***Thank you Netgalley for the e-arc in exchange for an honest review***


A murder mystery set in the early 1930s in England.The author does a good job of immersing the reader in this era, describing the architecture, fashion, manners and morals throughout the narrative. Amory Ames has been married for five years to her playboy husband and is questioning his love for her , as he has a habit of spending much of his time away from her, on the Riviera. When her ex fiancee invites her to visit the Brightwell Hotel, to persuade his sister to not marry her boyfriend, she says yes.Murder and mayhem begin which Amory handles with good skill and levelheadedness. I will continue with the series.

Amory is rich and beautiful and married to the notorious Milo who has a frivolous reputation. Bored and tired of her marriage, Amory heads to Brightwell with her ex fiance, Gil to help him convince his sister to not marry the man she is determined to. Gil believes he is a crook and after his sister's money and seeks Amory's help to change her mind. They end up in a hotel where they meet acquaintances from their Circle and things take a bitter turn when the man Girl's sister intended to marry is murdered. Gil is the prime suspect but Amory knows he couldn't possibly kill him.
She is determined to prove that he is innocent and finds Milo by her side as she solves this mystery.
I really liked the plot, characters and the way the story progresses. It gave me a very Agatha Christie vibe and I thoroughly enjoyed solving this mystery with Amory. Totally recommend this one for those who enjoy books by Christie.

I want to thank Netgalley and the author for gifting me the ebook. A great women's fiction murder mystery novel. Love the cover it is very 1920's style.

I so thoroughly enjoyed this mystery! It was a great treat to read. I'm putting it on the list for my mystery book club and purchasing it for the library. I'm looking forward to more!

The very first line, It is an impossibly great trial to be married to a man one loves and hates in equal proportions. With that almost Austenian beginning, the novel began.
While romance as a genre isn’t my preferred choice, I don’t mind it if it shows up in other genres, just as long as it stays unobtrusive. I had hopes it would be so, given that there was the word, Murder, in the title. But it wasn’t so.

Amory Ames’ marriage is strained within just five years. Husband Milo neglects her and prefers to spend all his time gambling in Monte Carlo. Amory regrets her whirlwind wedding with him.
When former fiancé and old friend Gilmore Trent invites her on a seaside holiday to the Brightwell hotel to warn his sister, Emmeline, to break off her engagement with her fiancé, Rupert Howe, an untrustworthy cad, Amory readily agrees.
At the hotel, Milo shows up, testing her friendship and Gil’s intentions towards her. When Rupert is found murdered and Gil arrested for the crime, Amory is determined to find the real killer and prove Gil’s innocence. Will she succeed? Or will the killer strike again?
Also, as Milo ingratiates himself to her, can she sort out her feelings towards Milo and Gil?

The story, set in Kent, England, in 1932, is written in the first person past tense point of view of Amory.

I liked the author’s descriptions. She describes a mismatched couple as [something akin to a cinema star on the arm of a parish priest.] Of another character, she says, [The sort of person one liked at once, but for whom the fondness fades after a short time.]
Amory’s back story, her issues with Milo were written well, but they took away the focus from the murder.

Amory was a good strong character. She is willing to stand up for herself, even if it means facing ridicule and going against the social mores of her times, and she dislikes the term, husbandly rights. She is quick on the uptake and has a delicious sense of repartee. Most of the time, she didn’t do stupid things to advance the plot.

The author makes a comment on the upper class who, no matter what the tragedy, still put social niceties above everything else.
In keeping with the traditions of the Grand Ole Dame of Mystery Fiction, the book is chock-filled with characters, but the air is more that of a cozy mystery than anything else.
The author or her editor would do well to pay more attention to her sentence construction, particularly sentences with ‘one’ as the subject.
I found the pace a little rushed towards the end, compared to the beginning and middle which devotes too much space to the stay at the hotel and the holidaying. I also had my doubts about the names, Milo and Amory, particularly in the England of the 1930s, when most classical literature of the time featured characters with traditional names.

This is a mystery. The main character is Amory Ames. She is unhappily married. She goes to Brightwell to help her ex-fiance who ends up the suspect in a murder. Amory is a great character. All of the characters are well done. The plot is good and moves well. I recommend this book.

I had a feeling that I would enjoy this mystery novel, but the character development, atmosphere and writing all surpassed my expectations. Looking forward to reading the next book in the series and finding out what comes next for the extremely entertaining and likeable Avery Ames.

Thank you to NetGalley for a review copy in exchange for an honest review.

