Hobbs' début is funny and written with great wit. I should have loved it, but I didn't, even though it's lauded as a combo of Crimson Peak (don't know this) and Knives Out (meh). I would disagree: I think Hobbs is definitely nodding to Stella Gibson's Cold Comfort Farm here, à la New England. Quite clever and well done. So, what turned me off my read? I think the style is so clever, so witty, it is distancing. I never could approach the story, or be immersed in it because I kept thinking how clever its author was. Which, you know, it's a compliment and take it. But I still didn't enjoy reading this as a sink-into I love it book. And I really thought I would.

I really am not sure what I feel about this book! I have not read Cold Comfort Farm for many years but this seems to be a very close copy of that book right down to each of the main characters. Maybe this was deliberate. I will have to check!

Anyway Misery Hates Company is a readable book in its own right even if some of the characters, including Miss Manners, were a little too much to take. The Boston setting was well done as were the attitudes of the day to working women.

An entertaining historical read about the intrepid Marigold, who, upon finding herself both orphaned and penniless, takes off to Misery Island where she finds a cast of unlikely and unlikable characters. She's determined to make the best of it, though, and quickly asserts herself. And then there's a murder. This goes in multiple directions, with the mystery probably last on the list. That's not to say, however that it's not a good read. Thanks to Netgalley for the ARC. Hobbs is a good storyteller and I'm curious where she plans to take this next.

An Interesting Whodunnit.
A murder mystery set on the island of Great Misery, with a 1920’s feel even though set in 1894. Marigold Manners is a bright young thing, with ambition and goals which are stymied when she is left practically penniless by the deaths of her profligate parents. A letter from a stranger sets her on a course which will turn her life even more upside down when she uncovers some long buried secrets.
I voluntarily read and reviewed an advanced copy of this book from NetGalley. All thoughts and opinions are my own.

What a delightful and twisted read! Misery Hates Company combines gothic intrigue with humor and mystery, making it feel like Crimson Peak meets Knives Out. Marigold Manners, the sharp and resourceful heroine, is everything you want in a main character—poised, witty, and unflinchingly determined. When she heads to the eerie Hatchet Farm on Great Misery Island, she’s met with murder, mystery, and a family full of secrets. The quirky cast and Marigold’s no-nonsense attitude add a fresh spin to the classic “whodunit” as she faces suspicion and danger. This book is clever, fun, and absolutely brimming with gothic charm!

I know I'm in the minority of readers/reviewers here, but this was a book that I just could not get into. I thought the premise sounded interesting/fun but most of the time I felt like it was just trying too hard to be eccentric and quirky. It did not help that I just absolutely could not stand the main character. She's equal parts self-righteous and self-important, and then every once and a while she would do something that made me think I had her all wrong only for her to go right back to being awful a few paragraphs later. And it wasn't just her, I found I really did not like any of the characters here. They were all so awful that I wouldn't have been that upset to find out that any of them had been the murder victim. The big twist at the end didn't make any sense to me - and the author tried for a second to redeem Marigold's mother's selfish behavior only to have that reasoning thrown out the window a couple of pages later. Given that other reviewers seem to have really liked it maybe I am just missing something or I am evidence that this book is just not for everyone.

1894, Boston, we meet Miss Marigold Manners and we learn that her parents are deceased and following the reading of the will, Marigold is surprised to discover she has no inheritance. She has to drop her ambitions of being a student of archaeology at a prestigious college. Her best friend Isabella Dana, couturier, takes Marigold out for a final party to cheer her up, where we meet Cab Cox. Soon afterwards, Marigold, receives a letter from her cousin Sophrinia Sedgwick Hatchet from Great Misery Island. Marigold arrives and takes a boat to the island to stay with the relatives. Marigold is a feisty, a modern woman, persistent and strong character. She takes the Hatchet family under her wing in order to help them. When a body is found on the island, poor Marigold is accused so she receives help from the family and her friends to learn who, why and how this was done. All the sub plots come together to a surprising conclusion.

