A fantastic book in the series. This book was read through Audio. The reader was fantastic. Reading the series in order does brings one to rely on each character’s personality and what they will bring to the story. Having the same consistent characters brings life to each book and draws you into the story as if you’re part of it.

Having become a fan of Helena Dixon after reading The Secret Detective Agency series I was keen to read some of her other books.
This is the 20th book in the Miss Underhay Mysteries series. This book can definitely read as a stand alone. I listened to the audio version. The narrator added to my enjoyment as she brought the characters alive. I listened to the book at 1.5 speed as this provided a more realistic experience of conversational pace.
The book was an easy read. it is suitable to listen to while doing mundane tasks or sitting down and relaxing with. Kitty is a likable main character and the peripheral characters are quirky and entertaining. As I have come to expect of Helena Dixon pets feature prominently and once again there is a cat with attitude.
This is another very competent and well written example of the genre. An easy quick read that ticks all the cosy crime boxes. The historical background is a nice addition.
I listened To an ARC .Thank you to Bookouture and NetGalley. My review is freely given.

What a delightful quick read! Or in this case, listen. Things my first experience with this series which are inter-connected stand alone books but they do have some threads that carry through. However, even though there are some things that are from the previous book, you can easily pick up what is going on.

They have a very cozy mystery quality to them but it’s like a little bit more than cozy? Very low stakes which just makes them such an easy read. I love the British setting which just makes this American want to jump on a plane!

The narrator Karen Cass does an excellent job! All the different voices she performs and at a good pace. Even though it was recorded swiftly it was easy to speed things up to 2x speed and it was still quite understandable. Bookouture Audio does such a good job with their audiobook productions and finds the right narrator for the right book.

While I enjoyed this on a beautiful spring day I could see getting all cozy on a rainy day and dicing right in. The only criticism I have is with some repetitiveness with the dog. It just seemed weird that he was mentioned so much. Also, I think the author loves to use the word balustrade as it’s used a ton with characters constantly in its presence 😝.

This book comes out on May 23, 2025 so if you’re a mystery lover get this on your TBR!

I am thankful to have gotten a complimentary audio ALC from Bookouture Audio through NetGalley to read which gave me the opportunity to voluntarily leave a review.

My rating system since GoodReads doesn’t have partial stars

⭐️ Hated it
⭐️⭐️ Had a lot of trouble, prose issues, really not my cup of tea (potentially DNF’d or thought about it)
⭐️⭐️⭐️ Meh, it was an ok read but nothing special
⭐️⭐️⭐️⭐️ Really enjoyed it! Would recommend to others
⭐️⭐️⭐️⭐️⭐️ Outstanding! Will circle back and read again