The first in a New series by Ashley Weaver.

Amory Ames is a wealthy young woman who regrets her marriage to her notoriously charming playboy husband, Milo. Looking for a change, she accepts a request for help from her former fiancé, Gil Trent, not knowing that she’ll soon become embroiled in a murder investigation that will test not only her friendship with Gil, but will upset the status quo with her husband.

What was their not to like about this New mystery series. Great cast of characters, well plotted and written. Looking forward to reading more of this series.

This ARC from St Martin's Press via NetGalley was given in exchange for a non biased and honest review

This is a fun, if slightly cheesy, series. While predictable, it is fun and exactly what you want from this kind of cozy mystery.

Synopsis:


This is the first in the Amory Ames Mystery Series. 

This follows Amory as she travels away from home with an old love, Rupert, who shows up and asks for her help. Her husband shows up as he is leaving and she tells him she will go.

Milo, her husband shows up at the hotel where she is staying after a murder occurs. She decides she is going to help the police find the killer when Rupert becomes the prime suspect. She has Milo helping her along the way.

How will this play out? Would you be so calm if your spouse ran off with their ex? Would you help them solve a murder to claim their innocence?

Review:

There is so much more than just a murder mystery in this tale. It has romance, betrayal, secrets, and lies.

It is definitely a pretty interesting and well written story. There are plenty of twists and turns that kept me guessing the whole way through.

Follow this couple to a as they keep their cool though all there craziness and the cast of characters there at the hotel.

If you enjoy cozy mystery sleuths and complicated relationships then this one is worth a pick. It has the drama and the mystery you’re looking for.

This book was given in exchange for an honest review via NetGalley.

RATING: 4 STARS
2014; Minotaur/St. Martin's Press

Yep, you guessed it, I picked Murder at the Brightwell based on cover and cutesy name. Another book and series I had on my TBR for awhile. When I discovered that this one was available on audio at my eLibrary, I put them on hold right away. Thankfully, this book lived up to my excitement of starting it. The past year or so I have been leaning towards cozy historical mysteries. I am still reading my dark twisty suspense stories, but I have needed longer lighter breaks. This novel reminds me of a madcap comedy from the 1930s. As this novel is set in the early 30s, Weaver does a good job in bringing the setting to life.

In the first book, Amery is contemplating her whirlwind romance and marriage to playboy, Milo. She loves him, but his scandalous ways has her wondering if he cares as much for her and being married. As she is rethinking her choices, her former fiancé, Gil reaches out to her. Gil was her fiancé when she met Milo, so she begins to wonder what life would have been like married to him. Gil wants Amery to accompany him to Brightwell Hotel, where his sister is to marry. He wants to stop the marriage as he feels like the groom is not who he seems. Milo follows Amery to Brightwell, and soon the groom is dead, and Milo is the suspect. Amery starts to investigate to clear Milo and see if her marriage is worth fighting for as well.

I like that this novel is a cozy mystery, and that the characters are so well done. While some are cliched, that is what makes them so fun. The mysteries are not hard to solve but the novel is such a joy to read I don't think too much about solving the crime before Amery.

***I received a complimentary copy of this ebook/audiobook from the publisher through NetGalley. Opinions expressed in this review are entirely my own.***

A historical cosy mystery set in the 1930s, this is the first book in the Amory Ames series. With a setting of a resort hotel and an interesting set of characters who are there on a holiday and who each have their own motives to be there, it is not long before the undercurrent of secrets and tension amongst them leads to murder.

I quite enjoyed this book and I will continue with the series if and when I get hold of the other books in the series. From all the characters I was most curious about Milo Ames, the casanova husband of the lead character Amory. During reading the book, I thought about who and what Milo could actually be since he is always vague about his constant travelling and whereabouts; although it didn't turn out to be so at the end of this book, I still feel there is more to his character and I can only hope I am correct about my train of thought.

My thanks to NetGalley, the publisher St. Martin's Press/ Minotaur Books and the author Ashley Weaver for the e-Arc of the book.

Rating:⭐⭐⭐✨💫

Although I did recieve an arc, I also thought it would be a good audiobook, and guess what it was! I read this using both my digital copy and the audio and it was perfect. Murder at the Brightwell follows Amory Ames, the wife of a wealthy man. She is struggling in her marriage and is completely unsure about what to do about it so she ends up following an old flame to the seaside to help him convince his sister that she's marrying a rake. Instead of convincing the sister not to marry a rake, she ends up sleuthing to find out who commited murder. I'm not going to say much more just because I really don't want to spoil anything.