"A young woman is invited to a mysterious relative's estate and winds up entangled in a murder investigation in this witty historical mystery that pits the Gothic eeriness of Crimson Peak against the comic absurdities of Knives Out.

Miss Marigold Manners may be steeped in the etiquette of her old-money Boston family, but she is also an accomplished, modern woman and an avid student of archaeology who can handle any situation with poise. When the death of her parents leaves her too destitute to pursue her academic career and she receives a letter from a distant relative on Great Misery Island, Marigold decides she must do what any person of superior sense and greater-than-average curiosity would: she mounts her trusty bicycle and heads up the craggy, fog-shrouded coast of New England for a date with fate.

Marigold arrives at Hatchet Farm, a moldering, Gothic pile of a house inhabited by relatives so mired in the sins of the past, they have no future. She sets out to modernize the recluses with a brisk, ruthless efficiency, but her well-intentioned plans to manage their lives lead to malice - and murder. Marigold spies a body floating in the stormy waters surrounding the island, and her suspicions immediately turn to her hostile, weapon-wielding relatives when one of the local girls turns up missing. And she might not be the only one.

When another dead body is found in the garden of the estate, Marigold finds herself accused. She must enlist the help of an eccentric, colorful cast of friends and found family to save herself - and everything she holds dear. As secrets are uncovered and lies exposed, the question of "who done it?" turns into "who didn't do it?" and Marigold must face a truth that shatters her steely poise and shakes her very sense of self."

Hopefully Marigold can keep herself in the "didn't do it" category and get out alive!

I really, really enjoy when a book has me stumped. This novel, while adhering to many of the rules applying to cozy historicals, in other ways completely upends them, to the point where I was about three quarters of the way through and I was not quite sure where the story was headed. (I was more than willing to discover where that might be, however.) As the book opens in 1890’s Boston, Marigold Manners has just lost both parents to the flu pandemic. And worse, she’s discovered they were broke. While Marigold had been a firm part of upper crust Boston society, it looks as though she will now have to leave Wellsley college, abandon her dreams of archaeology, and throw herself of the mercy of her relatives. She has a last night out with her friend Isabelle and the reader is made aware of the devotion of one hunky society stud, Cab. So far, so expected.

Of all the letters from far flung cousins and aunts the one Marigold chooses to accept is from her cousin Mrs. Sophronia Hatchett, who lives on a place called Misery Island, off the New England shore. Marigold has never heard of Sophronia, but she’s intrigued by her letter, which promises to reveal secrets and right family wrongs. From there, things get weird. It reminded me a good bit of one of my favorite girlhood books, Joan Aiken’s Nightbirds on Nantucket, and heroine Dido Twite’s stay with her Aunt Tribulation. Misery Island is all the reader might expect, as the well dressed Marigold arrives at the train station with her trunks to find that no one is meeting her. What she does find, after some asking around, is a drunk on the beach with a little boat who rows her over to the island (she has to help).

The island is desolate, her relatives, rather than being welcoming, are scattered around the island and often downright hostile when they do encounter her. Cousin Sophronia is cryptic beyond belief, and the only food to hand is the goopy stew made by the drunk, Cleon, who rowed her across. Marigold, not one to let things lie or to wallow, rolls up her sleeves the next morning and gets to work cleaning the kitchen. She also makes her way across the water to town, where she finds the library, retrieves her bicycle (a real novelty in the 1890’s) and forms a woman’s bicycle club. She’s truly the model of an independent female, or “new woman,” and as such finds very little solace in her new cousins.

She then gets to work disarming her cousins with charm and finds her lovely cousin Daisy has a secret beau; cousin Saviah has a talent for singing; and cousin Wilbert is looking to farm some sheep on the desolate island. The father, Ellery, when he sees her, rants at her and she remains pretty afraid of him; Sophronia remains aloof. To add to her dread, Marigold is almost certain on her initial voyage across that she’d seen the body of a young woman under the water. This body is almost ignored until toward the end of the novel.

