Neither Beryl or Edwina enjoyed their time at Miss Dupont's Finishing School but they are more than happy to help Miss Dupont when she reaches out to them about strange events happening there. It's just after WWI and this dynamic duo- outgoing American Beryl and staid Edwina-are ace investigators and they're really put to the test here when Veronica, another alumna is found murdered in the garden. As the reader can imagine, Veronica, a classic mean girl, had made enemies of several people but who killed her? This installment moves things along, especially in the romantic interest arena (no spoilers). I like this series - a lot- for the characters as well as the setting. If it seems gentler than other historical mysteries so be it but I always enjoy them. This will be fine as a standalone because Ellicott gives enough background to help new readers and just remind fans. Thanks to Netgalley for the ARC. Excellent read.

This is 7th Beryl and Edwina mystery, and I have read them all !In this book the friends are reluctantly brought back to their finishing school where strange goings on are happening. And , of course, a murder.
There were lots of twists and turns and while I saw what was coming , it was still an enjoyable read. It was so good to be back with these two friends.
I'd like to thank herbalist for the opportunity to review this book

I hadn't realised this was the 7th book in the series and hadn't read any of the other books. I found no difficulty in following along so ca be read as a stand alone. The character's are likeable fun and entertaining. The mystery is good, there are enough red herrings and hints of danger to make a thoroughly entertaining read. There is also a hint of romance for Edwina although it does seem very slow burn, i will now need to head back and check out the earlier books. I received an advance review copy for free, and I am leaving this review voluntarily.

My second book in this series set in a quiet English village just after WW1. Edwina Davenport and her American friend Beryl Halliwell are asked to return to their old finishing school, in their role as private detectives, to help the Principal with an unusual problem.

Strange things are happening in the old school and then a murder occurs and Edwina and Beryl have a multitude of suspects to investigate. It is an interesting story which I did enjoy, but from time to time I felt weighed down by the amount of information that was directed at me, and I confess to a small amount of skimming.

Still an enjoyable story with a satisfactory conclusion.

3.5 stars

I didn't read the prior book, and I found this one made sense, but I would suggest starting at the beginning of the series to get a greater appreciation for the main characters.

Overall, this was an enjoyable read. However, I needed to suspend disbelief in this one a bit more than usual with cozy mysteries. There were ample twists and turns, as well as a number of possible suspects, to keep readers guessing. Beryl and Edwina are an unlikely combination, but they complement each other well. I look forward to future books.

Beryl and Edwina embark on trip to the finishing school where they first met and became friends. It's a case though, not a sentimental journey. Some of the staff are still there. And a couple of former classmates are there too in different roles. The ladies are engaged to track down the mischiefmaker driving away the students. Seeing the school and the staff from an adult perspective gives Edwina and Beryl new clarity on their years spent being "finished." This is an engaging and thoughtful mystery.

This was ok. Perhaps I liked it less than other because it was the first in the series that I'd read. I know we are asked to suspend disbelief a lot in cozy mysteries but this one asked a little too much of me. It was an easy enough read, although I would suggest perhaps people start at book 1.

The series is so much fun, it's hard to believe we're seven books in already. This time, Beryl and Edwina are called to their alma mater to investigate strange noises and thefts. While they are there, an old classmate of theirs is killed.

Beryl and Edwina's styles complement each other well, and each has been "polished" by the other, to the benefit of both. Beryl is no longer as brash as she was, and Edwina is a bit more adventurous and less classist. They are assisted once again, by Simpkins, their former gardener, now (sometimes) silent partner in their private enquiry agency. Charles also makes an appearance, to Edwina's surprise and pleasure. Theirs is a very slow potential romance, but Edwina seems more open to the idea than in previous books.

There are clues and suspects galore. Edwina understands people and their motivations, and her skill in relating to others gleans information that Beryl couldn't have gotten. Beryl, though, takes risks that Edwina doesn't. I enjoyed the look back to their school-age friendship, especially the glimpse into how Edwina quietly handled the class bully.

It's a satisfying story, I love spending time with the characters, and I'm looking forward to book eight!

4.0/5.0 stars - recommended

I received an advance copy from Kensington Books via NetGalley, in exchange for my honest review.

Can I say that I have just finished reading a great cozy murder mystery written by an author who knows a thing or two about writing a book that will keep the readers attention and make you feel as though you are a part of the book as well.

