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On a freezing winter's night, with the household in mourning following the death of the dowager Lady Croft, the residents of Thorncroft House are roused from their beds by the arrival of an unexpected visitor. Although Lady Stanton seems reluctant to explain the reasons for her visit, housekeeper Harriet Rowsley would never turn a stranger from the door; she offers Lady Stanton and her servants all the hospitality at her disposal, however secretive and arrogant the new guest might be.
But tensions arise over the following days, with both visitors and servants trapped indoors by the snow, and Lady Stanton proving a difficult and demanding guest. The situation worsens on the discovery of the body of a young housemaid lying crumpled at the foot of the stairs. A tragic accident ... or something more sinister?
Who exactly is Lady Stanton, and why has she come to Thorncroft? Has her arrival anything to do with the housemaid's death? As the household remains trapped and tensions escalate, Harriet and her husband Matthew are forced to face the fact that they may be harbouring a murderer in their midst ...|On a freezing winter's night, an unexpected visitor arrives at Thorncroft House. Tensions soon arise as the household is trapped indoors by the snow, escalating when the dead body of a young housemaid is discovered, and housekeeper Harriet Rowsley and her husband Matthew must consider that they may be harbouring a murderer in their midst . . .
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Creators
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Series
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Publisher
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Release date
October 1, 2021 -
Formats
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Kindle Book
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OverDrive Read
- ISBN: 9781448305612
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EPUB ebook
- ISBN: 9781448305612
- File size: 1346 KB
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Languages
- English
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Reviews
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September 1, 2021
A stranded Victorian noblewoman further disrupts the unconventional governance of her place of refuge. From the moment of her arrival, Lady Stanton makes clear her disapproval of the arrangements at Thorncroft House, which is run by a board of trustees that includes doctors, lawyers, and former servants, since Lady Croft is recently dead and her son mentally incapacitated. But she can hardly dictate the terms of her stay, since she arrives during a blizzard with a groom and a footman who are mortally ill from the cold and a maid who refuses to leave the side of the groom, who's the father of her unborn child. Housekeeper Harriet Rowsley whisks the sick and grieving to the family wing, where they convalesce under the care of Dr. Page and Nurse Webb, and assigns Florrie, one of the housemaids, to attend Lady Stanton. Lady Stanton repays her kindness by grousing about everything while flirting shamelessly with Harriet's husband, land agent Matthew. Matthew and Harriet have limited time to spend placating their fractious guest, since they need to set about fulfilling the terms of the late Lady Croft's will. Matters become murkier when their living quarters are ransacked and Mary, the youngest of the servants, is found dead on the service stairs. Perhaps because of the number and diversity of problems she must handle, the normally efficient Harriet seems tentative and adrift and Cutler's solutions to the multiple mysteries, superficial and incomplete. Quirky but unsatisfying.COPYRIGHT(2021) Kirkus Reviews, ALL RIGHTS RESERVED.
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November 1, 2021
The third installment in Cutler's popular Matthew Rowsley historical mystery series will delight fans. Estate manager Matthew and his wife, Harriet, are faced with challenges when Lady Croft dies, leaving them in charge of Thorncroft House, the family estate. A diverse group of guests has been invited for Lady Croft's funeral, but after they arrive, a terrible blizzard strikes. Then a well-dressed but nearly frozen woman begs entry. She introduces herself as Lady Stanton but won't say where she's come from or where she's going. She's barely through the door when she begins insulting the women and flirting shamelessly with the men. Then small items begin to go missing from the household, and one of the maids is found dead. Are these coincidences, or is Lady Stanton responsible? Trapped in the blizzard-stricken house with their guests, Matthew and Harriet must determine whether the maid's death was an accident and figure out just who Lady Stanton really is. A gripping locked-room mystery with a suitably twisty plot, Cutler's latest also offers an intriguing look at social customs and gender roles during the Victorian period.COPYRIGHT(2021) Booklist, ALL RIGHTS RESERVED.
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