Many thanks to Netgalley and the publisher/author for providing me with an ALC in exchange for my honest review.

This book was exactly what I wanted it to be! I loved it. I will make sure to check out other books by this author. When I requested this I was just intrigued by the concept of it and I loved how it turned out. This story had a great plot and if you have read this and enjoyed it, This was so much. It was such a great story. I would say give this one a try. I will continue to follow this author. Way to go to this author for not letting me down.

I highly enjoyed the narrator of the audiobook. Kept me listening.

Murder at Mallowan Hall was an absolute delight to read! Phyllida Bright, a perfectionist housekeeper and fan of mystery novels, is thrown for a loop when a murder occurs at the Mallowan Hall. Agatha Christie and her husband are Phyllida's employers, and Agatha is a friend, although Phyllida is so professional that the glimpses into their friendship are few and far between. Intrigued by the mysterious death and irritated by the apparent clumsiness of the detectives assigned to the case, Phyllida decides to investigate on her own, while simultaneously balancing a chaotic workload of managing the staff and seeing to the guests, one of whom is likely a murderer!

The characters were likable and slightly annoying, which made them all the more real. The story transported me back in time and the plot was fabulous with excellent Christie vibes. Loved it!

Thank you to Netgalley and the author/publisher for this book. I chose the audiobook.

This was such a delight. I’ve been trying to get into cozy mysteries more like my hubby likes. He’s a big Agatha Christie fan. This one hit the spot. I think my biggest problem with them though is how my mind sort of wonders in the middle of them. So much going on but also a lot of character interaction. I know this is needed but I’m bad to want it rushed up lol. That being said, this one moves at a good pace. I only wondered during a little part just before the middle. I never guessed about the killer. And I thought it surprising there was more than one killing. But what really blew me away, I never expected that ending and the whole reason why it all happened in the first place. Who would’ve thought? My favorite thing about this new series is how the author bases it around a housekeeper of Agatha Christie’s. How clever. Who better to do some snooping? I especially liked when Agatha Christie was present.

The narrator was wonderful. She was born for this book. And I’m not sure I heard correctly but at the very end, I believe it mentioned copyright by Colleen Gleason? I did read somewhere this is a pen name so I’m all excited it could be Colleen Gleason. I love her work. I highly recommend this no matter who the author is.

What a refreshing take on the traditional sleuth novels! The protagonist is Phyllida Bright, the housekeeper (really, the household manager) for Agatha Christie and her second husband. When a reporter is found dead in the library, the morning after several house guests have arrived, Phyllida takes on the unofficial role of investigator to determine who killed this mysterious, uninvited man. The characters, both upper crust and servants are delightful--Christie would be pleased. And, the interaction between Phyllida and the author is quite interesting, as Christie, in this story, does not get heavily involved with the investigation, but instead simply encourages Phyllida in hers! I enjoyed the narration of this book and look forward to many more sequels!

Agatha Christie has been my favorite author since I was 9 years old and discovered Hercule Poirot. As a Christie lover, the concept of this novel made me jump at the chance to read it - what a fun idea for a series! The main character, Phyllida Bright, is the head housekeeper for Christie and her husband, Max Mallowan. Mallowan Hall is a large country manor and Phyllida runs the household efficiently. She is very protective of her employers and wants things to be just right at all times. A dead body in the library does tend to get things in an uproar, however.....

I love the 1930's setting for this novel, and although completely fictionalized the house, staff and setting sucked me into the story immediately. Can you imagine?? A cold blooded murder....in the library....at AGATHA CHRISTIE's house??? :) Perfect!!

The story moves at a nice pace. There is plenty of sleuthing and lots of suspects. It was like being in a Christie novel featuring her own household staff. Fun!

I read a digital review copy of this book, and also listened to the audiobook. Narrated by Jennifer M. Dixon, the audio is just short of 9.5 hours. Dixon has the perfect voice to narrate this book! Her voice acting performance was wonderful. A fun, interesting listening experience!

I am definitely, 100%, no doubt whatsoever completely on board for more stories in this series! Can't wait!!

**I voluntarily read a review copy of this book from Kensington and listened to audio from HighBridge Audio. All opinions expressed are entirely my own.**

*received for free from netgalley for honest review* Always think these historical detective mysteries like this are so cute and awesome lol cant wait for more of this series!

