I love reading books set in the British post WWI time period and have enjoyed plenty of books over the years by authors who utilize this evocative setting, be it historical fiction or a good mystery. But I wish I’d have read other Reardon mysteries by this author so I had more of a background of the main characters prior to reading this one. It’s not that it can’t be a ‘stand-alone’ story but I felt that I wasn’t getting sufficient backstory on the Readons or other characters that had obviously been flitting through the pages of previous Reardon crime mysteries and that lack of backstory contributed to my lack of interest in completing the book and getting to this review. It wasn’t as if the writing wasn’t descriptive or detailed, it was. For certain things. The book contained several wonderfully detailed descriptions of various buildings, landscapes, the clothes people wore, the HP sauce you might put on your Shepard’s Pie....all kinds of things to help you set your reading stage mind for this time period. What I wanted though, was more in-depth character development. When I pick up a work of fiction, I want to get lost in it and I can’t do that unless I have reasons to care about the characters. Whether I love them or hate them, II’ve got to feel something and no matter how I tried with this book, it just didn’t happen.

"DI Herbert Reardon is drawn into a world of secrets and lies when a body is discovered at a girls’ boarding school.

1930. When a body is discovered on the premises of the newly-established Maxstead Court School for Girls, Detective Inspector Herbert Reardon is called in to investigate. His wife Ellen having just accepted a job as French teacher, Reardon is alarmed to find the school a hotbed of scandalous secrets, suppressed passions, petty jealousies and wanton schoolgirl cruelty. As he pursues his enquiries, it becomes clear that the dead woman was not who – or what – she claimed to be. Who was she really – and why is Reardon convinced that more than one member of staff is not telling him the whole truth?

Then a pupil goes missing – and the case takes a disturbing new twist..."

Sounds like some Christie-esque fun!

Thank you for the opportunity to read and review this title. Unfortunately, I was not able to finish this book which means I will not be able to review it. I truly appreciate the opportunity and apologize for the inconvenience the lack of review may cause you.

The Property of Lies is the first book I have read by Marjorie Eccles and I am delighted I decided to read and review it. I adore historical mysteries and mysteries surrounding old manors and estates in England’s countryside’s. I have to say I normally find out who is committing crimes in stories like these, but found myself guessing all the wrong people!

DI Rearden and his wife Ellen are new to the area and Ellen takes a teaching position at Maxstead and before you know it, is caught up in a mysterious death of a previous teacher on the property. The teacher’s death and how she was found baffled everyone. Alas, there are other strange events happening at the school and you soon discover not everything is what it seems-not even to DI Rearden.

I enjoyed reading about all the characters and their role in the story. I would like to read more about their back story however but that in no way takes away from the story itself. It was enough to keep the characters interesting. I would have liked the period of the story to be a bit more atmospheric to the era and to have drawn stronger description to the boarding house. Having said that, I recommend this story to avid readers of mystery and for those who want to give their try in this genre for the first time.

I look forward to reading more from this author!

I have rated this book three stars and I want to thank NetGalley and Severn House Publishers for a review copy.

Stephanie M. Hopkins

The Property of Lies is an excellent historical mystery set in the aftermath of WWI, in the heart of 1930s England.  The writing takes some getting used to, as it is written in present tense, unlike the vast majority of novels.  It is well worth continuing past any feelings of awkwardness.  The story is set at the newly established Maxfield Court School for Girls, where Inspector Reardon’s wife has accepted a post teaching French.  The previous French teacher left with little notice, but no one at the school expected her body to be found hidden in the disused wing.  While Reardon's team investigates the murder, his wife Ellen asks her own questions.  The school is awash in secrets, and plagued by incidents that may be pranks.  They grow more serious, when one of the students disappears.

Maxstead school’s success or failure could easily impact the young women studying.  Advanced education opportunities for young women, particularly those of lower incomes were rare in 1930s Britain, as were jobs for educated women.  It was not unusual for women to have to work, but professions and opportunities open were few.  At the same time, any hint of moral impropriety in a woman's past could lead to social and career ruin.  This is why the threat to Maxstead school depicted in The Property of Lies is so heartfelt.  At the same time, it is nice to see how Ellen and her husband work in tandem.  While this is a police procedural, it is a softer form.  I enjoyed The Property of Lies, and look forward to reading more books by Marjorie Eccles.

