Friday, December 7, 2018

With a Little Bit of Blood - A Review & Giveaway

Review

WITH A LITTLE BIT OF BLOOD by D. E. Ireland

The Fourth Eliza Doolittle and Henry Higgins Mystery

Eliza Doolittle knew it was a mistake when her father bought an automobile and now that Henry Higgins owns it she's sure the motor car is nothing but trouble. Henry's reckless driving leads to a broken arm while a kitchen fire leads to an opportunity. Eliza and Henry will attend a country house party! A medium warns of darkness and death and during the first hunt the brash American is killed. A hunting accident? It turns out that most of the guests had dealings with the man, and most of them unpleasant. Could it be murder, as the medium predicted? Eliza and Henry will deal with romances, spirits, and a fabled artifact in order to find the truth!

Automobiles, aeroplanes, spiritualism, and hints of war collide in this fourth Eliza Doolittle and Henry Higgins Mystery. I love how the authors bring the realities of 1913 England to two favorite fictional characters. In addition to his mysteries, Sir Arthur Conan Doyle opened the world of spiritualism to members of the upper class and mediums became the rage in upper crust party circles. And so Clara and Richard bring Madame Evangeline to their first house party. While Henry assumes she's a fraud, Eliza believes her to be real. And readers...we can make up our own minds.

As with George Bernard Shaw, D. E. Ireland injects plenty of humor to the story as well. Henry's bad temper increased due to his injury, Freddie's mooning over the American film star, a pushy admirer, and Eliza giving some Cockney attitude add to the fun. The vision of a certain love struck Frenchman singing along to phonograph records is still embedded in my brain.

WITH A LITTLE BIT OF BLOOD is a fun country house mystery. Interesting characters with lots of motives and a hint of the supernatural make this a page turning addition to a delightful series.

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With a Little Bit of Blood (The Eliza Doolittle & Henry Higgins Mysteries) by D.E. Ireland

About the Book

With a Little Bit of Blood (The Eliza Doolittle & Henry Higgins Mysteries)

Cozy Mystery 4th in Series

Grainger Press (April 15, 2018)

Paperback: 352 pages

In the fourth book from the Agatha Award nominated writing team of D.E. Ireland, famous literary characters Eliza Doolittle and Henry Higgins find they may have brought trouble with them when they attend a country house party in With A Little Bit of Blood.

Eliza is not happy when Higgins buys a snazzy roadster. Her misgivings prove correct when he becomes injured in a motor car crash. Forced to play nursemaid, Eliza is thrilled to accept an invitation to a house party from Lord Ashmore and his bride, the former Clara Eynsford-Hill. But upon their arrival at Banfield Manor, Eliza is dismayed to see her sweetheart Freddy arm in arm with a beautiful actress. Higgins is shocked to learn the woman who once stalked him is also attending the party. Things grow even worse when spiritualist Madame Evangeline arrives and warns of impending danger. Her prediction comes true when someone is killed during the following day's shoot in the forest.

Higgins and Eliza suspect it wasn't an accident, but murder. Every guest hides a dark secret that involved the dead man. But who hated him more? The French aviator, the American cinema actress, a lady novelist, the Austrian count, or a knighted explorer of the Amazon? Madame Evangeline's séance may reveal what is really going on. But her cryptic words deepen the mystery, especially after another guest turns up dead.

Who is behind these murders? And has Higgins himself been targeted? As the day of the fox hunt begins, it seems likely that more than the fox will die. Before that happens, Eliza and the Professor must discover who may have a little bit of blood on their hands.

About the Authors

D.E. Ireland is the pseudonym of long time friends and award-winning authors, Meg Mims and Sharon Pisacreta. In 2013 they decided to collaborate on a unique series based on George Bernard Shaw's witty play Pygmalion, which also inspired the classic musical My Fair Lady. At work on Book Four of their Agatha nominated series, they also pursue separate writing careers. Currently, both of them write cozy mysteries for Kensington under their respective pen names: Sharon Farrow with her Berry Basket series, and Meg Macy with her Shamelessly Adorable Teddy Bear series. The two Michigan authors have patient husbands, brilliant daughters, and share a love of tea, books, and history.