I loved this book, it was a lot of fun, I loved our main character and honestly there's not much I can say about it. Just I really liked it, it was a bit slow moving pacing but it started picking it up and I loved it. If you like cozy, historical mysteries, this is a perfect book for you!

Amory finds herself unhappy in her marriage with Milo, who keeps gallivanting around the world without her. Her ex-fiance asks her to help talk his sister into marrying a cad. While at the Brightwell Hotel, Milo shows up and then the cad is murdered. Amory has to find out who the murderer is while figuring out if she wishes to stay with her husband still.

This is an interesting beginning for a first in a series. Amory and Milo work very well when figuring things out. The police aren't idiots and I'm wondering if we'll see the detective again. I didn't like that we were never given an explanation for why Milo kept traveling without Amory. Maybe the other books will tell me.

This review is based on an advanced reader copy provided through Netgalley for an honest review.

Ashley Weaver, you evil genius. Giving out free “ARC’s” of the first book in your deliciously bingeable series to get us all hooked? Brilliant! Murder at the Brightwell was so much fun! I love “locked door” style period mysteries and this one was ab-so-lutely delightful. Not to mention, classy af. 🎩 The story is perfect for fans of Agatha Christie or Jaqueline Winspear and, as a fan of both, I just adored it.

This is a fun, entertaining cozy mystery with plenty of red herrings and a great cast of characters. Against the backdrop of the glamourous Brightwell hotel on the British coast, Amory Ames is determined to find out who murdered Rupert Howe and prove that her ex-fiancé, Gil Trent, is innocent of the crime. Amory is smart, charismatic, and resourceful and together with her roguish yet charming husband, Milo, they make a great team. I enjoyed the chemistry and witty banter between Amory and Milo as they worked together to solve the mystery. The book is filled with great dialogue, suspense and intrigue and it all comes together in a satisfying conclusion. I’m excited to read more from this series and can’t wait to dive into the next book. Thank you very much to NetGalley and St. Martin’s Press for this ARC.

I liked the narration, it fitted the setting (1930s Brittan).

Towards the end, I liked the story less. It featured some cozy tropes I'm not a fan of.

I am a big fan of historical fiction and a big fan of cozy mystery's. This book has both plus a bit of romance. I loved the setting of this book and the glamour oozed out of the pages. Loved the characters I found a real connection to them. Loved the storyline and the 'whodunnit'. I never guess and I didn't with this one. It really kept me guessing.

Murder at the Brightwell
Ashley Weaver

I just love a great murder mystery and this is book #1 of the series, set in 1930’s as Amory Ames our amateur sleuth gets involved in a deeply webbed intrigue and matters of the heart. I enjoyed reading this time frame and Weaver delivers a wonderful mystery full of characters I love reading about, the luxurious sceneries and the captivating plot.

You can’t help but adore Amory Ames – too bad for her unfortunate marriage to a playboy named Milo, who Is off jet setting in far away places living the life, while she stays home with the servants. Gil Trent, Amory’s ex-fiance shows up after many years for a favor to accompany him on a seaside holiday. But of course, nothing goes as planned and Gil gets accused of murder and Amory, our wealthy socialite incredibly transforms into an amateur sleuth to save Gil.

I love how it all comes together in this gun cozy mystery I enjoyed.

Murder at the Brightwell is the first book in the Amory Ames Mystery series by Ashley Weaver. Amory is the upper crust of British society in the 1930s, but often is left alone to her own devices at her country estate while her playboy husband Milo travels. After a visit by her former fiancé Gil Trent, Amory decides to join Gil, his sister Emmeline, and others at a seaside resort for a few days. Gil is hoping for Amory's help in convincing his sister to break her engagement to Rupert Howe, whom Gil does not think a suitable match for Emmeline. Disaster strikes when Rupert turns up dead and Gil becomes the prime suspect, Mayhem ensues when Amory turns up and foils Amory's plans and confuses her understanding of their relationship.

The storyline and characters were lovely, and 1930s Britain is always a setting win where I am concerned. I enjoyed the cat and mouse game Weaver played throughout the book both with the mystery and the series story arcs as well. I do hope several of the smaller cast of characters return to future Amory Ames Mysteries as I would enjoy getting to know them more.

Over all there were some areas where this showed as the authors debut work, and kept the book from really soaring, but that won't keep me from reading further installments in this series.