“The greatest wisdom is seeing through appearances.”

The Mask of Merryvalle Manor follows Benji (or Benjamin or Ben) as his life shifts and he settles into his new normal. After his mother passes, he is adopted by his aunt Eva and moves in with her family at the Merryvale Manor. Benji goes from a working-class lifestyle with his mother to a wealthy, privileged of the highest degree life with his aunt. The book kicks off about five years later when a woman’s body is found at the lake on the estate.

The book gives very much murder mystery, whodunit vibes with some interesting southwestern English folklore. While the mystery of who the woman is, how she was murdered, and her connection to the family (if there is one) is being explored, Benji is torn between staying true to his morality and doing what’s best for the family. The book also does a good job of exploring the lengths we are willing to go to not be alone and how we sometimes knowingly ignore obvious red flags for family and closeness.

I loved the folklore element of the Dorset Ooser mask and thought it was an amazing addition to the story and how things unfold in the book. If you read this book in an old English accent, I promise it will make your reading experience that much better LOL. The dialogue between the family members at times was a chef’s kiss! Tom was hands down my favorite character. Pure unfiltered, chaos LOL. The family as a whole was just pure, unfiltered, chaos which was amusing. The ending was surprising (in a good way) BUT it made complete sense after thinking back on some hints throughout the book.

The book was super fun to read, engaging, and reflective. If you want to get cozy and vibe with a fun (and funny at times) engaging murder mystery, whodunit, type book, then definitely give this book a shot!

Thank you so much to Fairlight Books, Pete Sherlock, and Netgalley for the ARC!!!

Recently orphaned Ben moves into his Aunt and Uncle’s ancestral home, Merryvale Manor. There, he becomes close with his twin cousins, and particularly Natasha. This book explores his being thrown into an extremely privileged lifestyle as a boy, and how some of the events of their teenage years become relevant when a body is discovered on the night of Natasha’s wedding on the Manor grounds.

This reads as a blend of dysfunctional rich people similar to the film Saltburn, with a quintessentially english atmosphere and characters. The author absolutely nails the atmosphere of England in the 1960s, and weaving in elements from folk traditions (the Ooser mask) gave it an interesting edge.

My greatest struggle with the book, is that I was so invested in chapter 1 when they find human remains, and we glimpse a bit of this family’s dysfunction - but then we slip back in time to Ben’s arrival to Merryvale for the next 20%, which was tricky because it did slow the pacing. However, I did enjoy the atmosphere and characters introduced along the way.

I think this might appeal to readers who enjoy Lucy Foley or Donna Tartt, and are looking for a mystery with rich interpersonal drama.

I would like to express my gratitude to NetGalley and the publisher and author Pete Sherlock for providing me with this ARC in exchange for my honest and unbiased review.

I was completely engrossed by this gripping and immersive story from beginning to end.
The fascinating characters leaped off the pages, pulling me into their mysterious and sinister world.
Being a lover of historical fiction, I was drawn in by the summary and the intriguing twist of a murder investigation, which left me excited to delve into the narrative.
In summary, it was a captivating read.

I would like to express my gratitude to NetGalley and the publisher for providing me with this advance reader copy in exchange for my unbiased review.

This is definitely a historical fiction and murder mystery. The writing is good and characters were mysterious. The setting was kind of atmospheric. The plot encapsulates in five acts. There were twists and turns.

Benjamin, a fourteen year old boy moves in with his Aunt and uncle in their ancestral home after his mother’s death. The Manor is nothing like he has ever imagined in his life. He has never seen such a wealth but getting used to a chaotic life. Natasha is Benjamin’s cousin but they form an unbreakable bond. The author shares about the family and Benjamin and then after five years, Natasha is getting married and on the day of her wedding, they find a body of a woman on the estate. Then the police investigates the case but a memory of the summer unveils the secret, Benjamin must make a choice.

Many Thanks to the Author, Publisher and Netgalley.

Following the death of his mother fourteen year old Ben moves into Merryvale Manor in the late 1950s; it’s the ancestral home of his aunt and uncle Ava and Rupert Drummond and he is awestruck by their wealth. His cousins Tom and Natasha teach him how to live a life of luxury.

Five years later a woman’s body is found on the estate and things begin to fall apart. The family is at the center of the investigation. What happened?

I thought this would be a cozy mystery but it most definitely is not. Well-drawn characters throughout. Well-done. I quite enjoyed it.

The mask of Merryvale Manor is a historical fiction, murder mystery, set amongst the elite and wealthy.

The story follows Benjamin, a young boy whose mother recently passed away. He is taken to live with his Aunt, Uncle and twin cousins in their upscale manor, he has never known such wealth before and finds himself adjusting to the chaotic lifestyle.

I enjoyed Natasha’s character, she has a lot of charm and charisma and doesn’t take herself too seriously despite growing up with a silver spoon. Her and Benjamin become fast friends and he finds himself infatuated with her despite her being his cousin.

Fast forward 5 years later and it is Natasha’s wedding day, events unfold and a body is found putting that family under the spotlight of investigation.

Overall I found the pompous nature of the family to be quite amusing, it is somewhat surprising they weren’t involved in a public scandal much earlier on.

Historical fiction is not my typical go to genre however the synopsis sounded interesting combined with the murder mystery aspect so I decided to give it a shot. For the most part it was an entertaining story and I’m sure people who enjoy the dialogue and nature of historical fictions would enjoy it even more.

Thank you to Fairlight books, Pete Sherlock and Netgally for an ARC.