Welcome to my stop on the Great Escapes Virtual Book Tour for Deadly Manor: A World War II Mystery (Deadly Series) by Kate Parker. Stop by each blog on the tour for interviews, guest posts, spotlights, reviews and more!
Deadly Manor: A World War II Mystery (Deadly Series)
by Kate Parker
Deadly Manor: A World War II Mystery (Deadly Series)
Historical Cozy Mystery
10th in Series
JDP Press (August 15, 2023)
Print length : 265 pages
Surrounded by war, stalked by murder, can she stay alive?
October 1940. Livvy Redmond is thrilled to receive an invitation to a country house party away from the Blitz. There she hopes to help her husband overcome his injuries from fighting in France. But excitement turns to horror when she stumbles across two members of the house party – murdered.
Indebted to her hostess, Livvy attempts to catch the killer. No one is who they seem, and the party goers leave her with more questions than answers.
Somewhere close, the killer waits in the shadows to stop her.
Deadly Manor is the exciting tenth book in the World War II mystery Deadly Series. If you like intrepid heroines, research-based history and clean reads, then you’ll love USA Today Bestselling Author Kate Parker’s page-turning mystery.
Uncover a murderer in Blitz-era England with Deadly Manor.
My review of Deadly Manor
Deadly Manor is the tenth book in the Deadly Series by Kate Parker and the sixth I’ve read. I missed out on the first four, but each book can be enjoyed on its own as long as you know a bit of WWII history. The series stars Olivia Denis Redmond, a newspaper reporter/spy, who leads an exciting yet dangerous life. In Deadly Manor, she is hoping that her husband Adam will get the restorative rest he needs as they visit Livvy’s friend Rosalie’s and her husband Thorpe’s manor, Briarcliffe Hall. But, for reasons you will read about, several members of a hunting party and their wives happen to be staying at Briarcliffe instead of the neighboring manor where the actual hunting will take place.
I love reading historical cozy mystery books, especially those set during WWII. I’ve been enjoying Livvy’s story throughout the series, and Deadly Manor keeps her thrilling story going. Though she’s never looking for murder, murder always seems to find her. This time Olivia and Adam find the body(ies??) in the old part of the manor. It’s where Rosalie’s husband keeps his collection of ancient armor and weapons. Who is the murderer? It’s definitely bewildering because there are multiple suspects but what was the motive? It’s not obvious though once you follow the clues, you’ll solve the crime.
The characters in Deadly Manor come to life through Parker’s descriptions of a character’s demeanor. Yes, she gives bits of their physical descriptions too, but I think she does a marvelous job of revealing her characters through their actions and interactions with the other characters. I really enjoyed the camaraderie Adam and Thorpe, Rosalie’s husband, shared, and I hope to see them together again. Thorpe is paralyzed from the waist down and uses a wheelchair while Adam uses canes since being shot during the war. They enjoy each other’s company while playing chess or just talking. Their interactions gave me that cozy feel that you want from a cozy mystery.
As with all of the books I’ve read by Kate Parker, I loved Deadly Manor and highly recommend it. It’s set in the beautiful English countryside, the characters leap off the page, the mystery is not easily solved, and the plot is well-paced. If you enjoy historical cozy mysteries, check out Deadly Manor as well as the rest of the Deadly series!
I voluntarily reviewed a complimentary copy of this book. All views expressed are only my honest opinion.
Guest Post
Hi, everyone. I’m Kate Parker, the USA Today© Bestselling Author of the Deadly Series. The tenth book in the series has just come out, and this time I have tried to show isolation in its various forms in mysteries.
Murder mystery isolation can take many forms. An island without a boat in Agatha Christie’s And Then There Were None. Spooky castles in the countryside. Cabins in the forest in a snowstorm. Whether it’s a hurricane, a blown-up bridge, or a failed power grid, the isolation is usually shown as specific to an area.
I tried to show it on many levels.
Deadly Manor is a murder mystery that takes place predominately in an isolated country house. The story takes place during World War II when fuel was rationed so there were few cars on the road. Every trip needed to be not only necessary but worth the fuel expended. In the rural areas of Britain at that time, few people, mostly the rich and businesses, had telephones, adding a level of isolation in the countryside.
Britain as a nation was isolated at that time, since Hitler had taken over most of Western Europe and his U-boats threatened shipping. A great deal of the fuel, food, and armament supplies sent from her colonies and neutral nations was ending up on the bottom of the ocean, making Britain feel isolated from the trade they once found normal.
While the BBC was still broadcasting, sending out music, drama, and news programs, they were only broadcasting on one of the several channels they operated on before the war, giving less choice in entertainment. Shortwave radios were illegal to broadcast from, so people couldn’t use them to talk to people outside the country for fear it was aiding the enemy. The only other route, mail, was expensive, limited, and irregular.
