British Manor Murder (A Lucy Stone Mystery Book 23) Kindle Edition

If it were possible to give a book one and one half stars, that's where I would rank this book. I used to read books in this series back when it began, and read the first ten or so before giving up. I gave up on the series because the writing was terrible, and the plots were worse.I decided to give this author another try for several reasons. I just got a Kindle, and I wanted as my first book on it to find something that would be a good way to learn to use the Kindle. The book involved manor life in England, and I love books about manor life in England. The final impetus was the cover of the book, which included two corgis. I love books with corgis in them.I don't want to prolong the suspense, so I will reveal at the outset that there are no corgis in this book at all. Not even a whisker. There are two Labrador retrievers, who receive some mention as ill-behaved nuisances, but no corgis. One of the reasons that I am so irritated by this book is that it was grossly misrepresented.The absence of corgis can of course be blamed on the artist who did the cover. The terrible quality of the writing cannot. The writing is wooden, and the plot is as non-existent as the plot of any mystery could possibly be and still take up any space at all. The characters, particularly the members of the aristocracy who are part of the book, are a bunch of self-indulgent and whiny idiots. They are utterly without charm or character. They are not individuals, they are stereotypes apparently invented by someone who hates P.G. Woodhouse. The plot of the mystery itself is completely undeveloped. While the solution is not obvious, the reason is not any subtlety on the part of the author, it is rather that the novel contains no detective work by anyone at all, even Lucy.The quality of the writing can be summed up by two errors, one of which the author makes once, and the other of which she makes numerous times. The one-time error refers to Lucy being in a "semi-prone" position once she sits down in an ancient lawn chair. I think it is very likely that the author means "semi-supine." The other error, which recurs numerous times throughout the novel, involves the author's use of the word "couple." She uses the word all the time, as in "couple bottles." The correct form is "couple of bottles." You can have two bottles, but you then have a couple of bottles. Where is her copy editor? Or if this mistake is attributable to the copy editor, shame on them.I did not give this book one star because I did finish it. The reason was that I was still hoping that those corgis would show up. And I was looking forward to posting this review.

Although this is not a favourite of mine, I still think it was an enjoyable enough read.  The setting is beautifully described and interwoven with substantial local flair.I found the pacing of the story to be far too slow. About a quarter of the way in the first ‘body’ is found (but this one isn’t the pivotal crime… or a crime at all).  At the 50% marker the main murder victim in finally found.  It’s then not until two-thirds into the story that any real action and key information start appearing.I enjoy reading a mystery, sifting through the clues, figuring which ones are valid and which are red herrings.  This story didn’t offer much by way of clues for the reader to play with.  The author seemingly hid all the good stuff to try and spring a surprise at the end.Then we come to the protagonist.  Perhaps, my main displeasure with the novel stems from the fact that I never got behind Lucy.  I understand that she was depressed but she was so negative.  She also came across as ungrateful and a bit unkind.  She was critical of her hosts’ lifestyle while enjoying their hospitality.  She was not too keen on the food and drink offered; and she carelessly speaks ill of her hosts with the neighbours.The ending was a bit anti-climactic. Lucy never really got into the mystery herself.  She was informed of key information rather than really figuring it out on her own.On the plus side there are lots of beautifully written descriptions of the countryside, the house, the hats and the exhibition.  The writing style is engaging and the dialogue is natural, easily capturing an English cadence juxtaposed against Lucy and Sue’s American styled speech.

I vowed that I would finish this series, but it is getting increasingly more difficult. Sue is unlike able and is becoming even more so. It seems her raison d'etre is to constantly put Lucy down and criticize her manners, clothing, you name it. Why anyone would want a friend like Sue is beyond me. I would rather be depressed than put up with Sue. The characters in this book were one dimensional and none of the characters were well developed. Just want to finish this series. Come to think of it, Lucy is becoming annoying. Any woman who raised four children should be a little more savvy.

Not my favorite of her books. I like this series. However, if this was the first book in the series I read, I would not read another one. Only because I know and like the characters will I go back for more. The main characters were a mess in this book. Totally self absorbed and difficult. The issue of depression was presented and then glossed over as being something one could solve by taking a nice little trip. No one was pleasant or someone you really cared about or wanted to succeed. Don't make this your first in this series. If you are a regular, I think you could skip to the next book without missing anything.

Liberal opinions ruin the mood of this otherwise good story. The author pontificates about police in America shooting unarmed people and claims American reporters are very polite.

This was the first book I read by Leslie Meijer. I have read other books. You different authors a bought life in England and they had less English sayings in them. This was a Distraction in this book. My daughter in law was born and raised in England and uses less English sayings than the characters in the book used. The characters were not developed and had one dimension. I couldn't wait to finish the book. I won't be reading any more from this author.

This series is always a dependable cozy, with mystery and humor. Thus time Lucy and her friend Sue are guests in a historic mansion, and get involved in the aristocratic family's personal problems. Throughout, the many British customs and scenery are highlighted, and so is the food. Lots of wine and dining.It's all interesting. It's also a wishful dream, but with a twist.

American writers still do not research conditions in UK before they write books about it

One of my least favourite of the Lucy Stone mysteries. Lucy transplanted to a manor house in England results in cliché after cliché - many of them very anti-British, which I found very annoying. Also there was a very disturbing scene involving the cold-blooded killing of a baby rabbit that I was troubled by - it disturbed the flow of the book and was very upsetting. The violent death of the baby bunny was more gruesome than the human murders in the book - it did not fit the flow of the book and I was tempted to give up on the book, but kept going, only to find the incident revisited a few chapters later. Better luck next time, Leslie!

VERY GOOD READ...

Good book

A+