This was painful. The narration was just horrible, completely disrupting the flow of the narrative. It was so horrible to listen to I finally had to give up. What I did suffer through was not impressive, story-wise. IT had potential, but just never lived up to it.

Historical mystery set in Agatha Christie's household. I liked the mystery, with lots of characters I would love to find out about the housekeeper's past. However, I felt it did get bogged down in details when describing characters.
I liked the narrator as well. She seemed to do a very good job.

Thank you to the author, publisher and NetGalley for my eARC in exchange for an honest review.

I was very much anticipating this book but for ME it fell very flat. The thing is I can't really say hey, even. It just did.

But I don't doubt it will be loved by customers and I would not have an issue recommending it. I think it was definitely a me not the book

So ignore the stars. I hate the stars.

This is a cute, cozy, historical mystery, perfect for fans of the historical mystery genre. Phyllida is a fascinating female detective. Her past during the war is mysterious, though one assumes she acted as a spy or something. She was good friends with Agatha Christie and elected to become her housekeeper. In this role at Mallowan Hall, she is swept up in a murder investigation. Phyllida is kind of prickly, but very smart and a very funny perspective on the mystery. I don't usually love when real people are used as characters in mysteries, but Agatha and Max play such small roles in the book, that it really didn't bother me that much. What did really grate for me was the author's lack of research into Max Mallowan and Agatha Christie's life with him. The book references his archaeology in Egypt multiple times, despite the fact he was an archaeologist of the Near East. Every reference to Egypt made me want to throw the book. It came off as borderline racist to me, but I am an archaeologist, so I probably pay more attention to this than some. Without the Egypt references, this would have been a 4 star book but with them, it's more like a 2 star.

I was in the mood for a good cozy mystery, and with the references to Dame Christie herself, how could I resist? I am happy to report my lack of self-control proved a worthy time of entertainment!

Mallowan Hall is the home of Agatha and her second husband Max, while the mysteriously placed Phyllida Bright, a former friend of the now Mrs. Mallowan runs the household. Phyllida is the one to find the dead body in the library after an evening of dining with friends. The body belongs to a Mr. Waring whom no one seems to know. Of course, this can't be true. Phyllida is quite a fan of Hercule Poirot, despite his being fiction, and sets off to collect clues and solve the murder, complete with the bumbling detectives all the way through with a final denouement!

I enjoyed this first installment of this Phyllida Bright Mystery series. I felt it introduced the characters very well and left some unanswered questions that will undoubtedly be revealed as the series continues. I am quite intrigued by Ms. Bright and will stay tuned to find out more about her! I also enjoyed the mystery. While I did have a hunch "who-done-it", it was a delightful listen.

Overall, I thoroughly enjoyed the audio version of this book! The narrator did a fantastic job and carried me through the story with ease and delectation! For fans of cozy mysteries, Agatha Christie, and a good old-fashioned Who-Done-It, I highly recommend this story. Thank you, NetGalley, Kensington Books, and Highbridge for the ALC.

In one of those interesting coincidences, this is the second mystery published this month (after Death at Greenway by Lori Rader Day ) that features Agatha Christie. The little details about Agatha ring true although if Agatha disliked the press so much, how did the murder victim who claimed to be a reporter get to stay? I was disappointed that this “Mallowan Hall” doesn’t seem to be one of the houses that Agatha actually lived in.

Agatha is really a secondary character and the star of the show is housekeeper Phyllida Bright. Beginning with a very Christie set up when Phyllida discovers the body in the library but no mud tracked is in so IT MUST HAVE BEEN SOMEONE INSIDE THE HOUSE, Phyllida investigates, thinking that her little grey cells are up to the challenge. With numerous guests for a house party and so many servants (including a rather infuriating new chauffeur) there is no shortage of suspects.

There are definite upstairs/downstairs vibes and lots about life “below stairs.” I enjoyed how all the details of housekeeping helped with the investigation (this bed is askew, these shoes squeak). There are so many suspects and some of them (especially members of the house party) do run together so you want to feel for them but if only you could tell them apart. There are hints about Phyllida’s past and that may make future series entries more compelling.

I listened to the audio and I think that the narrator here does a great job of making a solid book better. I will probably listen to the second book in the series. If I had one wish, it might be that Cambridge would increase the role of Christie in future books. Christie doesn’t have to DO the investigation but I would love to see a similar role as Queen Elizabeth had in The Windsor Knot.

