Book 2 in the series of Kitty and Matt solving murders in 1933 England. This one has Kitty going to stay at her aunt's estate. The sister of her father, so she knows very little of the family. Good cozy mystery series and one I highly recommend. Look forward to the next book in the series. And like how they build on each other.

I was not able to get interested in this book and I did not finish it. The characters and the plot were not able to catch or keep my attention.

After thoroughly enjoying last year's Murder at the Dolphin Hotel, I was delighted to receive a copy of Murder at Enderley Hall. This is another fun, well-written Golden Age-style murder mystery from Helena Dixon.

It has all the classics required: a grand country house, a disparate group of guests, missing secret papers, mysterious murders and many opportunities for Miss Kitty Underhay to put on her stylish (naturally) sleuthing hat.

Obviously the murder gives Captain Matthew Bryant an excuse to spend more time with Kitty, and it was a delight to see more of Alice. The descriptions of the house, its routines and its customs are very evocative, as are those of all the ladies' glamorous evening wear. I also like the way there's a surprising revelation about Kitty's missing mother, Elowed.

This is a great read, but - if you haven't already - I definitely recommend you start with Book 1. With huge thanks to Bookouture for my copy of the book.

This second book in the Miss Kitty Underhay cozy mystery series continues the summer of 1933. Kitty has been invited to visit her paternal aunt and uncle at Enderley Hall where she will spend some time getting to know her father's sister and her cousin, Lucy. She hopes to find out more about what happened to her mother who seems to have visited there before vanishing many years ago. What Kitty does not plan for is murder. The first untoward event is the disappearance of some important papers, a chemical formula, from her uncle's safe. Then, beloved Nanny Thoms is found dead at the bottom of a staircase. The household is in an uproar, but fortunately, Kitty has the attentions of Captain Matthew Bryant - -a new "friend" who had helped Kitty and her grandmother at the Dolphin in the previous episode. Of course Kitty wants to be involved in the investigation as Matt and the police try to find the thief and the killer. NO SPOILERS.

This is pretty tame fare and faithful to period details. I found it a very fast read and enjoyed the chance of pace to my usual grisly thrillers. I look forward to reading more in the series though I could have done without Muffy and without the frustrated romance.

Thank you to NetGalley and Bookouture for this e-book ARC to read and review.

The second book in the Miss Underhay mysteries lives up to the promise of Murder At The Dolphin Hotel. Kitty accepts an invitation to stay with her newly discovered family not sure if she'll fit into their upper-class society.

The upstairs-downstairs ethos adds ambience to the historical setting with the sharp class divide evident to Kitty. Theft leads to a suspicious death, and Kitty calls her partner Mathew to help the police investigate. Kitty's overt role in the investigation is subservient in keeping with the era, but her intelligence and perception make her the star player.

Kitty stumbles upon further clues to her mother's disapperance with dangerous consequences. Courageous and a little foolhardy, she takes risks to solve the case.

Kitty is an engaging amateur sleuth in a historically authentic murder mystery.

I received a copy of this book from Bookouture via NetGalley in return for an honest review.

Kitty cannot help but think of some very difficult experiences with a previous murder that happened at her hotel. Having inherited it from her grandmother, who has taken a back seat to heavier responsibilities, Kitty certainly has her hands full. Despite her new duties, Kitty proved to be quite successful at her turn with being an amateur detective. She had quite a bit of assistance from ex-army captain Matthew Bryant. Matt was hired by Kitty’s grandmother due to disturbing events at the hotel. Although things look okay for now, Kitty and Matt are sure to cross paths again - and soon.

Kitty has taken a break away from the hotel to try and connect with relatives she was previously unaware of, and so she sets off to visit Enderley Hall. Kitty is extremely excited to have the chance to meet her fathers family. With a house party on the agenda, her eagerness intensifies. So, she sets off with her maid Alice. Things start off quite nicely. However, her eager visit is quickly thwarted when some very important papers were stolen.

