Review: Murder at Honeychurch Hall by Hannah Dennison

A Mysterious Review of Murder at Honeychurch Hall by Hannah Dennison. A Kat Stanford Mystery.

Review summary: This is a uniquely constructed manor house-style crime novel, filled with a cast of characters that is decidedly quirky and written to be intentionally so. Fast-paced and really quite funny in places, this stylishly crafted murder mystery will have readers eagerly awaiting a sequel. (Click here for text of full review.)

Our rating:

Murder at Honeychurch Hall
Hannah Dennison
A Kat Stanford Mystery
Minotaur Books (May 2014)

Publisher synopsis: Kat Stanford is just days away from starting her dream antique business with her newly widowed mother Iris when she gets a huge shock. Iris has recklessly purchased a dilapidated carriage house at Honeychurch Hall, an isolated country estate located several hundred miles from London.

Yet it seems that Iris isn't the only one with surprises at Honeychurch Hall. Behind the crumbling façade, the inhabitants of the stately mansion are a lively group of eccentrics to be sure — both upstairs and downstairs — and they all have more than their fair share of skeletons in the closet.

When the nanny goes missing, and Vera, the loyal housekeeper ends up dead in the grotto, suspicions abound. Throw in a feisty, octogenarian countess, a precocious seven year old who is obsessed with the famous fighter pilot called Biggles, and a treasure trove of antiques, and there is more than one motive for murder.

As Iris's past comes back to haunt her, Kat realizes she hardly knows her mother at all. And when the bodies start piling up, it is up to Kat to unravel the tangled truth behind the murders at Honeychurch Hall.