Murder by Invitation Only is the third book in the Phyllida Bright Mysteries, and this series just keeps getting better! Set in Agatha Christie's Mallowan Hall, this book sees little of "Mrs. Agatha" but focuses on a nearby home. In an homage to "A Murder is Announced," the couple of this house stage a play in which the supposedly fictional deceased actually winds up dead.

I'm enjoying the scenes with Phyllida and Bradford, and I'm most interested to learn more about Phyllida's mysterious history. The fourth book is releasing soon and I can't wait!

Thanks to Net Galley and Kensington Books for the complimentary digital review copy of this title.

This traditional murder mystery features housekeeper and amateur sleuth Phyllida Bright investigating a small pool of suspects invited to attend a murder or to take a starring role in it. There are plenty of respectful nods to Dame Agatha Christie’s works throughout, which is highly appropriate, as Phyllida happens to be the great writer’s housekeeper – Christie herself makes a couple of cameo appearances but doesn’t really get involved in the plot much.

The whole premise and execution are great fun. Phyllida is an Amelia Peabody-style character, bossing everyone around and organising everything to her high standards, with the reader getting insight into her softer feelings that she keeps from the other characters. I found her very relatable. And the mystery was entertaining and well-constructed, with lots of clues and red herrings to keep read-along sleuths guessing.

Alongside the main story there are touches of blossoming romance for the upright main character, and a hint that she has secrets in her past that are not quite as tightly-laced as she pretends to be.

Overall, this is a really fun, old-fashioned cosy mystery story that is as readable and more-ish as the classic books to which it pays homage.

When a mysterious note is sent to Mallowan Hall stating , “A murder will occur tonight at Beecham House…” Agatha Christie insists that her housekeeper, Phyllida Bright attend on her behalf. How can she resist? Phyllida’s curiosity is quickly satisfied when she finds that it’s nothing more than a staged murder mystery party. Until the victim turns out to be really dead!

“Imagine that. A murder being portended—or announced!—ahead of time . . . A murder is announced . . . why, that would be quite an intriguing title for a book, wouldn’t it? Good heavens! Why didn’t I think of it before?”

In her third book featuring Phyllida Bright (Agatha Christie’s fictional housekeeper), Cambridge has written another entertaining homage to Christie’s own works. I really enjoyed this engaging return to Mallowan Hall. Phyllida is a wonderful protagonist. A smart, capable woman with a mysterious past that makes her very intriguing. And I love that the author has no problem poking fun at her own main character, revealing chinks in her armor.

The mystery aspect of the story (a closed circle with a small number of suspects) is well-clued but easily solved by the reader. Not an issue for me as it was great fun following Phyllida’s determined scramble to solve the crime before Inspector Cork arrives on the scene.

A well paced narrative. Lots more character development (with hints of some interesting things to come). I thoroughly enjoyed this and look forward to seeing the next book in the series.

I have to say, I wasn't particularly impressed with this book, yet I decided to review it because I was expecting so much more.
Since I first saw the first instalment, I have been curious about this series with Agatha Christie's housekeeper at Mallowan Hall as the protagonist. I thought the concept was so interesting and unique... and I will admit that - as it often happens to me - the cover did a lot of the attraction.
I will say that it is a very relaxing read that doesn't busy the mind. I read it quite quickly. But apart from this, there were so many things that didn't work for me.

First of all, I didn't connect with Phyllida. She's presented as some sort of Mary Poppins, a perfect housekeeper who always knows what to do and is the go-to person for everyone involved in the story. She always knows what to do, she's always right in the end. And yes, the author makes fun of it and tries to present it in an amusing way, but personally, I found it unlikely and annoying.
There are also a few hints at Phyllida's past that were interesting, but I realised almost immediately I would never learn more than that, at least in this story. I found this annoying, too, because I don't like baits much when I read, especially if they sound more interesting than the story that is actually being told.

I had similar issues with all the characters. They all seemed to be stereotypical in a way or another. And it might have been a precise style choice - I mean, it might have been the author trying to make fun of the genre - but I'm really not sure. It didn't feel like that to me. There was that sort of imbalance.
Even Agatha Christie, who appears briefly, doesn't feel like a real person.

The mystery was messy. Definitely.
It was unlikely, not clearly thought out, and conducted mainly through interviews that didn't move the needle until just one detail revealed it all.
The first murder seemed unlikely to happen in that way. The second - why was it even necessary?
So it is no surprise that the ending was also messy, unlikely and kind of purely executed, with a final action scene happening after the revelation of the murder that really didn't do anything in terms of plot. I just wished it was over.
All of this was mixed with random hints at the past lives of the main cast and with Phyllida's house management-oriented thoughts, which I found distracting rather than entertaining.

