Murder at The Brightwell by Ashley Weaver is book one in the Amory Ames Mystery series. I really enjoyed this cozy mystery set in the 1930’s. I will definitely get the other books in the series so I can see how the characters develop.

***** I received an ARC from NetGalley, the publisher, and the author for my honest review. *****

This book is great! Would definitely recommend. Thanks so much to NetGalley and the publisher for the ARC.

This was an entertaining cozy. Loved the setting of the Brightwell Hotel. Old world hotel on a cliff overlooking the sea. Lots of rich vacationers just killing time lunching and playing cards, dancing etc. until one of their own is killed. Amory Ames is with the party affected and tries to solve the mystery but the bodies start piling up. Can Amory figure it out before it's too late. Will her marriage survive this little sojourn? Very good read!
I received a free copy of this book from Netgalley and the publisher and voluntarily chose to review it.

This stylish murder mystery was a pleasant surprise and thoroughly entertaining. I really enjoyed reading it. It falls comfortably into the Agatha Christie/Dorothy Sayers/Georgette Heyer style of mystery with its 1930's period setting and engaging characters. In fact, the tone was so authentic, I might well have been reading a novel written during that time period. Set in the Brightwell, a seaside hotel, group of friends (or possibly frenemys) gather for what is supposed to be an enjoyable getaway.

Amory Ames and her former fiance Gil Trent, become part of the party with the purpose of foiling Gil's sister's engagement to an attractive cad. Amory makes an engaging and classy amateur detective--and she and her husband Milo Ames, have a lively chemistry--a hot and cold relationship enlivened by its witty repartee. I look forward to reading other novels that feature them.

I really enjoyed this book, it struck me as more of a cross between romance and mystery as opposed to a straight cozy mystery. While I don't usually enjoy that much romance, I liked the characters and their interactions.

Well I'm clearly on a female amateur detective phase!

Amory Ames has been married to Milo for five years, not all of them happy. He's a bit of an international playboy and she has become accustomed to seeing pictures of him with glamorous women in places like Monte Carlo, while she sits at home in Kent.

When her former beau Gil (who she dumped for Milo) invites her to attend a weekend by the sea at the Brightwell Hotel with some friends to act as a warning to his little sister (who is engaged to Rupert, a playboy very like Milo), Amory jumps at the chance and is struck by the 'what might have beens'.

The group that gathers at the Brightwell are an unusual bunch, some singles and some married couples, all of whom have secrets. Then, while Amory is still trying to untangle her feelings about Gil and Milo, Milo arrives at the hotel and proceeds to cause mischief until Amory finds Rupert lying dead, presumably having fallen off the hotel balcony onto the terrace below.

As the body count rises and Gil is the prime suspect Amory is determined to prove his innocence while dealing with her charming but distracting husband.


Charming and engrossing, sort of Lord Peter Wimsey meets Miss Marple (or Hercule Poirot) in a swanky British seaside hotel this kept me guessing right to the end. I've already started the second one!

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

thanks to Netgalley for an ARC, warning, spoilers.
Along with other readers, I'm confused as to why a book published in 2014 appears as an ARC (also, you've had 6 years to edit it, and there're still a lot of typos!)
Verdict - if you are desperate for a Christie knockoff to read, this may be for you; I couldn't get past the bad writing and plotting - just watch Poirot instead.
There are many things that bugged me about this book. (I may try another further into the 6 or 7 book series later and see if anything improved.)
- 'cozy' mystery written in the first person - the author seems to think it makes her character sound more classy or vintage or both to never use contractions in the narration, I think it just sounds weird.
- this is 1932, we are firmly into the Depression (yes, this happened in Britain too), but these people all seem to have money to burn, maybe the author has confused the '20s and '30s?
- way too much description of the protagonist's wardrobe!
- large cast of two-dimensional stock characters, none interesting or likeable.
- the protagonist seems very tolerant of her philandering husband, but very critical of herself in many ways, so sexist!
- kinda reads like Agatha Christie fanfic, not very well written, not well-edited (multiple instances of repetition/redundancy), not compelling, lots of details but not the right ones.
Spoiler!!
Apparently this book is a vehicle to get Amory and Milo back together so that they can become Nick and Nora, I think if the backstory had been attended to at all, you wouldn't have needed to slog through a whole book for this.

Amory Ames is unsure of her relationship with her husband, Milo, so when her former fiance, Gil, asks her to accompany him to a week by the sea at The Brightwell and hopefully convince his sister, Emmeline, Rupert, is a bad choice. The second day in one of their group turns up dead and Amory starts investigating. Soon Milo shows up confusing Amory even more.

