Murder by Candlelight by Faith Martin (Review by Maggie Majstrova)

3.5/5 stars

The year is 1924, the place is the sleepy village of Maybury-on-Marsh in The Cotswolds, and true English gentleman, and celebrated author of The Gentleman’s Guide to Ghost-Hunting, Arbuthnot ‘Arbie’ Smith finds himself in the unlikely (and certainly unwanted) position of detective.

When Amy Phelps, the lady of the house at The Old Forge, asks Arbie and Val, the local vicar’s eldest daughter and Albie’s childhood friend, to investigate a suspected spectre, neither expect that the old lady will end up dead. And what’s more, murdered. In a place like Maybury-on-Marsh? Surely not.

However, as they discover details of altered wills, evidence of secret love affairs and tales of tragic losses, they also uncover plenty of motives for murder. Is it the perfect crime? You be the judge.

I love a classic whodunnit. But I must admit I found this one a hard one to get into. Perhaps it was the language of the 1920s, in which it is written to lend it a taste of authenticity, that made it a bit of a labour of love to start with. Having pushed through though, Albie and Val are lovable rogues with a heartwarming friendship and the rest of the characters, along with sleepy Maybury-on-Marsh, are nicely relatable.