As I write this, I realise I'm probably not the intender reader for this mystery. Other readers may enjoy it very much. The series seems to have quite the following, so please don't be put off by my personal reaction. And if you read it, let me know what you think!

Thank you to Netgally, the publishers, and Colleen Cambridge

When I requested this book I was unaware that it was apart of a series, one that requires you to read the previous books for this one to make sense. I am unable to read all the previous books along with this one before the publish date. Therefore, I will rate this a fair 3/5 stars and will adjust the rating and review when I am able to read all the books in the series along with this one.

MURDER BY INVITATION ONLY (Phyllida Bright Mystery Book #3) by Colleen Cambridge is another charming and entertaining addition to the Phyllida Bright historical cozy mystery series featuring Agatha Christie’s murder mystery solving housekeeper. While this is the third book in the series, it can be read as a standalone for the mystery, but each book gives a little more information and teasers regarding Phyllida’s mysterious past.

While Agatha Christie and her husband are away in London, Phyllida receives an invitation sent to Mallowan Hall for a murder from the new inhabitants of Beecham House. How can she resist?

Mr. and Mrs. Wokesley have set up a murder mystery play with friends and family playing the suspects. When the scene is revealed all the invited guests are invited to question the suspects from the scene. As the questioning begins, one invited guest gets closer to the body of the murder victim and discovers that he is not acting. Mr. Wokesley is dead.

Phyllida takes control of the investigation while Inspector Cork is delayed in his travels from London. She soon discovers that all the play-acting suspects all truly have reasons to kill Mr. Wokesley. When a second murder occurs, Phyllida may have discovered the killer, but at what price to her own life?

I really enjoyed this engaging return to Mallowan Hall. Phyllida is a wonderful protagonist/amateur sleuth and with every book her mysterious past and aversion to London makes her even more intriguing. This mystery plot is set up like Christie’s own mysteries and cozies of that era. While I enjoyed reading this story due to my love of these characters, the murder mystery is very easily solved. The reasons for all the suspects to have hated and or murdered the dead man were interesting, but never really pulled me away from my early belief of the true murderer. That will not stop me from continuing in this series though. I cannot wait to learn more about Phyllida’s past and see if she and Bradford become even closer.

I enjoyed this return to Phyllida’s historical cozy mystery world and I am anxiously waiting for the next book in the series.

A good second book in the series, that follows Agatha Christie's housekeeper. I will continue to seek out this series when new books are published. It is such a cool twist on a mystery and the mysteries themselves are intriguing.

When an invitation arrives at Mallowan Hall for a murder mystery party given by new neighbours the Wokesleys at Beecham House, Agatha Christie insists her housekeeper/friend Phyllida attend in their absence. And who can resist such an invitation…certainly not amateur sleuth Phyllida!

When she arrives, she discovers Beecham House in a bit of disorder, so she offers the overwhelmed housekeeper her assistance until the party is under way. The hosts have enlisted family friends to play parts in the mystery, and Mr. Wokesley will play the victim. But it is soon discovered that Mr. Wokesley is indeed a victim of foul play in real life.

With Inspector Cork delayed by a weather-related bridge failure, Phyllida steps up to help the local constable solve the crime. At first it seems no one has a motive to see their host dead, but as Phyllida investigates, she discovers each friend playing a part in the mystery is playing a part linked to their real life. And then the motives begin to stack up.

Colleen Cambridge has created a community at Mallowan Hall that is a delight to visit. The characters’ nuances are developing and the relationships between the characters are evolving. The author’s style of writing is very appealing to me – clear and concise, yet seems to fit the time in which it’s set.

All-in-all, one of my favourite books of 2023.

Synopsis
In this engaging historical mystery, Phyllida Bright, Agatha Christie's housekeeper, becomes an amateur sleuth when a murder-themed game goes wrong. Can she outsmart the guilty party?

My Overall Thoughts
This is a cozy that pays homage to the classic mysteries of Agatha Christie written very much in the style of classic whodunits. I think it works in that vein and I do really enjoy that Christie is only a minor character in the novel with the true detective being her maid.

What I Didn't Love
The mystery itself was pretty easily guessed too early in the book, but this was not unlike the classic mysteries this book modeled itself on. I also would have liked to get to know Phyllida a little better, but since it is a series, I realize there needs to be some character development withheld for future books. I have not read the first two books in this series either, so I know I am at a disadvantage there and will go back and read them soon.

Phyllida is the sleuth I didn’t know I needed. In the home of Agatha Christie, I would never have thought to look to her maid to solve a murder mystery, but I would have been wrong. I love how, while interrogating witnesses, she stops to note that the housekeeping staff has not tended to the fireplace or snacks. She’s awesome!

