Mrs Hudson and the Blue Daisy Affair is the fifth book in the cozy English mystery series by Martin Davies. Released 4th Nov 2021 by Canelo, it's 305 pages and is available in ebook format. It's worth noting that the ebook format has a handy interactive table of contents as well as interactive links and references throughout. I've really become enamored of ebooks with interactive formats lately.
This is on the surface a nice tie-in series starring the redoubtable Mrs. Hudson (of 221B Baker St. fame), and featuring lots of nice Holmes and Watson cameos. As always, this installment also features Mrs. Hudson's assistant Flotsam who has blossomed into a capable, honourable, intelligent, and fearless protagonist in her own right.
There are several disparate plot threads - Russian spies, assassination plots, women's suffrage, rigid social class divisions - and they all twine ever more tightly together to reach a satisfying climax and denouement. The author weaves fictional characters and events so skillfully around real historical characters that it's not always easy to figure out where fact shades into fiction.
Despite being the 5th book in the series, it works perfectly well as a standalone, and I had no trouble keeping up with the plot.
Four stars. This would be a good choice for public library acquisition as well as for fans of historical British cozies. It would also make a good choice for bookclub discussion or a buddy-read for online cozy enthusiasts.
Disclosure: I received an ARC at no cost from the author/publisher for review purposes.
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