A great book by a fantastic author. The writing is excellent and the mystery keeps you turning the pages. Characters are well developed. Highly recommend.

Lady Evelyn is studying at Oxford when one of her professors is murdered and she discovers the body. She’d briefly met the detective in charge of the case, Stanton, previously and obviously the book follows as she takes up the mantle of amateur sleuth and investigates alongside him.

This is the third book which has featured Lady Evelyn and, as I haven’t read the first two in the series, I have missed some of the back story of the characters. I didn’t have any trouble picking up on who was who but it did make me less inclined to care about the characters from the past books. Evelyn’s cousin Briony and her family’s scenes were boring. Daniel, Lady Evelyn’s gentleman friend, and his family/work woes were also dull as dishwater. I found it annoying too that nothing was resolved with either Daniel or Briony’s sub plots. Obviously Zaidi is planning on using them for the next book in the series but I thought there was far too many chapters dedicated to them in The Study of Silence for just a ‘taste of things to come’.

Actually the book overall needed some serious editing. It’s long and should have been culled down to a more reasonable length so that it flowed with a better pace. Other than the Briony and Daniel parts, there’s also long winded passages about Evelyn’s parents and aunts which were irrelevant. Each chapter also started with a rambling recap of just how cold it was until the weather featured more than the murder plot, I believe. Add in Evelyn/Zaidi’s habit of going over the same ground in her thinky thoughts and I started to skim.

I will admit I only kept reading to see where the Stanton/Evelyn relationship led. I wish Zaidi had focused on this instead.

It’s difficult to get the right feminist tone in books set in the 20s and I thought Zaidi did a pretty good job in this area. Although, at times, I think she tried too hard and should have just let things flow more organically. The crime, especially, became a little preachy and almost jumped into the ‘me too’ territory before she reined it in.

On a whole, The Study of Silence was okay but unfortunately it didn’t make me want to run out and read the others in the series with any great urgency.

3 out of 5

The Lady Evelyn mysteries will appeal to fans of cozies set in the 1920s.  The Study of Silence in the third Lady Evelyn novel, but it is not necessary to read the novels in order.



In The Study of Silence, Lady Evelyn Carlisle is back at Oxford working on finishing her degree.  Trouble, however is near at hand, and soon one of St Hugh’s respected tutors is found dead, murdered.  Suspicion falls on his wife, but Lady Evelyn is certain she is innocent. The more she investigates, the more certain she becomes that the crime is linked to the victim’s abuse of women.  Although this is a historical mystery, it brings up many current issues regarding the treatment of women, physical and sexual abuse, and the tendency to blame the victim.



The Study of Silence is an excellent cozy, well researched, with characters that can be understood and empathized with.  If all of Malia Zaidi’s novels are this good, then her series is definite to be a success.



5 / 5



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


-- Crittermom

An entertaining historical cozy mystery. Even if it isn't the first instalment in the series I had no problems in understanding the characters and their relationship.
Well written and well developed, it was a nice and entertaining reading.
Many thanks to Netgalley and Bookbaby

This cozy mystery is the third in the Evelyn Carlisle series. Despite the fact that I hadn't read the first two, I had no problem enjoying the mystery and the new and old characters introduced in the story. The cozy nature of the mystery makes it an adventure that could be enjoyed by a wide range of mystery readers. I will certainly recommend this to fans of cozy history mysteries, like the Her Royal Spyness Series.

Another Lady Evelyn murder mystery adventure set in the sparkling 1920’s that provides an engaging murder for her to solve while she ponders the lot of women and faces a little more of her past.

The last book left Evie and Daniel looking to return to England after a long sojourn and several adventures since either of them last touched home soil. Evie has put off Daniel though she knows for certain that she loves him. He has returned to London to attempt reintegrating into his family business with difficulty and life post-war and Evie is in Oxford pursuing an education in the Classics of Literature. Naturally, Evie, being a trouble magnet, stumbles across a murder right in her own sphere and she is off tracking down clues, interfering with the local police, and making herself a target to the terror of Daniel and her family.

What is enjoyable about this series is its wonderful blend of history and mystery, but also ongoing personal story of the main character. Each book tackles a new element of history and in this case, it was women’s history and the city of Oxford in the Twenties. Evie is in Oxford attending university so The Study of Silence focuses on women scholars and challenges that face women trying to get an education and what they can do afterward along with the challenges for women who are in a lower social status and have to go without the education and attempt to work without feeling unsafe from abuse in their work environment.

