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A Death in the Family
 
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A Death in the Family (Paperback)

by Caroline Dunford (Author)
4.4 out of 5 stars  See all reviews (9 customer reviews)
RRP: £6.99
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Product details

  • Paperback: 230 pages
  • Publisher: EPRINT Publishing (10 Oct 2009)
  • Language English
  • ISBN-10: 190563790X
  • ISBN-13: 978-1905637904
  • Product Dimensions: 17.4 x 11 x 2.2 cm
  • Average Customer Review: 4.4 out of 5 stars  See all reviews (9 customer reviews)
  • Amazon.co.uk Sales Rank: 485,111 in Books (See Bestsellers in Books)

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Product Description

Review

A sparkling and witty crime debut with a female protagonist to challenge Miss Marple. --Lin Anderson, Award winning Scottish crime author and screen writer

Product Description

I briefly considered the option of swooning in a ladylike manner, but I was denied this by virtue of position: I was a maid; and by natural inclination: I have never known how to swoon. Instead I did what I believe most females of sensibility would have done finding themselves alone with a murdered corpse. I screamed exceedingly loudly, quite in the common manner and pelted out of the room . . . In December 1909 the Reverend Joshia Martins expires in a dish of mutton and onions leaving his family on the brink of destitution. Joshia's daughter, Euphemia, takes it upon herself to provide for her mother and little brother by entering service. She is young, fit, intelligent, a little naive and assumes the life of a maid won't be too demanding. However, on her first day at the unhappy home of Sir Stapleford she discovers a murdered body. Euphemia's innate sense of justice has her prying where no servant should look and uncovering some of the darker secrets of the Stapleford family. All she has to defend herself with is her quick wits, sense of humour and the ultimate weapon of all virtuous young women, her scream.
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A Death in the Family
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A Death in the Family 4.4 out of 5 stars (9)
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Customer Reviews

9 Reviews
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Average Customer Review
4.4 out of 5 stars (9 customer reviews)
 
 
 
 
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1 of 1 people found the following review helpful:
5.0 out of 5 stars Brilliant!, 8 Feb 2010
This is a really enjoyable read and certainly something that would make a great Sunday night TV drama. It has a good mix of humour with mystery and has the quirky twist of being written from an unusual perspective (i.e. the protagonist is a female servant). I definitely recommend to anyone looking for some fun escapism!
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2 of 3 people found the following review helpful:
5.0 out of 5 stars Witty page-turner, 23 Dec 2009
By Dr. R. E. Swanepoel "Eric the Read" (Edinburgh, Scotland) - See all my reviews
(REAL NAME)   
This witty page-turner knowingly pushes all the right buttons. With only a few pages to go I stupidly left my copy on a train so still don't know how it ends - aaargh! As I am left-wing in outlook, I relished the digs at arms-trading evil capitalists, but this little gem can be read on several levels and yields treasure on every page. The pacey and scintillating prose is a joy to read, and the hilarious images of dysfunctional people and relationships will stick with me. Brilliant stuff!
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2 of 3 people found the following review helpful:
5.0 out of 5 stars A good dose of Edwardian country house intrigue, 14 Nov 2009
I'm a big fan of historical crime fiction, and `A Death in the Family' by new crime writer Caroline Dunford was exactly what I was looking for - a rattlingly good dose of Edwardian country house intrigue with plenty of twist and turns and clues to puzzle through along with the heroine of the book, Euphemia Martins.

Euphemia, the eighteen year old estranged granddaughter of an Earl, has fallen on hard times due to the death of her vicar father - just one of the deaths alluded to in the title. To help support her family, she assumes a false name and goes into service, where she promptly stumbles over a dead body in a secret passage. As her virtue is put to question, and the household suspect she's not quite who she claims to be, she makes a number of unlikely alliances in order to find the murderer and restore her good name.

In Euphemia Dunford has created a strong lead character - clever, courageous and witty, yet she's got enough vulnerability and naivety to make her believable. And although forced by necessity to seek a position below her social standing as a maid, a strong sense of romanticism and - I'm sure - a desire for adventure clearly shines though behind her career choice. She's also refreshingly unsure of herself and doesn't always make the right decisions, which just made me want to cheer her on all the more!

Without stooping to lecture at any point, A Death in the Family is also a stark reminder of the lot of women at the turn of the century, where everything depended on virtue, and class divides were often insurmountable. I was also delighted by the Edwardian setting - one of my favourite eras, and often overlooked by other authors.

I'm very pleased to see another Euphemia book is on the cards for next May, and look forward to seeing how the series, as well as the character, develops further.
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Most Recent Customer Reviews

1.0 out of 5 stars Distractingly bad writing
I'm surprised to read the stellar reviews given by other readers, as I found this book alarmingly bad. Read more
Published 1 month ago by Mystery Lover

4.0 out of 5 stars A good read
I don't often read mysteries (because I figure them out too early for them to be fun), and I don't normally read the "turn of the century" historical setting, but a copy of this... Read more
Published 1 month ago by Calum

5.0 out of 5 stars Country house mystery turned on its head
This is a rollicking good 1900s country house mystery, but turned on its head - the detective narrator is a down-on-her-fortune vicker's daughter learning about life below stairs... Read more
Published 3 months ago by M. H. PAGE

5.0 out of 5 stars Undercover Euphemia
I enjoyed A Death In The Family and how quickly Euphemia found herself propelled from the discovery of a dead body, to becoming a suspect and into the strange and often funny life... Read more
Published 3 months ago by GameWyrd

5.0 out of 5 stars Murderously good!
I'm not normally a reader of murder mysteries, but I found this to be a very enjoyable read.

This book is concerned with the family and servants of a large... Read more
Published 3 months ago by J Walsh

5.0 out of 5 stars I couldn't put it down!
I bought this book as Lin Anderson reviewed it (and I enjoy Lin's books), and I wasn't disappointed. It's written with wit and humour and Euphemia is a very likable heroine. Read more
Published 3 months ago by craftsmadmaz

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