Murder by Invitation Only is the third book in the Phyllida Bright Mystery series by Colleen Cambridge featuring the fictional sleuthing housekeeper (and friend) of Agatha Christie.
Title: Murder by Invitation Only
Author: Colleen Cambridge
Series: Phyllida Bright #3
First Published: September 26, 2023
Publisher: Kensington Books
Genres: Mystery
Acquired: from the publisher via Netgalley
*** Thank you to the publisher, Kensington Books, for providing me with an e-copy of this book via Netgalley in exchange for an unbiased review. ***
“A murder will occur tonight at Beecham House . . .” Who could resist such a compelling invitation? Of course, the murder in question purports to be a party game, and Agatha Christie’s ever-capable housekeeper, Phyllida Bright, looks forward to using some of the deductive skills she has acquired thanks to her employer.
The hosts, Mr. and Mrs. Wokesley, are new to the area, and family friends have been enlisted to play the suspects. Mr. Wokesley excels in his role of dead body but unfortunately, when the game’s solution is about to be unveiled, the participants discover Mr. Wokesley really is dead!
In the absence of Inspector Cork, Phyllida takes temporary charge of the investigation, guiding the local constable through interviews with the Murder Game actors. It soon becomes clear that everyone had a reason to murder their host. Before long, Phyllida is embroiled in a fiendishly puzzling case, with a killer who refuses to play by the rules . . .
A murder mystery game with a twist
If you consider yourself better than the average amateur sleuth, then pretend murder games may be a bit beneath you. That’s how Phyllida Bright feels when she first arrives at a murder mystery evening hosted by newcomers to the area. In fact, she’s almost ready to leave when an actual murder occurs and the host is discovered to have been dead for most of the game.
I found the mystery very evenly paced but there was time for some personal development with a few of the returning characters, including Phyllida herself, the Mallowan’s driver Bradford, and a few of the Mallowan staff. While the book is entertaining and easily read as a standalone, it’s much more enjoyable if you read it in the series order as the characters are slowly developing relationships with each other. Also, because there are A LOT of characters in the story (both returning and new), it helps to already be familiar with the Mallowan staff.
And while I have read (and loved) the previous books in this series, I was still finding it difficult to keep track of everyone. The new characters include the murder game hosts, their staff, their guests, and the ‘actors’ in the game.
The large cast of characters aside, it’s not that hard to follow the action. There are a lot of suspects to start but things get whittled down in a nice, logical manner. Phyllida gets to work with Constable Greensticks and they actually make a good detecting pair.
There are ample clues sprinkled throughout the story that allows the reader to make their own guesses at who the killer is (I had the killer picked up pretty early on) but the ultimate reveal was completely satisfying.
Phyllida Bright continues to delight alongside some other strong characters
While Phyllida still has a few quirks that I find sometimes annoying (she is a bit snobbish and can often seem to be a bit judgemental) I really like how she is developing as a character. There is still a lot of mystery surrounding her background – we still only get a sentence here and there about it, although we do get more in this book. I’m hoping her backstory gets revealed soon.
Agatha Christie and her husband Max Mallowan take a major backseat in this book but as the series is focused on Phyllida, you barely notice that they’re not involved.
We also get some small clues here and there about the other recurring characters and they all hint at some very interesting backgrounds, relationships, and histories. And not just the past, but there are some fun developments for some of the characters that could result in some relationships forming and breaking. In other words, this series better be a long one because I need to know everything about these characters!
Quote from Murder by Invitation Only
I bet readers do get more of Phyllida’s background as the series progresses. The quote made me laugh! Good review, Stephanie!
Each book gives us 1-2 small clues to her background, so it’s been a slow tease! But I’m definitely intrigued! And who could resist an invitation like that?
This looks fun!
I like how the author incorporates a tiny bit of a famous figure but the focus is on a background character.