Murder at Martingale Manor by Jodi TaylorMy rating: 4 of 5 stars
Leon takes Max to recuperate after her injuries, and what could be nicer than a trip back to the 1920s and a country house hotel, all very Agatha Christie - who just happens to be the author of the paperback book Max is reading in hospital.
Indeed, the guests and staff at Martingale Manor in Devon could easily have come from one of Ms Christie's books: the mysterious older woman, the absent-minded clergyman, the doctor, the military man, the charming young couple, the chatty maid, the hotel manageress with a secret.
One night at dinner, one of the guests makes a quite innocuous comment, directed more at themselves than any other person in the room ... and yet the effect on the room was remarkable. The next day, the guest is dead, and it doesn't look like an accident or natural causes. Even worse, all the other guests and staff seemed to have congregated together in the lobby or gardens with other people ... except Leon. Can Max uncover the real culprit and save Leon?
This was a lovely mystery, I do love reading Jodi's annual Christmas novella, it's as much a part of my Christmas as turkey with all the trimmings or a tin of Quality Street. My only gripe is that I didn't understand what Max meant about Olly and Molly - I'll have to read a review/analysis from someone cleverer than me to find out I guess. Okay, on second thoughts I had two gripes, wasn't the murder method the same one (pretty much) as in the recent BBC adaptation of an Agatha Christie novel? Not naming it specifically but it was aired in March 2025.
Anyway, if you love an Agatha Christie, or Jodi Taylor, or time travel give this a go.
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