I love The Brightwell. It sounds like a lovely place, all sunny and airy where you can hear the sea from your room. People get up and dress for breakfast, lounge around most of the day except for Amory and Milo who are helping to find a murderer. Dinner is a lavish affair with the men in tuxes and the women in gorgeous gowns. There are cocktails and dancing. The Brightwell almost felt like another character in the book of which there were many. The mystery was intriguing and not until the very end was the culprit revealed.

Amory strikes me as a no nonsense, practical type of woman with a lot of style who struggles with her marriage. Milo is something of a rogue but I loved his droll sense of humor. This is the first in the series and although I read another in the series previously it was nice to go back and read of the beginning of their relationship. Amory and Milo Ames will be added to my to-read list from now on. They are delightful.

Thank you to Netgalley for providing me with a copy of this book. These are my thoughts.

A Seaside Holiday is Filled With Murder
This is the first book in an English classic mystery series. The series begins in 1932 with all of the glory of the roaring twenties still intact. The mystery is laid out in a classic manner. I had no idea who the culprit was until the glorious climactic scene. The fun part is the couple who are the center of the story. He is somewhat of a ladies man and she thinks that he no longer loves her. Together, they are quite the pair. I have read more books in the series and I do think that they would be better read in order. I received this ARC book for free from Net Galley and this is my honest review.

Amory Ames and her husband Milo have, to all appearances, a fabulous life. Good looking, wealthy and living a care-free life. But sometimes appearances aren't completely true. Milo spends a lot of time away, most recently in The Riviera. Amory fell really hard for Milo, but now she wonders what his feelings are. to complicate things, Gil Trent, the fiance she left for Milo, visits and asks her to help him convince his younger sister Emmeline that her new fiance Rupert is not good husband material. Gil and Amory travel to the coast and will join a party at The Brightwell, a luxury hotel near Brighton. After they arrive things get complicated, then there's a murder, then another murder and attempted murder. Then Milo shows up. Amory's feelings are conflicted, can she and Milo make a go at their marriage? When Amory is surprised by the murderer while snooping, she may not survive the encounter. In true, Agatha Christie tradition, the murderer is taken away by the police, the amateur sleuth (Amory) discovers which man she loves. This is a satisfying "cozy mystery" in the classic tradition, I can't wait for the next book featuring Amory.

Thank you NetGalley for the ARC.

I admit that I'd read the first in the series after reading a later Amory Ames novel. I'd enjoyed Ashley Weaver's writing and her depiction of the wealthy, privileged and discontented Amory Ames as an amateur sleuth. In Murder at the Brightwell, Amory is young, beautiful and disillusioned with her gorgeous and glamorous husband Milo. They've been married for five years and her husband's escapades and adventures with other women has filled the society pages and scandal sheets. Amory has been holed away either in their luxurious London flat or their large estate but largely on her own while Milo travels to expensive locations to gamble, party, socialize, etc.

After the romance cooled, Amory has been left to wonder if she'd made the wrong choice and if she should have married her longtime friend and fiance Gil. Amory had ended the engagement soon after she met Milo and feels guilty about the way she treated Gil all those years ago. Gil comes to Amory to ask for her help in dissuading his younger sister from marrying a beautiful young man much like Amory's Milo. Gil has seen the different articles and photos of Milo with glamorous women and still holds a torch for Amory. Though he doesn't expect Amory to leave Milo for him, he hopes that spending time together will rekindle their old love or at least to help persuade his beloved sister of the danger that comes with marrying the dangerous society playboy type.

For Amory, it seems strange that just as she is talking to Gil again, her husband returns from his own adventures in Monte Carlos. Amory resents Milo's adventures and welcomes the chance to take some time away, to help Gil after having hurt him in the past and to help his younger sister that she knew. So, Amory joins Gil's group of friends at the luxury hotel resort the Brightwell.

At the Brightwell, Amory finds a mix of characters, many catty society women, some staid and socially ambitious couples, the younger sister with her glamorous and cold fiance, a respected theater actor, Gil and, unexpectedly, Milo Ames. There are various delicious meals, awkward moments, flirtatious men but there is also the sudden and violent death of the young fiance. Amory is desperate when Gil is arrested and she finds herself working to find the identity of the killer.

Milo and Amory dance around each other while Gil hovers in the picture. As Amory tries to sort through her emotions and balance what she wants and needs, she is quite easy to like. I found myself enjoying Murder at Brightwell very much! I'm determined to read all of Ashley Weaver's Amory Ames mysteries. The language and characters are a delight!

#MurderattheBrightwell #AmoryAmes #AshleyWeaver #NetGalley

Cute little mystery. I loved the time period that it was written for. It reminded me of Murder on the Orient Express. Amory Ames is your typical rich women who loves to get involved in helping solve murder cases. Plus through in an ex lover and a current husband with certain motives and you have a fun mystery. I didn't realize who the killer was until the very end. Loved the writing, how the characters developed and I loved seeing a women taking care of herself while investigating a murder. Easy read and would recommend it especially after you just finished a very intense book.

