Lady Ginger Gold returns to her childhood home in Murder at Hartigan House by Lee Strauss, only to be greeted by the long-time butler with a shocking discovery. The house has been shut up for 10 years, and no one has gone inside since 1913, the night of a soiree hosted by Ginger’s father. So no one discovered the body that is lying in the attic, dead for 10 years and missing one fingertip. Ginger decides to investigate, with the help of her friend Haley Higgins, and she is excited to learn that her companion on the SS Rosa, Detective Chief Inspector Basil Reed, has been assigned to the case. Determined to get to the truth, Ginger decides to recreate the soiree where the murdered woman was last seen. With her friends, Ginger faces down danger to get at the truth.
I had fun listening to this audiobook and though that it has more substantive content than the first book in the series, Murder on the SS Rosa, which I found to be light in its depth. The mystery plot was creative, with a 10-year-old corpse, and it was interesting to see Haley, a medical student, help doing the postmortem, with 1923 conditions. I also appreciated that the book is a true cozy mystery, with no gratuitous sex, violence, or bad language, and even the postmortem contains no gore. The characters are a lot of fun with unique identities and quirks.
The audio edition of this book is performed by Elizabeth Klett, who does a good job of voicing each character, from the rigidity of the butler, Pippins, to the eagerness of high-class Ginger and the practically of the American medical student, Haley. Klett gives an effective performance that takes readers back to the days of the Roaring 20s.
I appreciated Murder at Hartigan House and found the period details well drawn, with great depictions of fashion, decorating, and even driving conditions of the 1920s. Ginger’s younger sister-in-law, aged 21, is one of the “bright, young things” who enjoys scandalizing her elders. I give this book five stars.