Evie also ponders woman’s issues and her future. But, she still has the niggles of her past. Does she sell her family’s estate since she can’t even bring herself to visit and definitely not live there since her parents died in the fire and hence move on or keep it in the family and force herself to go back? Then, there is her, irrational perhaps, yet very personal fear that she will be tied down if she commits to Daniel though she knows for certain she can trust him not to abuse her trust and she loves him deeply. Is love enough? Can she have love without the bonds of matrimony tying her down without becoming a social pariah and would Daniel even want a half-way commitment like that? She’s young, but has so much on her mind and it is all part of an engaging story as she works her way through it all.

Mystery-wise, Evie is as Nancy Drew-ish as ever. She insists she is being sensible and safe and even discreet while the reader and everyone else gets a good laugh because she is anything, but. She’s stubborn and bullies the inspector into keeping her involved and she confronts her suspects and witnesses with probing questions. The case teaches her even more about people in that people are complex and not just black or white, but many shades in between when it comes to actions and motives.

I started to get a glimmer as to the killer, but was way off the beam as to why. Just wow! It all made sense and tied together, but most of the time I only had fragments of the truth. This was one of those instances when I know I should be appalled at murder, but the victim was no innocent.

All in all, I was captivated and enjoyed the latest Lady Evelyn mystery. For those who enjoy youthful, intrepid lady detectives in an exciting bygone era, these are for you.

I rec’d this book from Net Galley to read in exchange for an honest review.

3.5 stars

This third entry in the Lady Evelyn series was a bit unsatisfying. After the brilliant second book, this one seemed to spend a little too much time in philosophizing. And what has seemed to be admirable independence in the main character is beginning to feel like persistent foolhardiness.

Lady Evelyn, after tragically losing her parents at a very young age and being raised by a stern aunt, seems to finally be coming to terms with her life situation. The series began when she bravely escaped from society's confines by joining a cousin's family in Crete.

By this time, she has returned to England and is living in Oxford finishing her university studies. We admire her strength and self-reliance and she revels in her courses in the Classics. She is an unusual woman for her era, the 1920's. She appreciates her independent living situation and is not in a hurry to marry her beau, Daniel, in spite of her love for him.

But her scholastic interlude is besmirched when she stumbled upon a murder while attending a dinner at her tutor's house. A whole host of secrets begin to spin out as the investigation dis deeper.

The mystery is a little on the unbelievable side, and we can't quite figure out why Lady Evelyn is so obsessed with inserting herself into the middle of the case. But I do like this main character, the era and setting, and the writing style.

Thanks to Net Galley for providing me with an ARC in exchange for my honest review.

It's 1926 and Lady Evelyn Carlisle has finally returned to England, to complete her degree at St. Hugh's, Oxford. Following an end of term dinner party the body of one of the tutor's is found the next morning.
As Evelyn discovered the body she feels the need to investigate the murder, hoping to receive the help of Detective Stanton who she had previously rescued.
An enjoyable, gently paced, character driven mystery which takes its time to resolve.

Wonderful 1920s mystery! I was looking forward to reading this because I like the Daisy Dalrymple series. I haven't read the first 2 books and I'm certainly going to read them now! I can't wait to read more of Evie and Detective Stanton's stories. Great writing style for me to read. Evie was a great character and I liked reading her thoughts particularly when you consider how women's roles were changing in the 1920s.

I admittedly approached The Study of Silence expecting something akin to that doyenne of the 1920s murder mystery, the Hon. Phryne Fisher. But save for the money, the era, and the fact they make for fantastic reading, there’s not much comparison to be made between the Misses Fisher and Carlisle.

There’s a heavier feel to Evie’s tale - while it’s ostensibly about a murder, it’s also about Evie herself, and much of the book is devoted to her thoughts on her situation, her family, and her future. With the 1920s being revered as an era of self-expression and growing freedoms, seeing Evie struggle to find her place in the world makes for interesting - and relatable - reading.

Setting the contemplations of our excellent lead aside for a moment, it’s also pleasing to note that the mystery at the heart of The Study of Silence is a still a compelling one. Longfellow was certainly not all he appeared, and suspicions bounce around from one character to another, as secrets are revealed and motives become clear.

A wonderfully realised Oxford rounds off a really quite excellent read, with author Zaidi bringing the streets of this historic university city to life.

The verdict? A great historical whodunit, helmed by an interesting and determined young woman. I'll definitely be looking up the first two books in this series!

Thank you Net Galley. A delightful cozy mystery that had me looking for the first two books in the series. Perfect for a commute.