I Would Recommend This Book To
mystery fans who enjoy a nod to classic mysteries

I would not recommend jumping into this series at this point. There has been an established relationship between us as the reader and the unlikeable heroine, one which only makes sense after a couple of books of watching her confidently make decisions that ultimately solve the issue at hand.
I think at this point I am only continuing with the series to know more about Phyllida Bright's past. One that there is a constant reference to, but nothing of it has been directly referred to until now.
I know it sounds like I disliked the book, having started with such descriptions, but it is a good plot, the only problem being that this time around, the culprit was glaringly obvious. The investigation proceeds in an interesting manner with Agatha Christie being out of town and asking our lead protagonist to dig a little into an odd invitation that arrives for a 'murder'. There are a host of characters, all set to play their roles in a murder mystery, but one of them actually ends up dead, and chaos ensues.
There are a lot of people to interview, and the main police take their time arriving on the scene. There is also an action sequence of sorts at the end, after the big reveal.
I started reading another of the author's series last year, one with a more likeable leading lady, and I look forward to continuing that one. This series is one that will appeal to people who want a quick and orderly read.
I received an ARC thanks to NetGalley and the publishers, but the review is entirely based on my own reading experience.

Not for me, this one; too much of a flavour of the modern for my tastes, with young girls wanting to be footmen and servants being accepted on equal terms with those above stairs. All too improbable for the times in which the book is set and gives the whole thing the air of emancipated modernhood masquerading as a historical mystery novel. This is yet another writer writing about life above and below stairs, yet who does not seem to understand how it actually worked. Firstly, the friendly relations between housekeeper and mistress are extremely unlikely, however much such relations are integral to the storyline. It just doesn’t ring true to life. And the incongruous Americanisms strike a most discordant note. ‘Clued me in’ is definitely not a phrase one would consider in use in England at the time this book is set.

Nothing in the story seems to make sense and there appears to be a general lack of background research. One character mentions a body being cool after having been dead less than an hour. A human body cools at a much slower rate than this and would still be warm after such a short elapse of time, especially if the fingers were still supple. At one point we hear about the ringing of a dinner gong, then we hear that the cook is going on about serving tea. Is it afternoon or evening? We hear about a diminutive footman, but one most definite requirement for a footman was to be tall and handsome, therefore a short footman would have been extremely unlikely.

There is an awful lot of ‘tell’ rather than ‘show’ in the characterisations. Mrs Bright is supposed to be such a good detective and this we know because she tells us so herself. However, she misses solving the crime very early on in the proceedings by committing the worst faux pas of a detective – limiting her suspects and not keeping an open mind. Yes, Mrs Bright – you're a great detective... not! Also, at one time she stands by and watches while a loin of pork is prepared for dinner. At a time when the Family are away and only the servants are in residence, an efficient housekeeper would certainly not countenance such extravagant waste of her Master’s money. Socially just or not, a loin of pork would not have been prepared purely for the consumption of servants, especially in a well-run, efficient household such as Mrs Bright claims hers is.

The personalities and interaction of the various characters actually makes this book quite an unpleasant read. Mrs Bright and the other below stairs characters seem to have very negative relationships based either on mutual dislike or fear – the female staff are in fear of her as the housekeeper and the butler and chauffeur seem to view her with dislike and contempt. This constant sparing is unpleasant to read and shows Mrs Bright in a very bad light. She is extremely arrogant and clearly wants to hold her own against the other male staff members but surely she should strive to be their equal not their rival. It might make her a nicer person and the book a much more pleasant read. The author is clearly angling for a forthcoming romance between Mrs Bright and Bradford the chauffeur, but at the moment they are at daggers drawn, to the detriment of the story.

The book is written with absolutely no finesse whatsoever and consequently the story is clumsy and heavy. The Americanisms in what is supposed to be an upper middle class English setting strike an extremely discordant note and the author would have done better to research correct English culture and language. Such dishes as popovers and corn muffins are distinctly American and would be unlikely to grace the table in such a household as is portrayed in this book, and terms such as ‘offing’ people, ‘nixing’, and ‘taking the rap’ makes the whole thing sound more like some bad American gangster movie rather than an English village cosy mystery. The storyline was barely credible, the characters were in the main unpleasant – both to each other and generally speaking, which made for an unsatisfying and uncomfortable read. Mrs Bright’s bid to strive to antagonise Messrs Doble and Bradford at every turn is as pitiful as it is irritating, with her doing everything she knows they will not like, not because she has to, but just because she knows they will not like it. Is there any wonder that she is unpopular with every other servant in the household? She is the author of her own dislike, and I just cannot see why the author has done this to the main protagonist.

