When I needed something light and fun as a break from darker, more somber fare, I knew one of the best places to turn: Hannah Dennison's Honeychurch Hall series. Murder in Miniature at Honeychurch Hall was exactly what I needed.

In this installment, I actually already knew about one of the featured antiques: little china dolls called Frozen Charlottes. My grandmother had a couple of them in her collection. Some people consider the Frozen Charlottes to be creepy, but I never did. (Kewpie dolls hold that distinction for me.) As you might have guessed from the book's title, miniatures are the other featured antiques. Dennison can always fascinate me with her choice of antiques, just as much as she can with the way she weaves details about day-to-day life on a crumbling country estate where repairs are legion and money practically nonexistent.

In this book, Kat's boyfriend has moved to London for an important job with the Metropolitan Police. In his place is Detective Inspector Gregory Mallory, a very handsome, very tall, man who has the tendency to make me laugh. I know I shouldn't find it funny, but the old and new lumps and bruises on his head from walking into low beams made me laugh. Although those old buildings can ooze buckets of charm, I'd never buy or rent one because I refuse to live with the constant threat of traumatic brain injury. Mallory also made me laugh as he tried his best to question the local villagers. You would be hard-pressed to find a better collection of eccentrics, and the more Mallory developed eye tics, the more I laughed.

I even enjoyed Kat's mum this time around. Normally Iris drives me around the twist with her secret bank accounts and income tax avoidance, but this time she kept me amused with her dodgy boyfriend and her own attempts to solve the crime.

With its well-plotted mystery, its knowledge of antiques, its humor, and its marvelous cast of newcomers mingling with generations of the upstairs and downstairs folk of the Honeychurch Hall estate, Murder in Miniature... was a delight to read. If you're in the market for some lighthearted fun in your mysteries, I highly recommend this series. ( )