When I started reading this book, I just knew that there was going to be an ending that included gathering everyone in one room and announcing the killer. Yep, I was right. It was just that kind of read.

On a film set where just about everyone has some kind of hatred for the director, there are lots of suspects when his girlfriend gets killed in his bed.

At the ending with the list of suspects (everyone on the set) the culprit had a jaw dropping secret. There is also a historical murder that was once solved, or was it?

A decent and entertaining read.

Thanks to Severn House and Net Galley for providing me with a free e-galley in exchange for an honest, unbiased review.

Murder Take Three, the 4th Langham and Dupré Mystery, is a classic country-house murder mystery. All the elements are there: an idyllic and isolated setting, a group of ill-suited people enjoined by circumstances to work together, a plethora of secrets from the past that burden the living, and lastly, intelligent outsiders—in this case, a private investigator and his fiancée—to sort it all out.

1956. Having just started work as a professional private investigator, Donald Langham's first client is American movie star Suzie Reynard, currently shooting a murder mystery film at Marling Hall, an Elizabethan manor house in the depths of the Norfolk countryside. The film's director—Suzie's lover—has been receiving threats and Suzie is convinced his life is in danger.

Langham has another string to his bow: he’s a published author, and his literary agent is also his fiancée, Maria Dupré. For some reason, Suzie’s request that he “come up and take a look around, talk to people,” in order to figure out who is threatening her director boyfriend, Dougy, is one that he prefers to pass along to his partner, Ryland. But unfortunately, Langham is stuck holding the fort this weekend. Perhaps he can bring someone? Suzie is struck by Maria’s picture, mystified that a “good-looking girl” would enjoy a desk job.

“She finds the job rewarding.”

“I didn’t think English girls were so good looking.”

He smiled. “She’s French.”

“That’d explain it. Class.” She pulled on her Pall Mall. “So sure, bring her along. The more the merrier. Perhaps Dougy’ll be able to find her a part. Oh, one thing—don’t tell him why you’re there, OK? He wouldn’t want me hiring someone behind his back.”

“Mum’s the word.”

“Huh?”

“I won’t say a word to him.”

“Fine. Dougy’s a pussycat, but he has this temper, see? Things don’t go the way he wants, he flies into a rage. It’s part of being a director. They think they’re God Almighty.”

Suzie paints a masterful picture of a tyrant in action. When Donald and Maria arrive at Marling Hall and make the acquaintance of the filmmaking crew and the owners of the estate, they discover that everyone has a beef with Director Dougy Dennison. The group includes a former acquaintance of Langham, writer Terrence “Terry” Ambler, most certainly an original.

“Terry,” he called out. “I say, it’s been rather a long time.”

Ambler swung round, clearly surprised at being unexpectedly buttonholed. His food-stained green shirt swelled over a pot belly and his baggy corduroy trousers were held up by a pair of frayed red braces. His sartorial sensibility—or lack of—hadn’t changed in years.

“Langham? Goodness gracious me, it is.” Then his nascent smile was rapidly replaced by his default expression of lugubriousness.

A disheveled and despondent script writer is not the only unhappy member of the motley film crew. Varla, an older French actress, once had a love affair with Dougy, and from the bitter tone of her conversation, it didn’t end well. Sir Humphrey Lyle, an older English actor with a famous career, now rests on his laurels and indulges in ill-advised flirtations and copious amounts of alcoholic beverages. It seems everyone is nursing a grievance against the arrogance of Director Dennison, including the aristocratic owners of Marling Hall, Edward and Cynthia.

All the swirling tension is not accidental. Dennison admits to Langham that “all the enmities I’ve set brewing will come to a head.” The director states that “personal chemistry’ll give the script some life.” Unsurprisingly, the private detective finds “enmities” to be an odd goal.

“A film is driven by chemistry, Langham. The story smoulders with hatred. We’re talking resentment over money, sex and thwarted love. It’s a rich combination.” He leaned forward and murmured, “So I’ve got together a cast which, between you and me, can’t stand the sight of each other.”

He’s got that right. Unfortunately, the enmity goes further than hateful words and disdainful glares. The morning after a grizzly evening punctuated with difficult conversations and excessive drinking, Langham is summoned from his bed.

“What?” he said, still dazed with sleep.

“She’s dead …” the director said.

“Who’s dead?”

And so it begins. Will the dead woman be the only victim? Langham is struck by the beauty of the Norfolk morning—such a juxtaposition to the circumstances he finds himself in.

The sun was up and the lawn was spangled with scintillating dew. Far off, a cuckoo called, its throaty muffled double note conjuring notions of a countryside at peace—which was wholly at odds with Langham’s thoughts as he followed Dennison along the front of the house and around the corner towards the caravan.