I could go on forever about this book, but I think enough has been said. There are many who will find this book quite entertaining and satisfactory, but those others who are not so easily satisfied will agree with my comments. The book is sloppy, poorly researched and badly constructed, and is not the best of its kind. In closing, I would add that grammar and spelling need also to be researched by the author. The word is bollocks, not bollix, and the past participle of shine is shone, not shined.

I liked this book. The mystery kept me guessing. I liked the characters and the setting

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

Unfortunately, yet another book that I found myself far from being as engaged as I thought I would be. I mean, a mystery set at the time of one of my favourite authors - Agatha Christie - using the person of her housekeeper as the main character, and from who's "adventures in crime" Agatha bases her own stories around. This outting - I believe to be the second or third in a potential series - becomes the inspiration for Agatha's book, A Death Is Announced.

For sake of continuity, I would suggest reading this series from the start and not jumping in somewhere is the middle. I also found no connection with any of the characters, including Agatha herself.

Agatha Christie's housekeeper solves another murder in this third in the series. I figured out who the murderer was fairly early in the story but I still enjoyed following the adventures of the characters through until the end.

By now, the downstairs groups of Mallowan Hall and neighboring estates know of Phyllida's penchant for solving murders. When the new neighbors host a Murder party, Phyllida attends in the Mallowan's stead and is on site when the host, who is playing the body, turns out to actually be dead. Like any good mystery, the clues are all out in plain sight, but Phylllida is methodical in her discoveries. I liked the continued movement of her personal story and new details about Bradford.

This series is so fun. Phyllida is delightful. Learning more about Bradford is great! All tye love for Myrtle =)

If you consider yourself better than the average amateur sleuth, then pretend murder games may be beneath you. That’s how Phyllida Bright feels when she first arrives at a murder mystery evening hosted by newcomers to the area. In fact, she’s ready to leave when an actual murder occurs.

I found the mystery very evenly paced but there was time for some personal development with a few of the returning characters. While the book is entertaining and easily read as a standalone, it’s much more enjoyable if you read it in the series order as the characters are slowly developing in each one. Also, because there are A LOT of characters in the story (both returning and new), it helps to already be familiar with the Mallowan staff.

And while I have read (and loved) the previous books in this series, I was still finding it difficult to keep track of everyone. The new characters include the murder game hosts, their staff, their guests, and the ‘actors’ in the game.

With the large cast of characters, there are more than a few suspects to start but things get whittled down in a nice, logical manner. Phyllida gets to work with Constable Greensticks and they actually make a good detecting pair.

There are ample clues sprinkled throughout the story that allows the reader to make their own guesses at who the killer is (I had the killer picked up pretty early on) but the ultimate reveal was completely satisfying.

Agatha Christie and her husband Max Mallowan take a major backseat in this book but as the series is focused on Phyllida, you barely notice that they’re not involved.

While Phyllida still has a few quirks that I find sometimes annoying (she is a bit snobbish and can often seem to be a bit judgemental) I really like how she is developing as a character. There is still a lot of mystery surrounding her background – we still only get a sentence here and there about it, although we do get more in this book. I’m hoping her backstory gets revealed soon.

*** Thank you to the publisher, Kensington Books, for providing me with an e-copy of this book via Netgalley in exchange for an unbiased review.

A cozy mystery in the style of Agatha Christie, this is the third in a series featuring Phyllida Bright, Agatha Christie’s housekeeper and friend. When an invitation comes to Agatha Christie’s house to attend a murder mystery night, Agatha asks Phyllida to attend since Agatha and her husband were not home. Once Phyllida arrives at the new neighbors house, the game becomes a real murder. There are many red herrings and great secondary characters, making it easy to read without reading the first two of the series. Recommended. Thanks to NetGalley for the ARC.

Agatha Christie meets Downton Abbey! This is the third installment of the Phyllida Bright mystery series, but it was the first one I read. Still, I don't think that not knowing the previous events had much impact on my understanding.
Such an interesting book! A whodunnit detective story starred by Mrs. Bright, a housekeeper at Mrs. Agatha Christie's home, who ends up investigating a murder at a neighbour's house. I found it amusing and funny (specially when the same importance is given both to household affairs and murder solving), and all in all hard to guess the culprit (but I'm usually terrible at this).

Thank you NetGalley and publishers for an ARC of this book. Opinions are my own.
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Phyllida Bright, housekeeper for Agatha Christie is invited to a neighboring manor for a dinner murder enactment where the dramatic victim is indeed murdered. Murder by Invitation Only provides many suspects and red herrings for Ms. Bright The policeman follows her lead as the murder inspector is late arriving. Clever use of mystery conventions. Excellent read.