One of the characters, Thorpe, is paralyzed and in a wheelchair. I try to show him constantly fighting his sense of isolation by engaging with the people who come to Briarcliffe Hall. He has regular chess partners, he is involved with his farm and businesses, but with few exceptions, everyone has to come to him. He can go out into the garden, but there’s no one around, and he can travel by car at least for short distances.
He had farm and business managers, but they have taken jobs that are more central to the war effort. That means that his wife, Rosalie, who is involved with top-secret war work, has to consider staying home to run the businesses since she is more mobile than her husband. Her ability to travel around Britain and see more people while doing valuable work will be curtailed if she does take over management of her husband’s businesses.
The Earl of Silverthorn is an old man and very ill. He is isolated to the extent that he can only see people who come to visit him in his bedroom. Any clues he may possess and any knowledge he has can only be shared with someone actually in his room with him. He is further isolated by living in a manor house out in the countryside, so there are fewer people available to visit him.
Adam Redmond, Livvy’s husband, is isolated by being on crutches that prevents him from walking to meet with people in the countryside. He’s further isolated by pain and fatigue, limiting his movement and requiring him to spend more time in bed.
All of Adam’s colleagues are army officers still on duty. Adam feels isolated since he has been told to build up his strength or he can’t come back to work. This leaves him with no contact with the coworkers he works most closely at a time when his skills and talents are needed by his country.
Livvy is lucky. She is the least affected by the factors isolating everyone else. This gives her the freedom to find the killer and correct the problems others face. And the freedom to ask difficult questions makes her the perfect sleuth in this mystery.
Deadly Manor, the tenth book in the Deadly Series by USA Today bestselling author Kate Parker, is on sale in ebook and paperback formats at all the usual online retailers.
About Kate Parker
With her love of travel, Kate Parker sets her novels overseas. Once home from her research trips and armed with hot tea and chocolate, she can be found clicking away on her keyboard, hiking the hills of central North Carolina, and spoiling her 90 pound muse puppy. She’d tell you what she did before she retired, but then she’d have to use certain skills to eliminate you. She pens stories to entertain readers who enjoy action and murder in tales about plucky heroines, quirky characters, and difficult situations in a bygone era. Her stories are sweet, as in no graphic sex, violence, or language. Her heroines remain ladylike while chasing murderers and escaping danger. Well, as ladylike as scratching, punching, and kicking can be.
Author Links – Website – Facebook – BookBub – GoodReads
Purchase Links – Amazon – Kobo – B&N
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Deadly Manor TOUR PARTICIPANTS
August 15 – I’m All About Mystery Books – CHARACTER GUEST POST
August 15 – Maureen’s Musings – SPOTLIGHT
August 16 – Christy’s Cozy Corners – REVIEW, AUTHOR GUEST POST
August 16 – Sapphyria’s Book Reviews – SPOTLIGHT
August 17 – Brooke Blogs – SPOTLIGHT
August 18 – Literary Gold – SPOTLIGHT
August 19 – Baroness Book Trove – CHARACTER INTERVIEW
August 19 – Escape With Dollycas Into A Good Book – SPOTLIGHT
August 20 – Cozy Up With Kathy – REVIEW
August 21 – FUONLYKNEW – SPOTLIGHT
August 21 – Guatemala Paula Loves to Read – AUTHOR INTERVIEW
August 22 – Ascroft, eh? – AUTHOR GUEST POST
August 22 – Bigreadersite – REVIEW
August 23 – Elizabeth McKenna – Author – SPOTLIGHT
August 23 – Indie Author Book Reviews – CHARACTER GUEST POST
August 24 – #BRVL Book Review Virginia Lee – SPOTLIGHT
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Thanks for having me, Christy, and thank you for the lovely review.
You’re welcome! Thank you for the guest post & for stopping by today!
Thanks for sharing!
Thanks for the giveaway opportunity.
this sounds like a great book to read, thanks
I like the setting for Deadly Manor. I’d enjoy reading this book!
This sounds really good, thank you for sharing!
I like the cover! It sets the stage for the book.
I like to read books based on history.
Love stories set in this time period. Sounds like a great cozy read
Thank you for the chance to win! I love to read mysteries.
Sounds like a really good read.
Love the artwork 🥰
Sounds like a book I’ll enjoy reading
This sounds like an interesting book and I also like the cover.
Good luck everyone!! 🍀✨
I really enjoy stories set during WWII, so I know I will enjoy this mystery. I like that it’s a series. Books that are part of a series are nice because you get to know the main characters and it’s fun to read the whole series.
This looks like a great novel full of mystery.