Description
The theft of an immensely valuable, immensely ugly necklace is only the beginning of the intrigues and oddities at a country weekend at Hardy Hall where Teddy Quillfeather’s mother has sent her with strict instructions to select an eligible bachelor from a shortlist of aristocrats, eccentrics, and egos.
But when Teddy tries to set things right with her natural knack for applied shenanigans she instead uncovers countless connected, complex criminal conspiracies complicated by country house courtesies. It’s a comedy of manners and caper of manors and the only solution, if you’re Teddy Quillfeather, is obviously another heist…
Theodora ‘Teddy’ Quillfeather will be familiar to readers of the Anty Boisjoly Mysteries. Teddy is Anty’s cousin—an audacious and loquacious, stylish and coquettish stiletta of the golden age and very much a citizen in good standing of the Anty Boisjoly world of whimsy.
But Teddy is not a female Anty Boisjoly. Where Anty’s capricious, she’s mischievous, where Anty’s deductive, Teddy gets fully involved in the mystery as it unfolds, and as the locked room murder is to Anty Boisjoly the clever caper is to Teddy Quillfeather.
Indeed, there are no murders in Teddy Quillfeather Mysteries. Instead, Teddy takes a turn towards the manor house mystery of manners, to which she brings proactive problem solving that often sees her fully implicated in capers involving smooth swindles and highwire heists, sticky fingers and loaded dice, and dark horses running dodgy courses.
Clearly, she needs her own series to manage it all.
My Thoughts
The word to describe this thoroughly delightful book is madcap. From the first page on, I felt like I was part of a Golden Age country house mystery peopled with a witty, urbane cast of characters who move through life with the ease of the very wealthy.
I haven’t read the series from which this is a spin-off, but protagonist Teddy Quillfeather 100% deserves her own series. She is one of the most entertaining sleuths I’ve come across, and the author truly comes through with hilarious and well-written dialog that totally fits the character. While the plot that becomes a bit convoluted at the end, the story hangs together well.
Add this to the subgenre of cozies that feature smart-alecky, intelligent, and fearless female protagonists and start recommending it to your friends. I will!
Publication Date: May 24, 2024
Thanks to Book Sirens for the book
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