Rating: 
Summary: Great beginning for a wonderful new series
Review: Kate Kingsbury, widely known for her Pennyfoot Mystery series, and Berkley Prime Crime, known for it's wide variety of successfully published mysteries, are together again, and the result is an exciting new mystery series. As in her last series, Ms. Kingsbury's new series is considered a cozy, and, in some corners, a historical mystery as well. A Bicycle Built for Murder is the first in the series.The Manor House seaside village is called Sitting Marsh. It's World War II, a time of bombing, blackouts, rationing, and American soldiers on British soil. The main character Lady Elizabeth Hartleigh Compton is thirty-one and divorced. She inherited a Jacobean mansion, cottages, and vast acres after her parents were killed. She cares for her tenants beyond what is expected and proves it when a mother asks her to investigate the disappearance of her wayward daughter. When a disappearance turns to murder, Lady Elizabeth, with the approval of the local law, takes on the formidable task of listing suspects and clues to find out what happened to sixteen-year-old Beryl Pierce. After adding amateur sleuth to her list of obligations, Lady Elizabeth discovers she can add Hostess as well when a handsome major arrives to tell her American officers will be moving into her manor. A Bicycle Built for Murder is expertly written.. The mystery stays in the front position with character introductions and long-term secondary plots blending in. The historical details and dialogue add to the intrigue. The main secondary characters are the manor house staff, Violet, Martin, and Polly. They provide some light moments in the mystery, and if first impressions are anything to go by, I can honestly say they will effectively help to carry the series. A Bicycle Built for Murder is an engaging read of murder and mayhem that takes place in a time far from forgotten.
Rating: 
Summary: A new series now that the Pennyfoot has closed
Review: Lady Elizabeth Hartleigh Compton has returned to her ancestral home after the death of her parents and the break up of her marriage. Thanks to her ex, there is little money left. She is trying to pick up the pieces of her life during the stressful time of World War II. She lives in her childhood home with the housekeeper Violet and the senile butler Martin. The lack of money has not diminished her status of lady of the manor however, so when a local girl disappears, her mother asks Lady Elizabeth rather than the police to find her. When Beryl is later found dead, Lizzie has a far more serious job, to find the murderer. The village is sure that it is one of the American soldiers stationed nearby, but Lizzie isn't so sure, especially since some of their officers have requisitioned her home as their new quarters. While I will miss the Pennyfoot Hotel series, this is a very good replacement. The characters are a little strange, but very realistic, and the mystery was very good. I look forward to reading the next one.
Rating:
Summary: A new series now that the Pennyfoot has closed
Review: Lady Elizabeth Hartleigh Compton has returned to her ancestral home after the death of her parents and the break up of her marriage. Thanks to her ex, there is little money left. She is trying to pick up the pieces of her life during the stressful time of World War II. She lives in her childhood home with the housekeeper Violet and the senile butler Martin. The lack of money has not diminished her status of lady of the manor however, so when a local girl disappears, her mother asks Lady Elizabeth rather than the police to find her. When Beryl is later found dead, Lizzie has a far more serious job, to find the murderer. The village is sure that it is one of the American soldiers stationed nearby, but Lizzie isn't so sure, especially since some of their officers have requisitioned her home as their new quarters. While I will miss the Pennyfoot Hotel series, this is a very good replacement. The characters are a little strange, but very realistic, and the mystery was very good. I look forward to reading the next one.