Kitty knows she must look into the theft, and doesn’t hesitate to call on Matt for his assistance once again. The pair must work hard and fast, especially when the elderly Nanny Thoms is found lying dead at the bottom of the stairs. With Inspector Grenville also on hand taking the lead in the investigation, it is soon hoped that they can get to the bottom of things.

Murder at Enderley Hall is the second book in the delightful cozy series, A Miss Underhay Mystery. I love Kitty and Matt together. Considering the time period in which this book was written, Kitty was often forced to take a step back when investigating the murders, especially the inquiries. It was still pretty much a man’s world at that time. Yet the pair work remarkably well together. Between their obvious affection for one another, and in part displayed by excellent body language, they get the job done.

Not only do Kitty and Matt pay constant vigil to whatever it is before them, their pasts continue to converge together in such a way that I certainly hope they find a future together. This no doubt will prove quite difficult, as Matt’s war experiences - and memories- were horrible. Combined with the fact that he previously lost his wife and daughter, this gives Matt much to deal with before opening his heart again.

I thoroughly enjoyed this entry in what promises to be an excellent cozy mystery series. I love the time period and the locations, and also the snippets of Kitty's and Matt's pasts that we are sure to learn more about in future books.

Many thanks to Bookouture and to NetGalley for this ARC for review. This is my honest opinion.

Let’s play a drinking game: Every time Kitty says to herself or another character “I’m going to ask so and so to tell me more about my mother” and then they are conveniently interrupted, take a sip.

Actually please don’t do this. You will end up in a hospital.

I’m all for drawing out the mystery of a character’s backstory, but this has become irritatingly cartoonish. If the issue needs to remain unsolved through multiple books in a series, that’s fine, but I don’t need 50 failed attempts to solve it in each book.

There’s not much left to this particular installment once you remove that either. I rather enjoyed the first novel in this series, but this one—from the progress on the backstory to the mystery contained in this book only—was a flop.

The narrative is slow, dragging badly and bloated with filler. I don’t expect riveting action or complex procedural elements in this type of mystery, but when weighed against others of its ilk or even the first book in this series, this one lags behind badly.

I did enjoy Helena Dixon’s Murder at Enderley Hall. A cosy historical mystery is right at the top off my reading wish list at the moment and this one delivered.

It took me a while to get into it, and I wonder if that’s because I haven’t read the first book in the series. The first few pages threw a lot of information at me and I wasn’t quite able to sort it out until the story had moved on a little; but that’s the risk of being late to the party. I did feel, though, that we didn’t really need to know everything that happened in the previous murder mystery and the references to them had me expecting that one character, in particular, would turn up in this book. (They didn’t.)

So, the story. In search of secrets in her past, Kitty Underhay heads to Enderley Hall to meet her relatives for the first time — but the elderly Nanny who might be prepared to tell her is soon found dead at the bottom of the stairs. And so, with the help of her handsome not-quite-beau Captain Matthew Bryant, Kitty has a mystery to solve.

Once I got to Enderley Hall and became properly engaged in the story, the book really galloped along. I enjoyed the characters, especially the sparky relationship between Kitty and Matthew, and the period details. The book is well-written and has all the hallmarks of a traditional country house mystery yet with a refreshing modern touch. It’s the first book by Helena Dixon that I’ve read, and I’ll be reading more.

Thanks to Netgalley and Bookouture for an advance copy of this book in return for an honest review.

This book is of the young lady at the end of the war who has fallen on straitened circumstance, involved with a police/detective investigating a murder genre.
And it is a really good representative of it.
I have not read the first book but it did not matter because I was introduced to the ongoing themes effectively and without repetition.
A rip roaring murder mystery with spies and a country house setting. Great fun.

The 2nd book in a new period cozy series that is getting better. I for one am waiting expectantly for the third in this series. Fantastic read.

Kitty and Matt are back again to sleuth and I have enjoyed their almost romance. I love the time period of this series and the character development. I am very much looking forward to the 3rd book.
Many thanks to Bookouture and to NetGalley for providing me with a galley in exchange for my honest opinion.