Thank you to Kensington Books and Netgalley for providing me with a copy of this book in exchange for an honest review.

A house party, murder, upstairs/downstairs scenes. What else can you have but a golden-age mystery. However, this time, it is set at the home of no other than Agatha Christie, the Queen of Murder Mysteries. Told from the point of view of the housekeeper and friend of Agatha Christie, Phyllida Bright, has a quick mind and is thoroughly versed in the ways of Hercule Poirot and Miss Marple. Of course, she will investigate when she finds a dead body in the library to discovers the police are not getting the job done. Agatha must not be bothered as she is trying to finish a book and tend to her guests.

Phyllida is an engaging character and a good investigator. Her interaction with Agatha is believable but does not play a big role in the story. Her encounters with the butler and the chauffeur have a bigger part and are amusing and enjoyable. The other characters are well-drawn as well.

The narrator does a good job and the different voices suit the characters well. However, since there are a number of characters it can be hard to remember who is who sometimes.

There is always the danger when using a real person in a fictional mystery series that the person will not seem true to life. Cambridge does a good job in her depiction of Agatha and her husband Max. It helps that they don’t have starring roles in the story.

I enjoyed it. It can be read as any other historical mystery set during the Golden Age of Murder or for the character of Agatha Christie. Either way, it is a good story and I would definitely read another in the series.

Thanks to Netgalley and the publisher for an ARC in exchange for an honest review.

The story is set at Agatha Christie Mallowan's home. Agatha and Max are holding a house party. An unexpected guest is found dead in the library the morning after he arrives.
Phyllida Bright, the housekeeper, investigates because she doesn't think the inspector is competent.
Phyllida comes across as full of herself. There is some mystery in her past that I suppose will come out as the series continues.
The chauffeur, Bradford, is quite annoying.
The interactions of Phyllida and Agatha are interesting and probably the best scenes in the story.
I found the story a bit stilted. The book uses elements from different Agatha Christie murders but is imaginatively done.
There is an element to the story that involves the LGBTQ community, which may be triggering as the views in England during this period were fairly harsh.
The narrator does a good job.
I didn't really connect with the story, so while good it only rates 3 stars for me.

Brief Synopsis: A man in his late 20’s is found dead in the library, by the housekeeper at Agatha Christie’s house. He was stabbed in the neck with a fountain pen. This particular guest had not been on the guest list but was welcomed to stay anyways. He said he was a journalist there to interview Agatha, but investigators later determine that he provided a false identity. Who is the dead man in the library and who would want him dead?

Thoughts: I enjoy cozy mysteries and this one did not disappoint. The characters are realistic, and the storyline is mostly believable. The head housekeeper, Phyllida Bright, is an amateur sleuth and is no stranger to murder mysteries having worked for Agatha so long. There were 30+ people on site during the murder between the workers, owners, and house guests making the suspect pool bountiful. Though the book revolves around a murder, it’s not overly descriptive with violence or gore. I also thought it incorporated Agatha Christie's original book characters well as well as Agatha and her husband themselves. I think this paid homage to the Agatha Christie classics.

Thank you to Colleen Cambridge, HighBridge Audio, and NetGalley for an audio copy of this book. I felt the narrator did a great job. I’m ready for mystery #2 of this series.

I really liked this book - I didn't really know what it was about [I am afraid I picked this book simply for the title and the cover - both spoke to me and so I downloaded it and here we are], so I was surprised to find out this was set at Agatha Christie's country home and that she and her husband Max make appearances in the book. Phyllida is her head housekeeper [and friend] and she is both the main character and the driving force behind the story. She is, quite simply, delightful. Efficient, curt [but not unkind], and determined to not only find the killer, but to do her job to the very best of her ability. I think I would have loved to have been her friend if she was a real person.

Mrs. Bright goes into the library one morning and finds a dead body [the ensuing conversation between herself and the constable is one of the may hilarious exchanges this book has] and that starts what is a crazy, confusing, run-around, often hilarious, murder investigation. It is best to read this with little knowledge going on [much like Agatha Christie's novels] and so I am not really going to say anything else with the exception of I had no idea who the killer was and the whole story itself was pretty...well, you are just going to have to read it yourself. So well done, and I can only hope that we are going to get more books in this series; I for one, will be anxiously waiting.

