ABOUT THE BOOK
A high society murder. A spirited lady detective. Can she out-class the killer before an innocent person takes the fall?
London, 1923. Olive Belgrave needs a job. Despite her aristocratic upbringing, she’s penniless. Determined to support herself, she jumps at an unconventional job—looking into the background of her cousin’s fiancé, Alfred.
Alfred burst into the upper crust world of London’s high society, but his answers to questions about his past are decidedly vague. Before Olive can gather more than the basics, a murder occurs at a posh party. Suddenly, every Bright Young Person in attendance is a suspect, and Olive must race to find the culprit because a sly murderer is determined to make sure Olive’s first case is her last.
Murder at Archly Manor is the first in the High Society Lady Detective series of charming historical cozy mysteries. If you like witty banter, glamorous settings, and delightful plot twists, you’ll love USA Today bestselling author Sara Rosett’s series for Anglophiles and mystery lovers alike.
Travel back to the Golden Age of detective fiction with Murder at Archly Manor.
Book Details:
Title: Murder at Archly Manor
Author: Sara Rosett
Genre: Historical mystery
Series: High Society Lady Detective series
, book 1
Published: Oct 15, 2018
Print length: 254 pages
On tour with: Great Escapes Book Tours
INTERVIEW WITH SARA ROSETT
Q: Sara, tell us about your series. Is this book a standalone, or do readers need to read the series in order?
A: Murder at Archly Manor is the first book in the High Society Lady Detective Series. Each book in the series will be a self-contained mystery that is solved by the end of the book. Murder at Archly Manor is set in 1920s England and follows Olive Belgrave as she sets out to make her own way in the world. She falls into an investigative job and gets tangled up in a murder investigation. Researching the 1920s was so much fun. I learned about so many things—the fashion, the music, the slang, and so much more!
Q: Where and when do you prefer to do your writing?
A: I like to write at home at my desk. I use a combination of dictation and typing. I do my best writing while I’m fresh in the morning when the house is quiet.
Q: What’s the best compliment you’ve ever received about your writing?
A: I had a reader tell me she read one of my books while going through cancer treatment and the book let her escape into another world. I got teary-eyed!
Q: What’s the hardest thing you’ve ever had to write?
A: It’s a toss up between a short story and a locked-room mystery novel. Short stories are a challenge because they’re sort of unforgivable. All the parts must work together perfectly or else the whole thing falls apart. Locked-room mysteries are difficult because you have to come up with a seemingly impossible crime that is actually solvable. Thankfully, I did finish both the short story and the locked-room novel. I suppose the ultimate challenge for me would be a locked-room short story!
Q: Have you been in any natural disasters?
A: I survived Hurricane Harvey. It was an awful time. There was so much destruction and loss, but it was also wonderful to see how people helped each other, jumping into to meet needs right away. Thankfully, we only had a little wind damage, but I don’t want to go through anything like that again. I’m sure the experience will show up in my writing someday.
Q: What makes you nervous?
A: Speaking in front of people. I’ve done plenty of events, both as a solo speaker and on panel, but I still get nervous—every single time!
Q: What makes you happy?
A: Books and chocolate, preferably on a rainy afternoon. :)
Q: What’s one of your favorite quotes?
A: I love the Maxwell Perkins quote, “Just get it down on paper and then we'll see what to do about it.” I read that quote when I was writing my first mystery and realized I had to stop working on the first couple of chapters. I had to get on with the rest of the book. Once I had it down paper I could edit it and make it better, but I had to move forward.
Q: If you could live anywhere in the world, where in the world would it be?
A: Tough question! I would probably split my time between the mountains in the summer and Texas in the winter with lots of traveling to visit new places in between.
Q: What book are you currently reading and in what format?
A: Four Funerals and Maybe a Wedding by Rhys Bowen. It’s one of my favorite series. I love to read historical mysteries as well as write them!
Q: What’s one pet peeve you have when you read?
A: I don’t like books that start with what I call an internal cliffhanger, an exciting scene that breaks off in the middle then there’s a time jump that takes the reader back a week or two, which means I have to go back and read twenty chapters or so to get back to the exciting scene. I find the technique extremely annoying. It makes me want to stop reading the book.
Q: Where is your favorite library, and what do you love about it?
A: My favorite library exists only in my memory. It was the library that my mom took me to when I was a kid. I discovered the magic of reading in that library and dug into mysteries like Nancy Drew and Trixie Belden. The library has moved to a new building, but I can still remember hurrying through the doors to look for the row of yellow spines in the mystery section.
Q: What are you working on now?
A: I'm working on the next book in the High Society Lady Detective series. I'm really enjoying spending time in 1920s England. In the next book, Murder at Blackburn Hall, Olive goes to a quiet English village in search of a missing mystery writer.
OTHER BOOKS BY SARA ROSETT
Murder on Location seriesOn the Run series
Ellie Avery series
ABOUT THE AUTHOR
She is the author of the Murder on Location series, the Ellie Avery series, the On the Run series, and the High Society Lady Detective series. Sara also teaches an online course, How to Outline A Cozy Mystery.
Publishers Weekly called Sara's books, “satisfying,” “well-executed,” and “sparkling.” Sara loves to get new stamps in her passport and considers dark chocolate a daily requirement.
Connect with Sara:
Website | Facebook | Twitter | Goodreads
Buy the book:
Amazon | Barnes & Noble | iBooks | Kobo | Google Play