A well written read with good characterisation, the story flows nicely and you are very quickly drawn into the world of the 1930's.
Kitty Underhay is an engaging character who you soon come to love. Plenty of intrigue and red herrings to keep you guessing.
Sometimes all you need is a nice cosy mystery to snuggle up with and this fits the bill perfectly.

In the first book of the series, Kitty Underhay discovered that she had more family than she knew. Now, she's been invited to go visit. And the family lives in a grand estate and have several people other than Kitty visiting. Kitty meets many of them on the first day, including Nanny Thomas who was her cousin Lucy's nanny and is now companion to Kitty's aunt. She is a dithery sort of old woman who is ruthlessly bullied by the lady of the house. But she doesn't know much of anything about anything. So why, after a set of papers relating to the Ministry of Defence go missing, is Nanny the one who ends up dead?
Kitty calls Captain Matthew Bryant, who now has his own investigative agency, to come down and investigate. He is able to come down to help her figure out exactly what is going on.
It took a bit for me to get into this book and I wish there had been more development between Kitty and Matt. Also, the ending was a bit flat but overall a nice book that, when it moved, moved quickly and I'm looking forward to the next.

Four stars
Follows Murder at the Dolphin Hotel
This book came out March 19th
ARC kindly provided by Bookouture and NetGalley
Opinions are my own

I was so pleased to read this after reading Murder at The Dolphin Hotel. This book continues one from the first one and now that Kitty knows about some relatives she sets off to meet them at the very impressive Enderley Hall.

This is a throw back to the very best detective books, a group of people gather for an event in a house and one doesn’t make it? Anyone could be the murderer but who has the motive? Kitty with a little help seeks to speak to all attendees to try and solve the mystery, but can she before anyone else dies?

An excellent read, I am loving this series. It is good to see the development of Kitty and to see her working with Matt.

In summer 1933, Kitty Underhay travels to see her estranged family at Enderley Hall and gets caught up in a theft and murders linked to national security.
I enjoyed the 1930s setting and the historical detail and attitudes seemed realistic and well researched. There are overtones of Agatha Christie in terms of the interviews with suspects and of Gosford Park/Downton Abbey with the social and class divisions.

Kitty is a fun and detemined heroine, at odds with the expectations of the time. She has a mystery in her own past as her mother disappeared when she was a child and meeting her estranged aunt gives her the opportunity to discover more about her. Captain Matthew Bryant is a dashing love interest but they are still at the friendship stage of their relationship although there is a romantic tension between the two.
There are a whole host of suspects and clues for Kitty and Matthew to investigate and the political unrest of the inter-war period is a good plot device for explaining the tensions between characters.

Murder at Enderley Hall is the second book in Helena Dixon’s series but the first that I have read. There are numerous mentions of the previous mystery but no spoilers. It works as a stand alone book but I do now want to go back and read the first as it was so enjoyable.

In a very nice style of the Lady Julia detective series, we have Kitty with a colorful history being reconciled with an aunt and uncle who have been estranged for years. The reception is a bit strained, though her cousin Lucy is very warmly welcoming and Kitty tries to settle in for a short vacation.

Kitty has just helped to solve one murder mystery and she is just wanting a quiet time with family.

However murder seems to follow her around and when her Uncle loses some very important papers relating to national security, it is apparent that the thief is one of the house party and the investigation starts. The murder of the elderly Nanny sets off a chain of events leading to another murder and then another making it apparent that the murderer is covering all his bases and any odds that anyone knows anything.

With the help of senior detectives and Matt who helped Kitty in her earlier case, they try to flush out the murderer and the case evolves. A touch of romance all around and quite a lot of detail on how a aristocratic family operates.

Reminiscent of the age and a well told detective story.