Eric Brown’s Murder Take Three is altogether satisfying. It’s a traditional whodunit that explores how passion, hatred, and the long tendrils of the past can lead to murder.

A 1950's setting where Donald Langham, a private detective and writer is employed by an American actress, Suzie Reynard, to spend the weekend at Marling Hall, as she believes someone is trying to harm the director of the film being made at that location.
An easy to read enjoyable mystery with likeable characters. My only problem was that I had worked out who the guilty party was before the end.

I love mysteries involving early Hollywood. I also love classic manor house mysteries. Put the two together like Eric Brown has and the result is an absolutely delicious historical mystery. David Langham is a mystery author/private investigator. American movie star Suzie Reynard hires him to investigate a potential threat to her lover, the film’s director. The cast and crew are preparing to film a mystery based on an actual murder that occurred not far from the film’s location - Marling house, a stately home in the Norfolk countryside. Suzie believes that something sinister is going on at Marling house, so she wants Langham and his fiancee to pose as her friends and stay the weekend. The danger is not readily apparent, but tensions between the cast, crew and homeowners are palpable. The relationships and histories of the players are complicated and filled with ill will. When Suzie is discovered murdered in the Douglas’s trailer, Langham is uncertain who was the actual target. Was Douglas the target? Or was it Suzie all along? A manor house murder amongst a group of people creating a film about a manor house murder - delicious.


I loved the varied personalities of the stars, the rich complicated background and the many relationship twists. Eric Brown is a marvelous storyteller. I highly recommend Murder Take Three to anyone who enjoys historical mysteries, early Hollywood or classic manor house mysteries.


5 / 5


I received a copy of Murder Take Three from the publisher and Netgalley.com in exchange for an honest review.


--Crittermom

The author is known for his science fiction books, but his mystery books are excellent and I can thoroughly recommend this book. Well written and well researched. It is set in 1950s England. Believable characters. Set in a Country house in Norfolk. An american director is trying to make a film together with a collection of fellow americans and a british actor and british writer. Part time private detective Donald Langham and his fiance agree to spend the weekend at the Hall to see if the director is in danger. There is a murder but it unexpected, can Donald and his detective partner prevent other deaths? See my full review on Euro-Crime website.

it is the 1950s and the Ryland Detective Agency has a new client. Mystery Writer turned Investigator Donald Langham is called upon to visit the English set of an American movie, where the star, Suzie Reynard, feels that not all is what it seems.

And she may be right as the cast of characters assembled to star in this fictional murder mystery based on true events, find themselves at the centre of a series of very real murders. Long forgotten secrets rear their heads as the actors find that their lives have intersected over many years.

Can Donald Langham and his editor-fiancee Maria Dupre sort fact from fiction and solve these murders before the cast is slowly whittled down? Just who is directing the scenes - certainly not the Hollywood director.

Despite not having read the previous three books in the series, I found this easy to read, the main characters of Donald and Maria were likeable, the the story behind the murders was steadily drawn out and held the reader captive.

This is the fourth in a mystery series, set in the 1950’s and featuring crime writer Donald Langham and his literary editor, and fiancée, Maria Dupre. The earlier books in the series are: Murder By the Book, Murder at the Chase and Murder at the Loch.

Langham makes a living through writer crime novels, featuring his fictional P.I. Sam Brooke. However, he has recently started working as a Private Investigator himself, as his friend, Ralph Ryland, needed some help. One day, Langham is alone in the office when a beautiful blonde appears; an American actress named Suzie Reynard. It turns out that Suzie is shooting a murder mystery at Marling Hall in Norfolk and that she thinks someone is threatening her lover, the director, Douglas Dennison.

Langham agrees to visit Marling Hall, with Maria, to investigate – hoping that the couple can have a pleasant weekend in the country. When they arrive though, it is obvious that things are not well on the film set. Those involved include an embittered scriptwriter, an ageing actress, an elderly, lecherous actor and the hosts, who own Marling Hall; Edward Marling and his wife Cynthia. There is animosity between many of those staying at the Hall, along with simmering passions between various characters. At first, Langham believes that Suzie is exaggerating and that the threat to Dennison is imagined, but soon events turns all too deadly and Langham and Dupre find themselves investing a real life murder.

This is an enjoyable addition to a fun series. I like Langham and Maria Dupre. The settings in the novels are enjoyable and there is a lot of wry humour. If you enjoy mysteries which concentrate on the puzzle element of the crime, as well as characters and setting, then you will enjoy this series. They can be read in any order, but, if you wish to start at the beginning, then Murder by the Book is the first in the series. I received a copy of this book from the publisher, via NetGalley, for review.