The Mitford Secret

October 31, 2022
In Fellowes’s strong sixth and final mystery centered on the real-life Mitford family (after 2021’s The Mitford Vanishing), private detective Louisa Sullivan, the family’s former nursemaid, reunites in 1941 with the Mitfords at Chatsworth, their new home in the English countryside, which serves as a refuge for Louisa and her five-year-old daughter from the bombing of London. Then an old woman appears at Chatsworth, Mrs. Hoole, who claims to have a message for the youngest Mitford sister, Deborah, from the other side, directing Deborah to search the house’s vestibule. Those in attendance go along with the request, and Louisa finds a bloodstained maid’s cap hidden behind a wall panel. Mrs. Hoole eventually reveals the cap’s connected to the disappearance and likely murder of Joan Dorries, who was in service with her and vanished more than 25 years earlier. A fresh murder, which seems clearly linked to Joan’s fate, injects even more life into the cold case. Fellowes neatly balances period detail and fair cluing. Fans will be happy to see this series going out on a high note. Agent: Eugenie Furniss, Peters Fraser and Dunlop (U.K.).

January 1, 2023
This sixth and final installment in the Mitford Murders series (following The Mitford Vanishing, 2022) is set in 1941. Of the six Mitford sisters, Jessica is in America, Diana is in prison for her fascist leanings, Unity is permanently damaged from a suicide attempt, and "Rural Pamela" is holed up on her sheep farm. Deborah invites her remaining sister, Nancy, to Chatsworth, her husband's ancestral home, for Christmas, along with her in-laws, parents, and several guests, including Adele Astaire and Kick Kennedy. And, of course, Louisa Cannon, the Mitfords' former maid turned private detective. Desperate to make things merry despite the war, "Debo" does her best despite food rationing and blackouts. She even decides to host a s�ance, which turns deadly when the psychic reveals that a young maid was murdered on the estate, and then is killed the same evening. Louisa must put all her talents to use to unravel a tangled web going back to WWI. A richly detailed period piece, perfect for fans of Downton Abbey.

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