The Affair of the Bloodstained Egg Cosy

In a re-release of this 1975 gem, author James Anderson has penned a lovely — and loving — send-up of that old chestnut, the British house-party cozy mystery. Gathering for a weekend party at the West Country mansion of Alderley, owned by the stereotypically bluff Earl of Burford, are his diplomat brother, two Duchy diplomats there to conclude negotiations with Britain, a Texan oil tycoon and his wife, a travelogue writer, an insufferable bore, a shadowy French baroness, and a plucky gal-pal of the earl’s daughter. What could go wrong?

What doesn’t go wrong? A diamond necklace and a brace of semi-automatic pistols that once belonged to Czar Nicholas II both go missing, and a body turns up in a lake on the grounds — plus show more diabolical espionage and treason. While so many plot points might prove confusing in less deft hands, Anderson handles the high-jinks with aplomb. I couldn’t put the novel down, as cliché as that sounds! The novel’s resolution proves perfect, too.

Lastly, I absolutely adored the lugubrious Detective Inspector Wilkins, who resembles Hercule Poirot a bit in looks — but certainly not style. There he resembles a British version of the seemingly buffoonish TV detective Colombo; however, like his counterpart, and despite his self-deprecation, Wilkins doesn’t miss a thing. How pleased I was to find out that Anderson penned sequels and that I will soon be encountering Wilkins again! show less

Yes, yes, I know. What am I doing reading a book like THE AFFAIR OF THE BLOODSTAINED EGG COSY. In my defence I used to be quite a SPLASHER (4MA speak for somebody who reads a wide range of crime book "styles") although in recent years I will admit I've moved more and more to the dark side. But every now and then I like a bit of a splash around in the lighter side of the genre, and I do rather like the eccentric side of the classic English country house sub-genre. Chuck in a slightly batty Lord; an unflappable Lady; a house with secret passages; a poor cousin / secretary / jolly young thing girl; a bit of spying and/or intrigue; an imperious butler; an exotic unknown female and some dashing around in the dark, and well I can be quite show more happy. Provided it's all done rather well, and doesn't veer too much into cartoon territory. Which THE AFFAIR OF THE BLOODSTAINED EGG COSY (henceforth to be known as THE AFFAIR ETC) avoids nicely.

Originally written in 1975, THE AFFAIR ETC has a very authentic 1930's feeling to it. And just the slightest dash of lunacy about it. The biggest part of the action takes place on one night, when there's a woman screaming; somebody gets locked in a linen closest; one man goes missing (his dead body shows up the next morning in the lake outside the house); one valuable necklace is stolen; the exotic female goes missing; alarms go off; people rush around; and a lot of stuff goes bump in the night whilst nobody thinks to turn on the lights. All of which culminates in the arrival of a very self-effacing detective, who seems to think he's been promoted above his abilities, and mostly seems to do his detecting by standing around and waiting for others to stick their feet in it... so to speak.

There's also a bit of business to do with a famous pair of guns; a famous gun collection; and a dirty, bloodstained egg cosy in the lavender bushes. Now it goes without saying that we're talking a very busy plot here, delivered with just a hint of really good farce. This is the second book from the Burford Family mysteries (actually the first in the series I believe) that I've read and I've got to say I really like these books. Light-hearted, enormously batty, good humoured and very entertaining, THE AFFAIR ETC is incredibly complicated. You'll be doing better than me if you can work out what's going on for most of the time, but I hope, like me, you really not going to care and just enjoy being very entertained. show less

A solid entry in the "murder at a country house party in interwar England" genre. James Anderson has his tongue just enough in cheek to add some extra enjoyment for the reader, but not so much that Affair of the Blood Stained Egg Cosy descends into farce. It's got about everything you could want from this kind of book—impoverished daughters of the gentry, Texan oil millionaires, blackmail, aristocrats, Ruritanian duchies, and so on—which make it an ideal read on a lazy, rainy weekend.

Jane is a young impoverished gentlewoman who has recently lost her job and is invited to stay at her school-chum, Lady Gerry's, family's country home. Lady Gerry is the daughter of the Earl and Countess of Burford. Also coming for a visit on that fateful weekend are Richard, Lady Gerry's uncle; Mr and Mrs Peabody and their secretary; Algy Fotheringay, a pompous young friend of the family; and Giles Deveraux, a journalist writing a book on English country houses. Richard has been asked by the Prime Minister to negotiate a secret deal with a foreign country's government and he brings along with him an advisor as well as the two foreign diplomats with whom he is to negotiate. Mr Peabody, an American millionaire, has been a correspondent of show more Lord Burford's and is a fellow gun collector who was invited by Lord Burford to see his extensive collection. The party is rounded out by a Baroness whose car has suspiciously wrecked in front of the house. Unfortunately, few of the guests are who or what they seem to be as we soon find out that there is foreign espionage, jewel theft, revenge, murder and other intrigue. Detective Inspector Wilkins is called in to sort things out, however, he is "not sanguine" about the whole affair as he did not want to be promoted to CID in the first place. Many things are finally sorted out in a most unexpected manner.

I've had this book on my TBR list for a few years and have just finally gotten around to reading it. I had heard of it from a book listing cozy mysteries, as I had never heard of it or the author before. This book was written in 1975 and has two sequels.

I am very glad that I read this book. It is very much like a mystery from the Golden Age of Detection - it is set, I believe, in the 1930's before World War II - even though it was written in the 1970's. It has a little of everything - espionage, revenge, theft, murder, double-cross, romance, etc - but it all seems to work together. There is even a little humor thrown into the mix via Algy Fotheringay and Detective Wilkins. There are plenty of clues, I think enough to likely solve the murders, and while I did solve one murder, the identity of the second murderer caught me totally by surprise. The final ending was even more of a surprise, in a pleasant way. It came complete with a locked house from which the murderer could not possibly have escaped and ended with the Detective bringing all the suspects together at the close to sum up the case.

It was a very fun book and an easy read. As soon as I finished it, I promptly bought the two sequels and am starting on them right away. What a pleasant surprise in my TBR list! show less

Written in the style of the classic 1930s country house mysteries, this book is laugh-out-loud funny. It's full of intrigue, murder, blackmail, and robbery as almost every guest at the house party plot and counter-plot against each other. Inspector Wilkins, the local policeman who is not sanguine about his chances of catching the murderer, nevertheless untangles the intricate plot and takes his place alongside Hercule Poirot and Lord Peter Wimsey as a Golden Age detective.

Very enjoyable mystery in the style of the Golden Age' country-house mystery. I think it succeeds partly because while bit does include almost every stereotype of the period, the characters come across as real people, or at least no less real than those in the actual golden age stories, which sometimes (as with Carter Dickson) were at least as frankly incredible.

Very much in the style of Agatha Christie and other country house murder mysteries and a wonderful addition. Inspector Wilkins is a great addition to the pantheon of literary detectives and I look forward to reading more of the Burford mysteries.