I was also given an audiobook ARC for this book and Jennifer M. Dixon is a complete delight to listen to. She becomes Phyllida Bright and I love how she makes this book come alive. The way she delivers the dry humor of this book, made me laugh out loud so many times and I have now added her to my "must listen" audiobook narrator list. So well done!!

Thank you to NetGalley. Colleen Cambridge, Macmillian Audio, and Kensington Books for providing this ARC and the audiobook ARC in exchange for an honest review.

A pleasant read with likeable characters

I would like to thank Colleen Cambridge, HighBridge Audio, and NetGalley for allowing me to listen to a free ARC audiobook in exchange for an honest review.

Spoilers

I liked this audiobook quite a bit! I could have done without the Agatha Christie stuff, but then I don’t know jack about her and haven’t read her books, so that aspect was probably wasted on me. I didn’t not like it, I’m sure I just didn’t appreciate it as the author intended.

I enjoyed the characters most, particularly their lowish positions in the household. So many historical mysteries feature titled mains, sometimes it’s nice to get out of that set and spend some time with the working class, too. If we find out that Phyllida’s actually a titled lady, or at least used to be, I’ll be a little disappointed—but not too much. I found Phyllida very likeable, though her monologue at the end struck me as unnecessarily arrogant and show-offy and rather out of character for a woman who seemed pretty low-key and decent to me. I really didn’t like that whole denouement spectacle, it felt…crass. Like, "sit down, kiddies, and let me proudly present all the scandalous and criminal behavior of our guests! Be amazed!" What impressed me, however, was that the story not only involved blackmail sex, but gay blackmail sex. I loved that Phyllida was open-minded about same-sex relationships; I’m not sure how realistic it was for her to be so, but I appreciated it nevertheless.

I liked Bradford, too, and can’t wait to learn more about him. His verbal abuse was applied thickly—classic case of a man saying horrid things but doing sweet or gentle things—and I’m glad that Phyllida currently dislikes and avoids him, or least isn’t comfortable with him, because she shouldn’t be. He’s clearly meant to become the love interest, though, so she won’t dislike him for long…which hopefully means he won’t continue acting like a jackass for long.

The narrator, Jennifer M. Dixon, was great! Except...I'm so sorry, I'm not trying to be ageist, but she sounded old, and it really distracted me because Phyllida is only supposed to be in like her twenties. I had a terrible time reconciling the voice with my mental image of the character. I never quite got used to it.

Overall, this was a pleasant read that I already want to revisit. I’m eagerly anticipating the next installment!

This book was like a clue game mixed with Downton Abbey. I love that the housekeeper is solving the murders and the cops were kind of not involved. I also love that it wasn't a romance novel. It was just a mystery and had me guessing till the end. Which normally doesn't happen so I really enjoyed listening and trying to figure out who it was. The characters were well written and the pacing of the story was very good.

Advanced Reader’s Copy provided by NetGalley and HighBridge Audio in exchange for an honest review.

Cambridge introduces us to Phyllida Bright and brings readers back into the world of Agatha Christie. Bright is housekeeper for Max Mallowan and his wife... who just happens to be Agatha Christie. Bright and Christie worked alongside each other during the war, so they've got a history that allows for a closer relationship than the lady of the house and a housekeeper would normally have.

The Mallowans host some friends for a few days when an unexpected visitor turns up. Then that person is found by Bright dead in the library. As soon as Bright realizes that the local authorities aren't going to find all of the clues, she channels her inner Detective Hercule Poirot (her favorite of Christie's characters) and decides to solve the murder herself.

Cambridge lays out the puzzle piece by piece and as with Christie's novels, there are red herrings that lead you astray. It was fun to try and figure out who the killer was... and what the motive was before Cambridge revealed it - I did not solve the murder before all was revealed.

Not quite as good as Christie's mysteries, but this was an enjoyable enough read that I'll happily check out the second book once it is published.

Jennifer M. Dixon does a great job with the audiobook narration.

This book was good but truthfully not something I would typically pick out for myself. It’s a historical mystery. All of the characters work for Agatha Christie (yes, the author) and the story take place in her house. I’ve actually never read any of her books so I feel like I probably missed some references. Again, the book was just fine I am just not who it’s for is all. Would recommend to people who like cozy mysteries.