“After seven hours of heat and monotony and a lonely world – Palmyra! That, I think, is the charm of Palmyra – its slender creamy beauty rising up fantastically in the middle of hot sand,” she writes. More than 70 years ago, Christie recorded her arrival at Palmyra, her usually light tone giving way to one of genuine emotion. Photograph: © Agatha Christie Mallowan 1946/PR
Fans of historical mysteries-and Christie herself-will love this well-imagined homage, and the clever twists and numerous suspects will keep readers on their toes.Car aboard the ‘Queen Mary’ on the Euphrates during Christie’s Syrian trip.
“Agatha Christie’s indomitable and mysterious housekeeper Phyllida Bright takes on a killer in this exciting new series from Colleen Cambridge. An outstanding start to what promises to be a winning new series.” -Victoria Thompson, USA Today bestselling author of Murder on Wall Street “What if Agatha Christie’s housekeeper was the best detective of all? In this delightful book, she is! You will love watching Phyllida spot the clues the authorities miss when a dead body shows up in Agatha’s library. Alyssa Maxwell, author of A Lady & Lady's Maid Mysteries and The Gilded Newport Mysteries You'll love this new Christie-inspired series!" Details and diligence being the tools of her trade, Phyllida puts them to good use whether she's arranging a country house party for her employers, or determining which of the guests is a crazed killer. "Marple and Poirot have nothing on Agatha Christie's housekeeper, Phyllida Bright. Anna Lee Huber, bestselling author of the Verity Kent Mysteries Fans of Tessa Arlen and Jennifer Ashley will be delighted.” Her heroine, Phyllida Bright, is the confident, shrewd, and eminently capable housekeeper for none other than the grand dame of mystery herself-Agatha Christie-and a great admirer of Christie’s fictional detective Poirot, whose methods she seeks to emulate. “Cambridge pens a thoroughly intriguing mystery, told in a unique manner from the perspective of the staff belowstairs rather than the upper class above, in this splendid first installment in a new series. Praise For Murder at Mallowan Hall (A Phyllida Bright Mystery #1)… And only Phyllida's wits will prevent her own story from coming to an abrupt end. Yet, she is all too aware that the killer must still be close at hand and poised to strike again. Dobble, the butler, along with other household staff, Phyllida assembles the clues. With help from the village's handsome physician, Dr. Poirot's footsteps to determine which of the Mallowans' guests is the killer. When another dead body is discovered-this time, one of her housemaids-Phyllida decides to follow in M. Now, Phyllida not only has a houseful of demanding guests on her hands-along with a distracted, anxious staff-but hordes of reporters camping outside. It soon becomes clear that the victim arrived at Mallowan Hall under false pretenses during a weekend party. But though accustomed to murder and its methods as frequent topics of conversation, Phyllida is unprepared for the sight of a very real, very dead body on the library floor.Ī former Army nurse, Phyllida reacts with practical common sense-and a great deal of curiosity. An aficionado of detective fiction, Phyllida has yet to find a gentleman in real life half as fascinating as Mrs. Phyllida is both loyal to and protective of the crime writer, who is as much friend as employer. The manor is home to archaeologist Max Mallowan and his famous wife, Agatha Christie.
In one respect, however, Mallowan Hall stands far apart from other picturesque country houses. Housekeeper Phyllida Bright, as efficient as she is personable, manages the large household with an iron fist in her very elegant glove. Tucked away among Devon's rolling green hills, Mallowan Hall combines the best of English tradition with the modern conveniences of 1930. When a dead body is found during a house party at the home of Agatha Christie and her husband Max Mallowan, it's up to famous author's head of household, Phyllida Bright, to investigate. The first in an exciting new historical mystery series set in the home of Agatha Christie!Ĭolleen Cambridge's charming and inventive new historical series introduces an unforgettable heroine in Phyllida Bright, fictional housekeeper for none other than famed mystery novelist Agatha Christie.