Absolutely loved it! Murder & mayhem among the very rich at a coastal hotel in 1930s England. Went on to read the second book in this series, Death Wears a Mask + the short story with the same charming husband & wife characters, Milo & Amory.
Highly recommended!


Many thanks to St. Martin’s Press Minotaur Books and NetGalley for an advance copy.

This first book in the Amory Ames historical mystery series was fantastic. Introduces an intelligent, likeable heroine, an intriguing heroine, and the two men in her life. I absolutely loved it and recommend it to all my mystery loving customers!

This is a delightful 30s murder mystery - a group of acquaintances meet each other at a seaside hotel, tensions arise, and then Rupert fatally falls from a balcony. An accident, or murder? Amory Ames is drawn to investigate (while she also works out her complicated feelings about her old friend, Giles, and her often absent husband, Milo - it's always awkward when one goes on a trip with an old flame and then one's husband unexpectedly turns up). Amory is delightful, and this is a wonderful Christie-esque story.

"It is an impossibly great trial to be married to a man one loves and hates in equal proportions."

This is how the book opens, y'all. Sentence one of page one and already we have dived headfirst into the reason I adore this cozy mystery: Amory's conflicted, resentful, and passionate feelings for her rakishly handsome husband, Milo.

Within the pages of Murder at the Brightwell I discovered a penchant for witty women of the 1930s, scenic hotels situated on British bluffs, and tropes involving a husband and wife fighting to reconnect with the blinding love they once felt for each other. Five years of Milo's playboy jaunts across the Continent have left Amory's once unshakable infatuation with him rather, well, shaken. And it's an utter delight seeing these two play their games with each other, especially with the undeniable chemistry that still flares between them.

There isn't anything particularly splashy or spectacular about this novel, but I love it nonetheless.

I would rate this book 4.5 out of 5 stars.

I thoroughly enjoyed this!

I really enjoyed the relationship dynamics between Amory & Miles, the mystery was not super predictable and overall the story just had really fun vibes.

One of my favorite mystery series!!! Do you like the Miss Fisher mysteries? You will love Amory, she is a glamorous, smart, inquisitive lady living in 1930s England. This is a re-release of the first book in the series before the seventh book, Deception at Thornecrest, is released in September.

Amory is tired of reading gossip column rumors about her jet-setting husband, Milo. Amory accepts a plea for help from her former fiance, Gil, to help find out the dirt on his sister's fiance. Emmaline is enamored of a man named Rupert Howe but Gil has a bad feeling about the man. Gil wants Amory's opinion and help to break the couple up. While at the Brightwell resort, Rupert is murdered and Amory finds herself in the newspaper just like Milo.

Milo arrives after reading about Amory and her ex-fiance being at the Brightwell and murder. Amory must figure out who murdered Rupert and why before someone else dies and try to figure out if her marriage to Milo was a mistake or not.

Fans of Miss Fisher and Agatha Christie will love these books.

Thank you to Net Galley and St. Martin's Press for the chance to read and review this book. This is my first book by Ashley Weaver and I really enjoyed it. This is the first book in the Amory Ames series. Amory is invited to help her former fiancé Gil at a resort. While she is there, another guest Rupert is murdered. With her husband Milo's help, Amory solves the murder. I like this type of book because it is a mystery, but it also has some Victorian elements-my favorite type of mystery! I want to read the rest of this series!

I was excited to discover this delightful new cozy historical mystery series set in England in the 30's. This book is the first in a series featuring Amory Ames and her husband Milo. They are well to do aristocrats who married roughly five years earlier and have spent much of the time apart with playboy Milo flitting here and there.

Milo has just arrived home from a stint in Monte Carlo, when Amory's ex fiancé Gilbert unexpectedly arrives and asks a favor-that she accompany him to a seaside resort outside Brighton (The Brightwell) and appear to be with him-to give the impression that she has left her husband. Gil's sister, Emmeline has fallen for a charming, handsome man in the same vein as Milo as Gil thinks Amory can talk some sense to her as a woman who has lived through a similar situation and has come to regret it. At this point, Amory comes to realize that she is unhappy with her life and her marriage and thinks the trip will help her feeling of malaise.

We meet the rest of the party and then one of them is murdered. And Milo shows up at the hotel. Amory inadvertently implicates someone , who is then arrested and feels she needs to discover the murderer to help them.

What follows is a mystery that kept me guessing. And I enjoyed the romantic tension between Amory and Milo.

Loved this series so much that I have subsequently read the other books in the series.

I received an ARC from the publisher via Net Galley in exchange for an honest review.