This was probably my least favorite of the series, although I'm hard pressed to clearly name the elements that failed to move me. I think the story line just didn't interest me enough, so we'll chalk it up to more personal taste than writer failure.

Earl is back and while they are still waiting for his divorce to finalise, at least Lady Elizabeth can stop going around denying that she feels something stronger than friendship, and the reader no longer has to hear her housekeeper harp on (and ON) about "Lizzie getting hurt". This whole doing-the-proper-thing-and-waiting keeps the romantic tension ratcheted up nicely.

But things are starting to heat up in the war; there's talk around the village about an allied invasion of Europe being planned and Earl is gone more and more often for longer periods of time. Lady Elizabeth is investigating on her own more often and in this book is actually asked to investigate in order to clear an innocent young woman of a crime she didn't commit (or did she?).

One of the recurring characters in the series is getting married (well, two of them really) and everyone comes together to make the most of the celebration. Even Earl scrounges a silk parachute from the base for the wedding dress (I remember my mom telling me her wedding dress wasn't as nice as she'd hoped because there wasn't any silk available during the war). A guest no one seems to recognise shows up and promptly ends up murdered during the reception.

Ms. Kingsbury does another good job with plotting out this murder and it's resolution. But this one isn't designed to necessarily dole out enough clues for the reader to solve the crime on their own. Assumptions are made throughout the story, presented as fact, that are meant to point the reader, and Lady E. away from the true culprit. Some might find this a cheat, but it does provide a denouement that most people won't see until they do. ( )

After most guests have left the wedding reception, the body of an uninvited guest is found in the cellar. It becomes clear that only a few guests knew the man, and they all had reasons to want him dead. With the local constable in charge of the investigation until the Inspector can arrive several days later, Lady Elizabeth knows she'll have to investigate. In the meantime some of the village girls are missing, presumed to have been kidnapped by the "Three Musketeers." This is one of my favorite recent installments of this series in the village located near an American base in England during World War II. The familiar local characters always add an enjoyable dimension to the reading experience. The mystery itself was well-done, and although I had already identified the perpetrator, the solution wasn't too obvious. It unfolded at just the right pace. ( )

Residents of the small town of Sitting Marsh in England are looking for a distraction from the worries of World War II and find it during the wedding of Priscilla Pierce and Captain Willy Carbunkle. The residents band together, even donating their own rations, to give Priscilla and Wally a perfect wedding. Unfortunately, the wedding celebration is marred by the stabbing death of a stranger who wasn't even invited to the wedding. When it turns out that the victim was the boyfriend of one of the bridesmaids and they had been seen arguing earlier, suspicion falls on her and her family. But Lady Elizabeth Hartleigh Compton has solved a few mysteries in the past and isn't convinced the police have the right suspects and decides to investigate the murder herself.

This is yet another delightful entry in Kate Kingsbury's Manor House mystery series. The mystery was intriguing and well plotted and Kingsbury threw in a nifty red herring that had me convinced early on that I knew who the murdered was, but I was totally wrong. The historical background is interesting, especially the details of rationing and blackouts. The real strength in these books are the characters: Lady Elizabeth struggling with her duties as Lady of the Manor and her love for Major Earl Monroe (who is regrettably in the background for much of this book); her faithful servants Violet and Martin; the various village ladies; and, of course, Sadie and Polly, young girls looking for love in war torn England.

Unfortunately, this is the second to last book in the Manor House series. The series will be missed, but this gives Kingsbury a chance to tie together the many themes that have gone on through all the books, including the identity of the "three musketeers" and a resolution of Elizabeth's relationship with Earl. ( )

http://hollybooknotes.blogspot.com/2008/07/wrapping-up.html ( )