Murder at a London Finishing School by Jessica Ellicott kept me enthralled and entertained from page one. I could not put it down. We have 2 protagonists in the story. American Beryl Halliwell and Brit Edwina Davenport are the closest of friends. Their friendship got started at Miss Duponts finishing school where as luck would have it, they would be going back to that very place to help Miss DuPont. I will throw in here that the author throws in tidbits about the two throughout so that if you have not read the others in the series, you will certainly be able to follow along.and understand the history of the two ladies. When they arrive Miss DuPont informs them that there have been strwdqdwdwwdddwdxdcdssange activities taking place. The girls at the school are hearing noises and possessions are damaged and items are starting to go missing. Then one of the parents turn up deceased and they are thrust into a murder investigation.that takes the reader on a ride of twists and turns with a very unexpected ending.



Solid 5 out of 5 stars

Thank you to NetGalley as well as the author/publisher for giving me the opportunity to read this book in exchange for my unbiased and honest review

I find these two leading ladies just delightful and so enjoy joining them on their adventures. This time, they are off to their old finishing school which is in crisis. No sooner do they arrive and there is a murder!

If you have a business mindset, suspend it for the duration, the school’s plan to recover its status post-war is frightful! It distracted some from my enjoyment as I came up with alternative scenarios! That said, it’s a fun cosy and I’ll be looking for the next in the series!

It’s a three out of five on the enJOYment scale.

This is an enjoyable cosy mystery series, I love Edwina and Beryl, and the close friendship they share. However, this storyline was a bit of a stretch for me, it felt implausible.: too few pupils, too few suspects, my business brain just kept asking questions ... some things just didn't compute and detracted from the story for me.

Perhaps the next one will be back in the village with old Simpkins adding character and Edwina's love interest making some progress. Guess we'll just have to wait and see.

It was 3 out of 5 on the enjoyment scale.

Thanks to #Netgalley, Kensington Books and the author for my Advance Reader Copy in exchange for an honest review.

I'm rounding up to 4 stars. This is a fun cozy series. When I received the ARC of "Finishing School" I decided I needed to at least read the first book to familiarize myself with the characters. And these are fun characters. Edwina is an unmarried woman of a "certain age" and her friend Beryl is a famous (or infamous) American adventuress. The two live in Edwina's home in a English village and have achieved some notoriety for being enquiry agents. Now they have been summoned by their old head mistress to their finishing school where their friendship first began. It seems that someone is trying to bring the school down and Miss DuPont needs Edwina and Beryl to investigate. While at the school, they encounter a variety of suspects and eventually a corpse. It's a quick, light book that fills in some background about our two detectives (Beryl is hilarious). Having read the first book, I had no trouble following the plot, but this series is probably best read in order.

On the surface, American adventuress Beryl Halliwell and Edwina Davenport seem an odd mix. Beryl is daring and brash. Edwina is, well, reserved and proper. Together, however, they make an excellent team of enquiry agents, ie private detectives in today's terms. Somehow their strengths and, yes, weaknesses meshed into a formidable duo, changing each for the better. Not that either is always willing to admit that change.

I warmed to this series slowly but have come to look forward to and thoroughly enjoy the more relaxed pace and just past WWI setting. Don't fret if you're just discovering the series as this one stands alone nicely. The author does an excellent job filling us in on background and connections with nary a pause. For instance, I loved what we learned of Beryl's past and personality when Desmond literally flies into the school and recalls Beryl once "borrowing" his test plane to do loops and circuits over the officials gathered at an event. Beryl leaps at the chance to fly the plane he flew in on while Edwina politely declines, saying she'd prefer to keep her feet on the ground. Right there is an excellent reveal of their personalities. You'll also get intriguing peeks at the personalities of the other characters, both regulars and new for this book. I'm rooting for Charles, btw.

And, oh, yes, the mystery. There's a dead body in the finishing school's garden grotto. How did she get there? I mean, Veronica makes the "mean girls" look sweet and kind but, well, who'd want to kill her? Oddly enough, the local law seems relatively uninterested? Why? Is Veronica's family's money an influence? But, what is behind all the spooky noises and thefts that are occurring? Even weirder, some of the items reappear while others don't? A ghost with ever changing tastes? Neither Beryl nor Edwina particularly enjoyed their stay at Miss Dupont's Finishing School, so why do they agree to visit anyway? What draws Beryl and Edwina's family of friends to follow them there? And, Mary? Why would someone whose memories of the school are probably worse than either Beryl or Edwina's now be working there? And....well, never mind. Enough teasers. Let's just say it gets really interesting then.

Thanks #NetGalley and #KensingtonBooks for allowing me to check out a staid, ol' style British finishing school without having to endure the discipline often demanded of the girls. The times are changing, aren't they? Looking forward to seeing where that change next takes Beryl and Edwina. Hope Beryl got home in time to enjoy part of the golf adventure, anyway.

