Akron Public Library

"Downton Abbey fans will enjoy Maxwell's evocative descriptions" of British post-WWI society in the first Lady and Lady's Maid Mystery (Library Journal).

December 1918: As a difficult year draws to a close, there is much to celebrate for nineteen-year-old Phoebe Renshaw and her three siblings at their beloved family estate of Foxwood Hall. The dreadful war is finally over; eldest daughter Julia's engagement to their...

Phoebe and her sister Julia are eager for a summer getaway at High Head Lodge, the newly purchased estate of their cousin Regina. But Regina's odd friend, Olive, is far from friendly, and Regina's mother and brother-- bitter over the unequal distribution of her father's inheritance-- have descended on the house to confront Regina. Eva questions the loyalty and integrity of Miss Stanley, Lady Julia's new maid. When their hostess meets an untimely end--...

Eva is excited for a visit from her sister Alice, who lives in Suffolk with her husband and three children. But when Alice arrives alone, desiring a break from her family, Eva becomes concerned. Her dismay deepens as Alice starts spending time with a former beau, Keenan Ripley, who owns the nearby pear orchard. At the same time, Phoebe's sister Julia, now a widow and pregnant, is in a fretful state, and Phoebe struggles to be helpful to her. When...