The middle bit has a bit of a Cinderella feel as she helps her cousins begin to realize their goals, meanwhile reuniting with Cab at an actual ball, ballgowns supplied by her friend Isabelle, a couturier. She also makes friends with Lucy, a young black woman who provides meals for the matriarch, Alva, who never leaves her room. Lucy just leaves a tray outside the door for her.

That gets us through about three quarters of the book, which was in turns a story of identity (Marigold’s), a dysfunctional family, a bit of adventure, and gothic haunted house. As the three quarter point it becomes a straight up mystery as one of the family is discovered murdered and Marigold – and Cab – are the ones to solve it as the local constable seems totally unsuited for the job of detection. This was a charming, funny, and at times bleak story which has a surprisingly happy ending and a wonderful heroine. Marigold is someone I hope to encounter again.

Society girl left orphaned. New England. Estranged family members living like hermits?

Yes. Everything I love in a historical fiction novel. Marigold Manners is a plucky woman and I can't wait to keep reading about her solving crimes.

Thanks to NetGalley and the publishers for the opportunity to read and review this book.

Marigold is an Ivy League Boston preppy girl on the academic track. Used to the debutante scene and hanging with her rich friends. When her parents die, she finds herself penniless unable to continue her schooling. Being the modern woman she is, she will make it on her own without marrying for money as her friend urge her to do.. Marigold received an invitation from relatives of her mother, that she has never met. Her mother never gave much info about her family, making it sound like she escaped a bad situation. Marigold decides to investigate this invitation anyway and packs her bags.
She arrives to a welcome reminiscent of the Addams family and a gloomy family that would be at home in the black and white gothic show. When Marigold sets about trying to motivate and meddle in their affairs she meets resistance and hostility.
When bodies, plural, appear and Marigold becomes a suspect, she realizes she must solve this or her future will be cut short. An unusual group of new friends and found family will aid Marigold in her investigation. Will there be a light at the end of this dark time in Marigold’s life?
A perfect read for spooky season.

The litany of New England references in the beginning of this book had me happily following along despite the main character's difficulties. Marigold Manners was raised as a society girl in Boston, but the death of her parents and realization that they left very little money behind has her leaving Wellesley College and writing seeking a home with relatives. She leaves her well-to-do friends in Boston for Great Misery Island, near present day Beverly, MA, to live with her cousins.

I quickly realized this was a Cold Comfort Farm retelling when Marigold found her relatives living a seemingly hermetic life in squalor. Most of her relatives are angry she's there, which has Marigold baffled - she was invited, after all. She sets to cleaning and nudging her cousins into better situations immediately. The retelling is so faithful that I found myself easing into the story and not even noticing that the mystery and murder subplots are largely undeveloped until the final quarter of the book. Around 73%, things really took off and Marigold worked with her Boston friend Cab to find out the truth behind a murder and the reason her relatives invited her to live with them.

The conclusion is where Misery Hates Company veers off into it's own territory and I really enjoyed the conclusion. Marigold is an assertive, educated "new woman" who knows what she wants and isn't afraid to make it happen, though the romantic subplot is one that will probably continue for a few books.

A 19th century New England spin on the British parody classic "Cold Comfort Farm," with an extra mystery and a cool twist thrown in for spice. Marigold is a New Woman and aspiring archaeologist who straightens out her crazy cousins on a farm called Misery Island. The end dragged a bit prior to the big reveal, but Marigold is a solid character and I really enjoyed it.

The title and the cover is what drew me in when I saw this book on NetGalley and it didn’t disappoint!

It took me a little while to get into this book but once I got going I just wanted to read more!
The characters are easily lovable and well written about!

Follow the journey of Miss Marigold Manners and find out the wrong that was done to her so long ago and while following her journey why not solve some murders too!

If you want a great historical novel with a gothic feel with a lot of mystery then this one is for you!

