In The Mitford Murders by Jessica Fellowes, Florence Nightingale Shore returns to England in January 1920 after nursing in France during the Great War. She gets onto a train and never gets off on her own, having been badly beaten until she dies soon after being discovered.
In the meantime, 18-year-old Louisa Cannon, daughter of a washerwoman, deals with her Uncle Steven, who has used her as a pickpocket since she was a young girl and who now intends to hire her out to lascivious men for sex. He has forced her onto the train to take her to one such man when Louisa manages to break free from him and jump off the train. As the railway police officer Guy Sullivan helps Louisa recover from being injured in her jump, he gets word of the murder of Nurse Shore. Louisa is then thrilled to get a job as nursery maid at Asthall Manor for the Mitford family, titled Lord and Lady Reedsdale. She becomes a close friend of the oldest daughter, 16-year-old Nancy, and together the pair look into the murder, along with Guy Sullivan.
The Mitford Murders bases its story upon a real case that remains unsolved and poses a potential solution to the mystery. The book initially contains disparate threads that come together as the book progresses and draw the reader into the plot. The book begins with interest, but it then picks up the pace even further and makes the reader eager to keep reading and not put the book down. By the end, the shortened chapters and high drama keep people from being able to put the book down.
Rachel Atkins performs the audio edition of this book. Interpreting the content effectively, she does a good job of conveying the material in the book to listeners. Because the story jumps among different settings, it has potential to pose some confusion if not handled properly by the performer. But Atkins keeps things clear for listeners and entertains us with this creative book. Listeners to the audiobook get an extra treat in the form of an interview with the author about writing books set in the 1920s and the fine line between fiction and non-fiction, especially in a book like this drawn from a genuine case.
I thoroughly enjoyed listening to The Mitford Murders and felt drawn to the plot and the characters. I truly felt myself wanting Louisa and Guy to succeed and thought the book was very exciting. I look forward to listening to the next book in the series and give this five stars!
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