1920s, England, cozy-mystery, friendship, private-investigators, sly-humor, small-business, country-house, pet-dog, historical-fiction, women-sleuths, murder, murder-investigation, theft, pranks, friction, lies, malice, school*****

This is the latest in an excellent cozy mystery series. (My biased opinion)
Beryl is a peripatetic American and Edwina is a proper Britisher, but they were at finishing school together and became good friends. Several months ago, Beryl moved in with Edwina and they set up a private enquiry agency.
The publisher's blurb is a good hook. While attempting to find the source of the problems at the school they meet up with an old enemy from their school days, find old friends from those days, and find a dead body (and a dismissive member of the local constabulary). Then the gears shift and things get even more interesting!
I requested and received a free e-book copy from Kensington Books via NetGalley. Thank you!

What a fun book it was exciting, page turning and absolutely hard to put down. I enjoyed visiting a Finishing School and following along with the mystery. A former school mistress writes them to ask them to return to the school to investigate strange noises and thefts to students property under the pretense of enrolling a student in the school. This was so interesting to follow along and figure out what was going on. Then there is a murder of a former student they knew while they were in school together she is enrolling her daughter except she was nasty to everyone and rich and bullied a teacher who was also a student at the same. I loved this book and enjoyed reading there a lot of twists and turns and suspects.

Another wonderful book and next instalment from Walmsey Parva with Beryl and Edwina going back where their friendship started at Miss Dupont's Finishing School for young ladies, after a call for help but Miss Dupont herself.

Follow along as our supersleuths try and make sense of the reports of missing items and strange noises in the night. Is someone trying to sabotage the finishing school?

Mischief mayhem and murder follow as Beryl and Edwina try to discover the identity of the person or persons involved.

The latest installment of the cozy mystery series featuring enquiry agents rural villager Edwina Davenport and her adventurous, globe-trotting American friend Beryl Halliwell take place at Miss Dupont’s Finishing School outside London. (This reader, who has not read the previous books, had no trouble following the story; deftly inserted tidbits about the protagonists’ previous lives and adventures created a good sense of who they are without burdening series readers with lengthy repetitions of previous events.) As aside from forming their life-long friendship, neither enjoyed their sojourn at the school, these former students are initially reluctant to respond to Miss Dupont’s invitation to visit. But the handwritten note accompanying the invitation, indicating that the headmistress needs them to quietly investigate why someone is attempting to sabotage the institution, compels them to comply. On the excuse of determining whether to recommend the school to Beryl’s fictional goddaughter, they arrive to find students deserting the school after a rash of ominous noises and the mysterious disappearances of personal items. They also encounter a former student who now serves as a teacher and another graduate, the archtypical Mean Girl Veronica, who is trying to force her own daughter to attend. When Veronica is found dead in the school’s garden grotto, the investigation takes on new urgency. With current and ex-husbands, dictatorial teachers, a resentful daughter and the quietly desperate headmistress thrown into the mix, there are enough red herrings and hints of danger to make a thoroughly entertaining read. Thanks to William Morrow and NetGalley for the opportunity to sample this ARC.

Murder at a London Finishing School was a fun read, filled with a variety of well-developed characters. There were numerous twists and it was a terrific way to spend a rainy afternoon, to work out who was causing the problem at the school and eventually, the reason why. The two main characters, Beryl and Edwina, work well together using their individual personality strengths to solve the mystery at their former finishing school. All in all delightful.

Bizarre Events Abound..
Bizarre events abound in this seventh instalment of the Beryl and Edwina mystery series as the amateur sleuthing duo pay a visit to their alma mater - Miss Dupont’s Finishing School for Young Ladies. Even as they investigate the strange and even haunting goings on, murder is just around the corner and suspects are aplenty. Jessica Ellicott has created a pair of delightfully twee amateur sleuths. The very American and eccentric Beryl and the very English and proper Edwina, old school pals, are rather a joy, their rapport a pleasure and their sleuthing questionable. Humour dances off the page from the first to the last. Eminently readable, always great fun and with a colourful, eccentric cast.

Two heads were better than one in this investigation! Beryl and Edwina presented an unusual detective twosome following the First World War.
Although the title suggests a London setting, the city never makes an appearance, with the action being confined to the country house, which was a finishing school for young women with a wealthy background.
Beryl and Edwina, former girls of the school find themselves invited back to uncover mysterious events. As they followed laborious leads their job became complicated by a murder. Surrounded by complex characters, with secrets and motives, the daring duo finally get to the heart of the matter, concluding with a few unexpected twists!
An enjoyable duel-aspect novel, the pace was steady but with illuminating insights into the personalities of the suspects. The novel would appeal to anyone who enjoys reading about private detectives and the female sleuth!
It has been a pleasure to review this pleasant and interesting novel for NetGalley.