4 / 5

I received a copy of The Property of Lies from the publisher and Netgalley.com in exchange for an honest review.

--Crittermom

June 1930

Mrs. Ellen Reardon has arrived at the Maxstead Court School for Girls as a prospective French teacher. She is to interview with Miss Edith Hillyard, the Headmistress. The building and grounds had once belonged to the Scroopes family and houses girls from ages 12-17. Ellen is hired and asked to begin immediately.

Ellen’s husband, Herbert Reardon, is a detective inspector. As Ellen is shown around the school, she finds that a wing was so old that it is under reconstruction but the builder passed away. Now, the area sits with nothing more done. Suddenly, Ellen spies a deteriorated body which is assumed to be that of the French teacher, Isabelle Blanchard, who had left the school so suddenly.

Inspector Reardon and his men arrive to investigate. They interview the teachers at the school. After one student goes missing for a night, she is found locked in a room in the old wing. However, it appears that she may be lying about what she saw there.

The investigation continues until a break in the case happens that surprises everyone. Things aren’t always as they may appear to be.

This is the first of this author’s books that I have read. I found it to be slow and rather boring until, of course, the ending. I wish that the story had had more of a true mystery atmosphere to it.

Copy provided by NetGalley in exchange for a fair and honest review.

The Property of Lies is the second book in Marjorie Eccles’ series of mystery books featuring Detective Herbert Reardon. It takes place a couple of years after the first book, Heirs and Assigns, and this book has our intrepid detective investigating a murder at a girls’ boarding school.

Coincidentally, Reardon’s wife has just accepted a position at the school because the last French teacher disappeared. Not too much later, the missing teacher’s body in a dilapidated corner of the property.

The school is a relatively new one, and any hint of a scandal could be the ruination of the place. And unfortunately, that is not the only odd occurrence- what could possibly be happening and why at a school, of all places?

As was the case with the first book in the series, there are many long-buried secrets that come to light over the course of the narrative. It seems like everyone has something to hide.

I’ve read several other historical mysteries featuring girls’ boarding schools, and so I was looking forward to seeing the direction that this story was going to take. I must admit, I was surprised by “big reveal”, so to speak. The manner in which Eccles carefully weaves everything together was quite masterful.

I would recommend The Property of Lies to fans of historical mysteries. I’ll add that the pace is sometimes languid, but this helps to build suspense and a sense of appreciation as clues are connected together over the course of the investigation.

I received a copy of this book from Netgalley/the publisher in exchange for an honest review.

Set in a between-the-wars English girl’s school, this murder mystery is peopled by characters for whom the battles of the first world war are still all too fresh. Eccles has written a atmospheric novel, with engaging police, a plentiful cast of potential murderers, and the potential for several more interesting follow-ons. I look forward to more Reardon mysteries!

June 1930 and Ellen Reardon has been offered the position of French teacher at Maxstead Court School for Girls. But as she is shown around the school a body is discovered, and it is her husband DI Reardon that is called in to investigate.
An interesting enough mystery that kept me reading to the end though I didn't really engage with the characters.

I enjoy historical murder mysteries, although I'm more typically drawn to the Victorian era - 1930 is really quite modern for me! However, I liked the sound of the boarding school setting and the exploration of the dynamics of the teaching staff team (I'm a teacher, so it's always interesting to see how we're presented!)

The story begins with the murder of a woman in an unused wing of the school, one that is scheduled for imminent demolition. Her body is found by the new French teacher at the school (who happens to be the wife of the police officer put in charge of the investigation) and the case progresses as Detective Inspector Herbert Reardon and his team try to uncover who she was and what she was doing in the deserted area of the school. As investigations continue, other events take place which shift suspicion between various teachers and pupils at the school.

I've never read any of Marjorie Eccles' books before, although I believe she has written quite a few historical and crime novels. However, I enjoyed this and would be interested to read more. The story developed well and the mystery is suitably twisty and involved. I was also pleased to see that the characters of the teachers developed beyond the stereotypes that were initially presented. The pace of the novel was slightly slow at times, but I was keen to read on and find out the final solution to the mystery.