Rating: 
Summary: A bland beginning
Review: The Manor House mysteries are a relatively new series by author Doreen Roberts writing under the pen name of Kate Kingsbury. In this, the first title in the series, we are introduced to Lady Elizabeth Hartleigh Compton, lady of the Manor and, of course, amateur sleuth. She is the perfect, old-fashioned English lady who always wears a hat and skirts - never trousers - drinks tea as often as it is offered to her; and "...often thought how wonderful it must have been to live in an age when women were cherished and pampered." (page 13) Although her thoughts are clearly Victorian, Lady Elizabeth knows how to take the bull by the horns when the occasion calls for it; after all "...the ability to command attention (...) was the only way to get things done." (page 3) It's WWII, and the idyllic village of Sitting Marsh is experiencing all the backlash: food rationing, constant worry, and the added stress for the locals to have to deal with Americans, whom are considered "barbarians" (page 8). Problems arise simultaneously for Elizabeth: on the one hand, she is told about the disappearance (and subsequent murder) of a local girl; on the other, she is approached by the American Major of the Regiment assigned to the village, with an order coming directly from the War Office, clearly stating that she is to surrender her house to be quarters for the American soldiers. Elizabeth is tangled in a web of murder and rivalries in the role of keeper of the peace between the locals - with her own housekeeper and senile butler in tow - when the murdered girl's mother approaches her with a special request: to find her daughter's killer. Elizabeth, as lady of the Manor, cannot say no. The reader will accompany Elizabeth in her errands to find information, savoring all the typical English camaraderie, which consists mainly, of lots of tea and "proper" gossip. I did enjoy the idea of the Manor House as center for a typical British cozy; however, the whole idea of the war distracted me in my search for it. Experiencing some of the frustration Elizabeth feels when trying to interpret the clues she finds, I just couldn't find myself in the story. I was looking for a cozy mystery, but seemed to be reading a war story all the time (something I find personally boring). I also found out whodunit right before the end of the book; however, unless the reader is familiar with this type of story, he or she won't. I can only hope the next books in the series do not throw WWII into the story as much; but rather present it as a background. It is rather appropriate as well, that Kingsbury chose Norfolk as the geographical place for Sitting Marsh. The county of Norfolk has for a long time been one that Royalty has made their favorite for their private residences: Sandringham House, the Queen's winter retreat; and Park House, the place where Princess Diana grew up, are located in this part of the country. The dedication at the beginning of the book is probably one of the best ones I have come across: "This book is dedicated to the men, women, and children of Great Britain who kept the home fires burning during the Second World War with unswerving humor, unwavering courage, and the indispensable cup of tea." Just by that, one can guess what's going to be on the plate right away.
Rating: 
Summary: Kingsbury needs to do her research
Review: The mystery in this book was OK, but there are so many errors and anachronisms that I was put off. The one that bothered me most - and it would have been so easy for an alert editor to catch - was that apparently the heroine's father has a living brother. Anyone familiar with the British peerage would have known that this brother would definitely have the title and probably the ancestral manor as well. Lady Elizabeth would be entitled only to what was not entailed. What's so annoying is the reference to this uncle was totally gratuitous. It could easily have been her mother's brother, or her father's sister's husband, or the paragraph could have been omitted entirely. This is not an auspicious beginning to a series. I hope Kingsbury spends a little time getting to know her subject better.
Rating:
Summary: A cozy read
Review: Whenever I pick up a book by Kate Kingsbury, I expect to be delighted and entertained, and once again, Ms. Kingsbury delivers. A Bicycle Built for Murder, the first book in her new Manor House series, was a joy to read--full of charming characters, interesting historical tidbits, and with a mystery that kept me turning the pages. Bravo! I can't wait for the next installment.
Rating:
Summary: Absolutely Delightful!
Review: Whenever I pick up a book by Kate Kingsbury, I expect to be delighted and entertained, and once again, Ms. Kingsbury delivers. A Bicycle Built for Murder, the first book in her new Manor House series, was a joy to read--full of charming characters, interesting historical tidbits, and with a mystery that kept me turning the pages. Bravo! I can't wait for the next installment.
Rating:
Summary: delicious mystrey satire that pokes fun at the social class
Review: While the Germans bomb London and other strategic locations during World War II, the villagers of Sitting Marsh look towards Lady Elizabeth Hartleigh Compton as a role model. The townsfolk are unaware that Elizabeth is broke due to her late husband's gambling habit. Her only source of income is rent she collects on the cottages on her estate. Still, she knows that the locals depend on her for leadership and since she enjoys the adulation and attention, she tries to meet their expectations. The War Office informs Elizabeth that her Manor House will host American soldiers, a situation the class-conscious aristocrat loathes. At about the same time that Elizabeth prepares for the coming of the Yanks, Beryl Pierce's body is found on a nearby beach, an apparent drowning victim. Placing the American invasion on hold, neither Elizabeth nor the mother of the victim believes that Beryl fell off a cliff and drowned. Taking her leadership role to heart, Elizabeth sets out to prove murder occurred and to find the culprit. Readers familiar with Kate Kingsbury's Pennyfoot Hotel mysteries will enjoy the author's new Manor House series because the plot is as well drawn and the historical perspective is simply fascinating. The audience lives history by observing life in a small village during World War II. Lady Elizabeth is an interesting person who acts like the big fish in a tiny pond adding to the aura of the reader feeling they are there, which, in turn, makes A BICYCLE BUILT FOR MURDER an entertaining novel. Harriet Klausner
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