England, expats, friendship, cosy-mystery, murder, murder-investigation, private-investigators, 1920s, witty, situational-humor, law-enforcement, mining, pigeons, gardening, small-town, historical-novel, historical-places-events, historical-research, history-and-culture, class-consciousness, theft, sabotage, labor-agitators*****

Beryl is an adventurous American adventurer who finds herself bored with life and wealthy from alimony payments from several ex-husbands, moves in with her old school friend Edwina in a village in Kent. First, the vicar retains them to find a missing man who was accountant at the local (awful) mine as well as treasurer of the local pigeon racing group. While checking out the pigeons Beryl looks under the coop and there is the body of the missing man. Next, the wife of owner of the mine wants them to look into the murder, but mostly wants them to find her jewelry on the man's body which he was holding in anticipation of their escape from her odious husband. And on they go, learning more than they knew about the conditions of mine workers and about others in the village as well. Loved it (and them)!
Barbara Rosenblat gives her usual delightful interpretive narration! ( )

Murder Flies the Coop - Ellicot
Audio performance by Barbara Rosenblat
2 stars

I was hoping this series would improve after the first book. I knew not to expect too much from an English village cozy mystery, but this was just too slow. Not even Barbara Rosenblat could infuse enough humor into the plot and characters to keep my interest. ( )

Murder Flies The Coop is the second book in the A Beryl and Edwina Mystery series.

This is becoming one of my favorite series. The main characters, Beryl Helliwell and Edwina Davenport are a wonderful duo, even if they might be as different as night and day, they work very nicely together. In addition, there is a wonderful collection of personalities that make up the residents of Walmsley Parva. Some of the residents are Minnie Mumford, owner of the local tearoom, Prudence Rathbone, owner of a candy shop and postmistress, Mrs. Plumptree, owner of a boarding house and Mr. Scott, a greengrocer. Minnie and Prudence are the village gossips and they pride themselves on knowing what is going on in the village.

Simpkins, Edwina’s gardener, convinces Edwina and Beryl, that based on their solving a murder the previous autumn, that they should open a private inquiry business and he knows the Vicar Lowenthorpe would probably hire them. What with monies being tight with Beryl and Edwina they decide that may be a way to help solve their financial difficulties. They meet with the vicar and he informs them that Lionel Cunningham, the treasurer of the local racing pigeon club has gone missing, some pigeons he was to be taking to a race and club money have also gone missing. They get a retainer from the vicar and they are in business. Beryl and Edwina start by interviewing the owner of the mine where Cunningham works as a payroll clerk, a Mr. Eccelestone-Smythe. Next, they set out for the allotment where Cunningham has his pigeon coop. As they are about to leave his coop, something tells Beryl to look under the coop and there is the body of Cunningham.

Beryl and Edwina soon get a second client when Mrs. Eccelestone-Smythe to ask to search for some of her valuable jewelry she had given to Cunningham for safekeeping. This also sheds new light on who might have wanted Cunningham dead. They need to look over the members of pigeon racing club and the coal mine where the victim worked, which has been having problems with sabotage.

The story is well-told and plotted with plenty of red herrings and twists and turns. Beryl and Edwina will also provide the reader with quite a few chuckles, especially Beryl.

I am eagerly awaiting the next book in this lovely English country series. ( )