For Whom Death Tolls

I went through a phase in my early 30's where I couldn't go to sleep at night unless one of the first 3 Lethal Weapon movies was playing on my bedroom t.v. I don't know why it had to be Lethal Weapon but there it was. At that time of my life, 'comfort' was defined for me as my apartment, my bed, my cats, and Lethal Weapon on the TV. I'll leave the fact that I usually fell asleep during the shoot-em-up scenes for the analysts to hash out.

Nowadays I can't fall asleep in front if a t.v. if my life depended on it. I'm not even going to talk about the noise levels of those wonderful 80's/90's movies. But lately, comfort has been temporarily defined as my house, my bed, my cats and a cozy mystery taking place 'back-in-time'; WWII, Victorian show more era, whatever. That's part of what makes my re-reads of The Manor House series especially enjoyable at the moment and why it's taking me no time at all to zip through these lovely little stories that are the book equivalent of a cup of hot tea and a biscuit in front of the fire.

For Whom Death Tolls centers on the mysterious death of an American Army Air Force officer in the church bell tower. One of the officers/pilots living in the Manor House is accused of the crime and as he also happens to be the romantic interest of Lady Elizabeth's secretary, and part of Colonel Earl Monroe's unit, LE feels compelled to investigate. Also curious to her are the suddenly bountiful, beautiful breakfasts that her housekeeper is serving each morning while being belligerently evasive about where such lovely food is coming from in the face of severe rationing.

While these are the main mysteries of the book, it's the characters and the mechanics of everyday life during WWII in England that drives this book, as well as the series as a whole. Martin's growing senility, teaching the Yanks how to play cricket, driving down the roads at night with no lights on because the country is in a blackout to thwart night time bombing raids. Trying to arrange home tours to make extra money in the middle of a war. These books are all about the characters and only mostly about the mysteries.

A fun, light read that will go by quickly. show less

I thoroughly enjoy Kate Kingsbury's writing. This book was no exception. She always leaves me ready to read the next book in her series.