Enhanced descriptions from Syndetics:
The mysterious deaths of two adored cats plunges Bea into the disturbing goings-on of the Tredgold family in the latest Abbot Agency mystery.
Wealthy Marcia Tredgold and her daughter, Charlotte, want Bea Abbot to find them replacements for staff who have left under a cloud. Bea discovers that all those dismissed were close to Marcia Tredgold, and senses that something is not right. Were they framed, and if so by whom - and why?
Even more curiously, when Marcia Tredgold gets Bea alone, she asks her to find out who killed her two cats. Bea resists becoming involved in the strange goings-on at the Tredgold mansion, until a shocking event leads her to worry about Marcia's safety. Could the cats' deaths be linked to other disturbing events? And whose account can be trusted in the web of secrets and lies which has been spun around the family? In her quest to uncover the truth, Bea's own safety is put at risk.
The mysterious deaths of two adored cats plunges Bea into the disturbing goings-on of the Tredgold family in the latest Abbot Agency mystery. Wealthy Marcia Tredgold and her daughter, Charlotte, want Bea Abbot to find them replacements for staff who have left under a cloud. Bea discovers that all those dismissed were close to Marcia Tredgold, and senses that something is not right. Were they framed, and if so by whom - and why? Even more curiously, when Marcia Tredgold gets Bea alone, she asks her to find out who killed her two cats. Bea resists becoming involved in the strange goings-on at the Tredgold mansion, until a shocking event leads her to worry about Marcia's safety. Could the cats' deaths be linked to other disturbing events? And whose account can be trusted in the web of secrets and lies which has been spun around the family? In her quest to uncover the truth, Bea's own safety is put at risk.
Reviews provided by Syndetics
Publishers Weekly Review
Bea Abbot's new clients-Charlotte Tredgold, "a spinster of a certain age," and her wealthy mother, Marcia-make an unfavorable first impression in Heley's solid 13th Abbot Agency mystery (after 2018's False Pride). The two women appear an hour and a half late for their appointment at Bea's staffing agency, based in a large house on a quiet street in London's Kensington neighborhood, and they refuse to use the steps leading to the agency's basement office, since Marcia can't manage them, entering via the front door instead. Charlotte tells Bea that they wish to hire new staff for their mansion in Mayfair, but Marcia later takes Bea aside and asks her to find out who killed Mitzi and Poppy, her beloved cats. Bea soon realizes that there is "something nasty in the woodpile at Tredgold House." Murder, blackmail, fraud, and rudeness to domestics are just the tip of the iceberg. As usual, Bea smiles through gritted teeth when faced with a continuous stream of bad behavior. Those who enjoy seeing arrogant rich people get their comeuppance will be satisfied. Agent: Juliet Burton, Juliet Burton Literary (U.K.). (Apr.) © Copyright PWxyz, LLC. All rights reserved.
Booklist Review
Bea Abbot runs a domestic-service agency in London and dabbles in sleuthing. She takes pride in providing highly qualified staff but feels she may have met her match when Marcia Tredgold and her daughter, Charlotte, sweep imperiously into the office and demand that Bea immediately provide them with a cook, a cleaner, and a butler (Charlotte has fired the previous staff). Then Marcia insists on seeing Bea privately and confides that what she really wants is for Bea to find out who killed her cats. Bea fears she's dealing with a nutcase, but intrigued by the bizarre request, she agrees to do what she can, eventually unraveling the whole story behind the case of the cat killer. The result, however, is so strange and sad that Bea rather wishes she'd left the whole thing alone. Still, she can add one more case solved to her growing file of sleuthing successes. A good choice for fans of the British cozy, especially those with an Agatha Christie feel, combining gentle humor, an intrepid heroine, and an unusual plot with quirky twists.--Emily Melton Copyright 2019 Booklist
Kirkus Book Review
Employment agency owner Bea Abbot (False Pride, 2018, etc.) struggles to help a client who doesn't really know what she wants.Marcia Tredgold's request seems straightforward enough at first. She'd like the Abbot Domestic Agency to find replacements for several domestic workers who recently left the wealthy widow's household. Since Bea has long lists of cooks, cleaners, and chauffeurs in need of good positions, she seems well enough positioned to help with Ms. Tredgold's staffing needs, although she does think it odd that her client found it necessary to dismiss a cook for nicking a valuable watch shortly after firing a cleaner for filching a diamond ring. Still odder is Ms. Tredgold's insistence that what she really wants is to find out who killed her two cats. An evening spent with Kit Crossley, the fired cook, doesn't do much to clarify what's going on in the Tredgold household, although it does leave Bea and her ex-husband, Piers, in possession of a lovely fish pie. Nor does the horizon become any clearer when Bea gets a phone call from Piers telling her that Marcia's left the family mansion and fled to an apartment she'd prepared for herself in the Docklands in case she found herself imperiled by her three predatory adult children. The script keeps getting zanier and zanier without giving Bea any surer sense of purpose. It's not clear that she'll ever figure out what's up with the Tredgolds, although a suicide, incidents of domestic abuse, and an acid attack finally persuade her that whatever the real story is, it's probably not good.The What the Butler Saw of cozies, though not nearly so funny. Copyright Kirkus Reviews, used with permission.