Overall, I'd recommend this to fans of historical crime fiction; it's more along the lines of a police procedural than a thriller as I didn't really feel too much of a sense of menace at any point. Despite this, it's an engaging read with an interesting cast of characters.

Vintage style murder mystery, gripping who-dunnit. Set in the inter-war years, a body is discovered at an all girls boarding school, the police are called in and the investigation starts to turn up all sorts of secrets, whilst further strange occurrences happen. I loved the setting for the story, the characters are well written and believable, and the story kept me reading wanting to know who did it! A variety of stories are uncovered during the investigation and the author does leave clues as to the perpetrator, although I didn't guess the murderer and was surprised by the ending. If you like Poirot or Marple, you'll definitely enjoy this book. Treat yourself!

I received an e-ARC of this novel through NetGalley and Severn House Publishers. Thank you.

Marjorie Eccles is quickly becoming a "must read" author for me. She writes the kind of books I want to read. This one is set in the 1930s and involves a girls boarding school, Maxstead Court, where Ellen Reardon has just been hired as the new French teacher. Ellen and her policeman husband, Detective Inspector Herbert Reardon, have not lived in this part of England long but now that they are settled she is ready to be productive outside the home, to take up teaching again. The previous French teacher left under suspicious circumstances but everyone is horrified when her body is discovered hidden in an area of the old manor house which is in the process of being demolished.

I thoroughly enjoyed finding out the answers to this mystery right along with DI Reardon and his team of investigators. Having his wife at hand on the scene of the crime gave the story a very personal touch, but it is much to the credit of this author that she didn't write the story so that Ellen was always on the scene to find the clues. I will admit to being led around sniffing red herrings pretty much throughout the story. By the 75% mark I had settled on three different possibilities and managed to switch back and forth between them like some sleuthing novice. Good for you, Ms. Eccles! These characters were written with depth and perception of how completely unpredictable people can be and how well they can lie and hide anything they feel is going to cause them to look silly or even guilty. There are students in this story and they are essential to understanding what was going on pretty much under the noses of their instructors, but the story never spent so much time concentrating on the teens that it ignored the complicated past and plans of the adults.

This is not a brand new plot line in a mystery novel. What made it so good for me was the way the author made the characters come alive on the pages, how she put the emphasis on how complicated human emotions are and how she allowed one specific personality to remain unchanged when it would have been so easy to have written a storybook ending. It felt like this was the right ending.

4 stars
Ellen Reardon has just acquired a position as a French teacher at the local Maxstead Court School for Girls. This is a newly established institution in the 1930’s. She is feeling nervous and perhaps a little out of her depth. She is surprised and pleased to be accepted into the school with no qualms.

Her husband DI Herbert Reardon responds to the call of a dead body that was found at the school.

As he begins his investigation, he interviews the teachers, staff and some students at the school and quickly picks up on some glaring inconsistencies. Bullying, lies, secrets and jealousy are just some of the things going on at the school. Reardon is surprised that the school is such a façade for all kinds of goings on.

He further learns that the victim was not who she claimed to be. Why are some of the staff lying to him? What is really going on here? Who was the victim? When a student goes missing, the tension ratchets up. The murderer comes a somewhat of a surprise, but the more surprising fact is the reason for the murder.

This is a very well written and plotted novel. The suspense mounts slowly, but picks up dramatically as things move along. The characters are, for the most part likeable. Marjorie Eccles is a fine writer and I will continue to read her books.

I want to thank Netgalley and Severn House Publishers for forwarding to me a copy of this fine book to read.

A novel set in 1930 England is in recession and has just got its first Labour government, and the scene is set in the early days of a private school for girls. Not the easiest settings to make realistic but that is exactly what Marjorie Eccles does in this novel and the twists and turns will keep you guessing right to the end as each chapter unfolds. I like the fact that you will meet some people here you love some you will loath and others have your sympathy as every good book should have this one certainly does have. Read and enjoy when your not jumping out of your seat.