cover image Death and the Singing Birds: A Nell Drury Mystery

Death and the Singing Birds: A Nell Drury Mystery

Amy Myers. Severn, $28.99 (224p) ISBN 978-0-7278-8994-2

Set in 1926 England, Myers’s uneven third Nell Drury mystery (after 2019’s Death at the Wychbourne Follies) finds Nell, the chef at Wychbourne Court, preparing a luncheon for two guests, Sir Gilbert and Lady Saddler, who recently moved into nearby Spitalfrith Manor. During the awkward meal, Sir Gilbert says he’s hoping to hold an art festival at Spitalfirth in two weeks. The festival does take place, but it’s marred by the discovery of a dead body. When the valet of Lord Ansley, Nell’s employer, is arrested for murder, Nell does some sleuthing to try to exonerate the valet before Scotland Yard Det. Chief Insp. Alexander Melbray arrives on the scene. Myers does a good job presenting the prevailing social mores and creating convincing characters, but she injects some jarring cozy elements into the plot, which involves shell-shocked WWI veterans and German collaborators, and the ending disappoints. Newcomers should start with the first in the series. Agent: Sara Keane, Keane Kataria Literary (U.K.). (Jan.)