Thankyou NetGalley and crooked lane books for true opportunity to read and review this book

3.5 stars

Historical cozy featuring strong-minded young woman Marigold, who has recently found out the wealth and privilege she was raised with have been frittered away and she must throw herself on the mercy of relatives for her future existence. Her plans to continue her education and go on an archaeological dig are ruined.

She receives a mysterious letter from an unknown relative promising to divulge a secret about a wrong done in the past to Marigold's mother so she packs her things and heads to the isolated island where that part of the family lives. Marigold is an incredibly determined person, but even she is aghast when she arrives to find a very odd family, a decrepit and filthy house, an ancient crone who rules the roost but won't leave her room, and a religiously insane old man ranting about what sinners they all are.

But Marigold ignores them all, scrubs the house, and soon has the household in much better order. Then she begins to straighten out the family's lives. She believes she is just informing them of other choices, but her semi-love interest (who has conveniently appeared) calls her manipulative.

Whatever secret exists is still hidden but Marigold has plenty to keep busy with. There are the mysterious deaths of young women around the island, and Marigold's improvement program with her cousins. The plot is fairly unrealistic but you have to admire her spunk and work ethic. With this gothically charged atmosphere, of course the murdered body of a family member appears and the old secrets finally come out. I received an advance review copy for free, and I am leaving this review voluntarily.

This is a fast paced read of a New England reimagining/modernisation of Cold Comfort Farm (which I read recently in June 2024) by Stella Gibbons- In my opinion, the characters ( with name changes), situations, settings, story themes / sequence of events follow the classic novel closely in the first 70% of the story. There are a few side plots which are new additions to the storyline such as family feud /revenge , along with a some murders of girls which are briefly mentioned throughout the first 70% of the story. Then in the last 30% of the story another murder among the family becomes the main focus and where the story begins to deviate from the classic novels sequence of events. The last 30% of the novels murder mystery, it was the most intriguing, creative part of the story and shows originality of the author. The ending was very different from the classic novel- and gives an original twisted answer to the unanswered questions of the classic novel. The writing overall is quite good throughout, with great dialogue in a writing style similar to Stella Gibbons. The story kept my attention from start to end.

Thanks to Netgalley and Crooked Lane Books for this ARC . This is my honest review.

Misery Hates Company was a solid start to a new historical mystery series. The mystery was well-plotted, and the author's voice and style were delightfully unique.

I particularly liked the setting--both the time (1894) and place (Great Misery Island just off Salem on the North Shore). The titular character, Miss Marigold Manners, was also a plus. She is a no-nonsense New Woman who knows how to establish a goal and get down to it. It's easy to admire her strength and determination.

I was intrigued right from the start by the mystery surrounding Marigold's mother. I also found the situation with her family and the farm intriguing. All three things kept me reading.

Elizabeth Hobbs did a nice job of getting historical details into the story without going overboard. It took quite a while to get to the heart of the mystery, but I appreciated the character and setting development, which helped to make it a better story overall.

I would recommend Misery Hates Company to anyone who likes gothic tales, strong female leads, and historical mysteries. It hits all three marks rather well. It also includes a nice range of quotes and literature references for the bookish.

Thanks to Net Galley and the publisher, Crooked Lane Books, for an advanced reader copy of this novel in exchange for an honest review.

A modern “New Woman”, Miss Marigold Manners cleans up a house, a family, and two murders in Elizabeth Hobbs’ historical mystery, Misery Hates Company.

In 1894, after the death of both her parents due to influenza, Miss Marigold Manners learns they spent all the Manners money, the houses are gone, and she has to find a place to live. She can’t afford to go back to Wellesley College or to Greece for the summer archaeological session. Instead, she writes to a number of relatives informing them of her parents’ death. She hears back from an unknown relative, Sophronia Sedgwick Hatchet, who offers her a place to stay on Great Misery Island off the coast of Salem, Massachusetts. Cousin Sophronia also offers a mystery, saying she must be forgiven by Marigold’s mother, Esme, so she owes Marigold a place to stay.

