A Man of Some Repute

Take one part Josephine Tey’s Allen Grant and one part Agatha Christie’s Tommy Beresford, then add a soupçon of G.M. Malliet’s Max Tudor, and you’d have author Elizabeth Edmondson’s A Man of Some Repute, the debut novel in what promises to be a delectable historical mystery series.

It’s 1953, and the mysterious Hugo Hawksworth arrives in the quiet English village of Selchester with his lively 13-year-old sister Georgia in tow. He’s supposed to be a statistician at Thorn Hall, but the entire village knows that he — like everyone else who works for Sir Bernard at The Hall — is actually Special Branch or something near enough.

In early 1947, Lord Selchester disappeared from his home, Selchester Castle, during a raging show more blizzard; his pretty, selfish daughter Lady Sonia Richmond has been counting down the time until she can have him declared legally dead and sell the old pile. She’s spared the trouble when her father’s bones turn up in the castle’s chapel. That re-opens the case, and Inspector MacLeod, who led the initial investigation, returns. He and Hawksworth combine forces to determine who did the old peer in. Edmondson does yeoman’s work crafting an intriguing mystery with suspects galore and a Golden Age of mystery sensibility that’s an homage rather than a cliché. Indeed, Edmondson has perfectly captured the atmosphere and dialogue evocative of the English 1950s, when rationing still held sway but the country was restless for something new and better. Further, Edmondson infuses the novel with plenty of intrigue and suspense.

If Hugo’s playing Tommy Beresford, then the role of Tuppence goes to Freya Wryton, Lord Selchester’s free-spirited niece. It’s no spoiler to say Hugo and Freya are likely to get together before this series gets too old. I loved A Man of Some Repute, and I can’t wait to devour the sequel, A Question of Inheritance.

A Man of Some Repute’s Hugo Hawksworth put me in mind of Max Tutor; in addition to the two of them having spy connections, the audiobooks for both are read by the magnificent Michael Page, who brings his great talent to bringing both Hugo’s Selchester And Max’s Nether Monkslip to life. show less

THIS WAS AN AUDIOBOOK. I loved, loved, LOVED this mystery set in a castle in rural England.
Lord Selchester vanishes one evening during a blustery winter snow storm while entertaining guests at Selchester castle. His body is never discovered and he is presumed dead. Several years later Hugo Hawksworth, an intelligence officer injured in Berlin, is reluctantly relegated to a desk job at Thorn Hall supposedly as "a statistician" and is offered lodging at Selchester castle along with his young, precocious sister Georgia (age 13). When Lord Selchester's body is discovered, Hugo sets about trying to piece together what might have happened to Selchester, and who would have wanted him dead. Lord Selchester's guests on the night of the murder show more were peculiarly uncharacteristic for a man of some repute; an actress, a photographer, a local businessman, and a few others who were practically unknown to one another. Why would a man among the ton include as guests somewhat ordinary people? Eager to dismiss the case rather than engulf the town in scandal, investigators are intent on pinning the crime on Selchester's dead son Tom Arlingham, and niece, Freya Wryton, since a heated dispute arose between Tom and his father on the night in question, and Freya and Tom, close companions, were seen leaving the castle together that night. Might they have circled back and killed Selchester? This is one theory, but as other characters and relations begin to surface with possible motives for murder, will that theory ultimately hold water?
A Man of Some Repute was an audiobook Daily Deal that I snagged and I am so glad I did. My first book by author Elizabeth Edmundson, it will certainly not be my last. The setting was intriguing and mysterious, and the characters were interesting and alluring, down to Freya's surly and temperamental horse, Last Hurrah.
Overall, the story was a solid English mystery done right, with an ending that surprised me. I'll be back for the next installment in the series. Highly recommended, especially to those who enjoy a good British mystery. show less

This is the first volume of a new series for me. It was a very exciting read and I will continue to read the other books.
The secret agent Hugo Hawksworth is assigned to Selchester in 1953. He takes his younger sister with him. The two are housed in Selchester Castle. Shortly after their arrival, the body of the lost Earl of Selchester is found. For the past seven years he was considered lost. Who is the murderer? Why does the police and some government officials want to sweep the case under the carpet?
Together with the Earl's niece, Hugo sets out to find answers. They find even more bodies.

Hugo Hawksworth had been wounded in the leg, leaving him with a permanent limp and ending his ever working in the field. A desk job was the only way he could stay in the Service — no more foreign assignments. He was also now raising his 13 year old sister, as both parents were killed in the war (WWII).

He’s been assigned to work at the Hall in Selchester. Selchester Castle is a temporary place to star till some permanent housing comes up. The castle is ancient, like something from a fairy tale, with towers even!

Not only does it have history, it also has a mystery. Lord Selchester disappeared one night while there were still dinner guests on hand. A body has never been found.

While some workmen were fixing the plumbing system, they show more discovered a skeleton buried in the chapel. A ring found with the bones pointed to it being the missing lord.

Local police come up with a suspect and close the case, but the Service want the truth. There is much more than identifying the bones. Why are they buried where they are? What is their connection to the castle? And more.

Blackmail, espionage, murder, greed, secrets all set in a castle in the country in 1950s England. show less

The wounded Hugo Hawksworth seems destined to spend his time pushing papers behind a desk, but an opportunity comes for him to work from Selchester Castle. His younger sister Georgia accompanies him. Shortly after his arrival, the missing earl's body turns up in the chapel buried under flagstones. The local investigators, wanting a quick resolution, seem happy to pin it on the man's deceased son with the man's niece Freya as an accessory. Hugo, convinced of their innocence, investigates on the side. The premise ended up being stronger than the writing and plotting. The earl was a man few admired. The weak ending did not help endear me to the series which was published through Amazon's Thomas & Mercer imprint.

This was a "party at the castle" sort of mystery, although about a disappearance that had occurred seven years previously. Hugo Hawksworth (what a name!) leg injury from a bullet in Berlin when on intelligence assignment (cold war stuff) is billeted at the castle which is in a sort of inheritance limbo while he takes up a new desk assignment at the hush-hush government facility at Thorn Hall up the road. Selchester, Earl of etc is the one who disappeared and his daughter, who inherits, when the wait to declare him dead is up, plans to sell the whole lot. She hated her father and mystery swirls around him. Hugo has a thirteen year old sister, much much younger with him. (Their parents were killed in the blitz.) Georgia is a fun show more character. I didn't care for the reader, and was glad to see someone else reading the next two in the series. Not super-fantastic, but good enough for me in my present mental state. ***1/2 show less

Hugo Hawksworth was wounded in service to his country. It is 1953 and Hugo and his sister have been given a job and a place to stay, which turns out to be a castle! Not only are they to live in a castle, but there is a mystery surrounding the disappearance of the former Earl, and possibly ghosts. All exciting news to the fourteen year old sister, and possibly interesting enough to pull Hugo from the misery of his damaged leg and loss of position.

This is in the same tone as the Golden Age of mysteries. I enjoyed it tremendously! Listening as I walked, it had me smiling at points for sure, and there were at least two times I laughed out loud. I will be adding this author to my short list. The mystery itself was not as complex a puzzle as show more the older ones, but good enough. My only beef was with the narrator, Michael Page. His female voices. Ugh. However, after I got over the Monty Python effect, we soldiered on. show less