The 20th book in the series and I love these characters just as much, if not more, than I did in the beginning. The characters are friends, the stories remain fresh, and the mysteries are compelling. Uniquely, this book includes a Dollar Princess (a wealthy American heiress willing to trade her wealth for an English title), much more common to the late 19th and early 20th centuries than the 1930s, but Ruby is a great character who should not be underestimated. Her father also escapes the trope of being a larger than life boor. When Inspector Lewis, he who readers love to hate, and Mrs. Cravens are added to the mix, it's quite an outing. If you are a fan of the series, you will enjoy this latest adventure. If you have not read the series, I do encourage you to start at the beginning, get a feel for Kitty, her grandmother, and The Dolphin Hotel, where Kitty develops those investigative chops. The ending sends a clear message there are more adventures to come, and I cannot wait.

A fantastic book in the series. This book was read through Audio. The reader was fantastic. Reading the series in order does brings one to rely on each character’s personality and what they will bring to the story. Having the same consistent characters brings life to each book and draws you into the story as if you’re part of it.

Having become a fan of Helena Dixon after reading The Secret Detective Agency series I was keen to read some of her other books.
This is the 20th book in the Miss Underhay Mysteries series. This book can definitely read as a stand alone. I listened to the audio version. The narrator added to my enjoyment as she brought the characters alive. I listened to the book at 1.5 speed as this provided a more realistic experience of conversational pace.
The book was an easy read. it is suitable to listen to while doing mundane tasks or sitting down and relaxing with. Kitty is a likable main character and the peripheral characters are quirky and entertaining. As I have come to expect of Helena Dixon pets feature prominently and once again there is a cat with attitude.
This is another very competent and well written example of the genre. An easy quick read that ticks all the cosy crime boxes. The historical background is a nice addition.
I listened To an ARC .Thank you to Bookouture and NetGalley. My review is freely given.

What a delightful quick read! Or in this case, listen. Things my first experience with this series which are inter-connected stand alone books but they do have some threads that carry through. However, even though there are some things that are from the previous book, you can easily pick up what is going on.

They have a very cozy mystery quality to them but it’s like a little bit more than cozy? Very low stakes which just makes them such an easy read. I love the British setting which just makes this American want to jump on a plane!

The narrator Karen Cass does an excellent job! All the different voices she performs and at a good pace. Even though it was recorded swiftly it was easy to speed things up to 2x speed and it was still quite understandable. Bookouture Audio does such a good job with their audiobook productions and finds the right narrator for the right book.

While I enjoyed this on a beautiful spring day I could see getting all cozy on a rainy day and dicing right in. The only criticism I have is with some repetitiveness with the dog. It just seemed weird that he was mentioned so much. Also, I think the author loves to use the word balustrade as it’s used a ton with characters constantly in its presence 😝.

This book comes out on May 23, 2025 so if you’re a mystery lover get this on your TBR!

I am thankful to have gotten a complimentary audio ALC from Bookouture Audio through NetGalley to read which gave me the opportunity to voluntarily leave a review.

My rating system since GoodReads doesn’t have partial stars

⭐️ Hated it
⭐️⭐️ Had a lot of trouble, prose issues, really not my cup of tea (potentially DNF’d or thought about it)
⭐️⭐️⭐️ Meh, it was an ok read but nothing special
⭐️⭐️⭐️⭐️ Really enjoyed it! Would recommend to others
⭐️⭐️⭐️⭐️⭐️ Outstanding! Will circle back and read again