This is the second in the Miss Underhay mystery series which features Kitty Underhay, a young woman living in the 1920’s. In this book Kitty has travelled to spend the week with her aunt and family. She learned of this family connection in the first book of the series when she briefly encountered her estranged father.
An on-going thread for both books is Kitty’s search for what happened to her mother who disappeared at the time of the first world war. While she is interested in meeting the new-found family, Kitty is also hoping to learn more about her mother’s whereabouts just before she disappeared. There is a little progress on this thread, but it continues to be a mystery Kitty is likely to pursue in future books.
Early in Kitty’s visit, some important papers belonging to her uncle are stolen. Suspicion bounces among the other houseguests, including the Austrian woman there to restore a mural, the brother and sister who are visiting Kitty’s cousin, the secretary to Kitty’s uncle as well as the gruff man who is there to help Kitty’s aunt restore her gardens. Suspicion falls on each one in tern as Kitty calls in her friend Captain Mathew Bryant to help in the investigation.
Throughout the book, the author teases possible strengthening in the relationship between Kitty and Mathew. There are other subplots that lend clues and red herrings to the story, including the propaganda statements made by one guest, the relationships developing between two couples, and the secrecy of Kitty’s uncles work. All combine to create a story that is part historical fiction, part espionage, and eventually murder. None of the outcomes are particularly surprising, including the identity of the murderer, but the story is well told and is an interesting,easy read.
The characters are engaging enough to hold your interest and the book is well written.
A good airplane/beach/cabin read, this book can be enjoyed either by reading straight through or in a setting where the reader is occasionally interrupted. My thanks to Bookoutour Publishers and NetGalley for providing me with an advanced digital read copy in exchange for an honest review.

Murder at Enderley Hall by Helena Dixon was a charming cozy mystery-taking place after World War I on an English country estate. It is the second in the series. Kitty Underhay lives with her grandmother who runs a hotel. Her father was a reprobate, but alive and her mother had gone missing 17 years before, not sure of status. She has just been invited to Enderley Hall, the home of her aunt, her father's sister. She is curious and excited. She decides to take Alice, a hotel chambermaid with her to act as companion and ladies' maid for the duration. She gets there and it is not a comfortable place. There are other guests, so she at least is not alone. Before the night is over, there is a murder. Isn't that just terrific. She decides to call her friend, Matt, who is starting his own private investigations business and had worked in that capacity for her grandmother. He arranged everything and arrived that day. She was much more comfortable with him there. They could investigate together.

As are most cozies, this is a very character-driven story. It's a time of vast change in England. After WWI the nobility and their lots in life a changed, but for the older ones, especially, in was a difficult transition. A man that was frowned upon as a suitor all of a sudden became acceptable when her inherits; women are wearing makeup; it is difficult to find servants since young people don't really want to go in to service anymore. Women are nowhere near to being considered equals. Men still run everything and lord it over women. Kitty is an endearing character, naive yet, brave and intelligent. Stuck somewhere between high class and middle class, life is interesting for her. Matt, her friend, has ghosts, mainly left over from the war. Bright enough to be a private investigator, it may not be his best choice because of those ghosts. Did I say charming? That it is. A calmer version of the Keystone Cops, almost. I recommend it.

I received a free ARC of Murder at Enderley Hall from Netgalley in exchange for a fair and honest review. All opinions and interpretations contained herein are solely my own. #netgalley #murderatenderleyhall

Based on the sleek cover and the promising blurb, the novel was likely to please me. I immediately took to it, enjoying the Agatha Christie mixed with Downton Abbey atmosphere. For about half of it, I really couldn’t put it down. In the last part, my attention slightly waned, maybe due to a lack of pace (?). In any case, overall, the ingredients were there to offer a fun moment of escapism.

In this second installment of the Miss Underhay Mystery series Kitty is visiting her newly found relatives at Enderley Hall. As her luck would have it, on the first night she is there important documents from her uncle's laboratory go missing. To keep the theft from hitting the papers, Kitty suggest they call in her friend Captain Matt. Things go further south when murders begin occurring and then everyone is under suspicion, even Kitty!

This was a wonderful, quick and lighthearted read! The pace was fast and the story line not only made sense but it was believable. Nothing in the story was predictable. I really like the budding friendship/romance between Kitty and Matt. I wonder where their relationship will go in the next book.