After her train ride, Marigold learns people are appalled when they learn she’s to stay with the Hatchets. She even has to row over to the island. Along the way, she thinks she spies a woman’s body in the sound. On the island, she finds a ramshackle place, a cousin with comments about curses and secrets, and two leering young men who are Sophronia’s sons. Great Misery Island seems to fit the house and family. But, Marigold is determined to make the best of it, and it isn’t long before she tries to take control, cleaning up, selling old iron, and planting a garden. She also wants to change the lives of her adult cousins who seem imprisoned on the island.

Marigold feels successful until a body is found, and a second body makes her a murder suspect. The intrepid heroine has supportive friends when everything she knows about her own life is turned upside down.

The language is old-fashioned and the characters are extremely odd. Even Marigold won’t be for everyone’s taste, the intrepid “New Woman”. It takes quite a long time to get to the mystery elements, and the solution is messy. Despite the Gothic atmosphere, Misery Hates Company, won’t be for everyone.

Marigold Manners, who stems from an old-money Boston family, prides herself on being a modern woman and archeologist. After her parents die she receives a letter from a relative stating that she should go to Great Misery Island where distant family reside. When she arrives at Hatchett Farm, she discovers a gothic heap inhabited by relatives reminiscent of the eccentric characters of Cold Comfort Farm. Her attempts at modernization of the farm and relatives are interrupted by by the discovery of the dead body of a local girl.

I thoroughly enjoyed this historical mystery by Elizabeth Hobbs. Marigold is an passionate and intelligent main character and the author surrounds her with other young, interesting women of the time. The novel takes place on one of the Misery Islands off the coast of Salem, MA. Much of the story is set on the North Shore, an area famous for beautiful estates and rich history. The area was well-researched for this novel; I know because my family is originally from the area. In fact, my great-aunts lived in the Peter Pride house of Prides Crossing for decades. While the story itself is wonderful, anyone from this part of Massachusetts will enjoy mentions of the old-monied families that referred to the mansions they built there as their "summer homes". I laughed out loud when I read something my parents were fond of saying. "So here's to dear old Boston, the home of the bean and cod, Where the Lowells talk to the Cabots, And the Cabots talk only to God."

I highly recommend this treasure of a book!

Many thanks to NetGalley and Crooked Lane Books for an ARC of this novel, the first in a series.

This is a funny, tongue-in-cheek historical mystery, with one Miss Marigold Manners firmly in the starring role. Set in the 1890s, as the Victorian world transitioned to modernity, Marigold is very much a New Woman of the age. Like many of her female peers, she wants to make her way into male-dominated higher learning, and the sort of career previously reserved for men, in this instance, archaeology. Her ambitions come to an abrupt and tragic halt when her parents’ sudden deaths reveal the family’s penury. Just then, as readers might hope, long estranged relatives, the aptly-named Hatchets of Hatchet Farm, invite her to stay with them on the just as aptly named Grand Misery Island.

There she finds kin who can hardly stand each other, and, despite their invitation, seem none too pleased to take her into their fold. But, in a manner very reminiscent of the classic send-up of rural life, Cold Comfort Farm by Stella Gibbons (see the wonderful film with Kate Beckinsale), Marigold quickly recovers from her initial discomfort at their oddness and disdain. Like Flora Poste, the heroine of that story, she carefully works her way into their insular lives. As both the rundown old manor residents and the townspeople slowly warm to her, her cousin reveals some family secrets, pointing to a mystery, and then a murder, that the ever-curious Marigold, trained in piecing together scant evidence, feels compelled to resolve. Of course she does, but, since this is her debut, this is only an enticing beginning to the further adventures of Miss Marigold Manners.

The writing is consistently good, true to the historical nature of the setting, and the ‘Gay Nineties’ context is faithfully presented. If it’s a bit slow in the first few chapters, it definitely picks up the tempo as Marigold pursues the mystery. Her friendship with Cab is sweet, and promises further romantic development. All in all, this book is a treat.