I read a quote that this book was a witty book for fans of Christie and Wodehouse - they weren't wrong. The humour is perfect, dark in places and ridiculous in a great way in others. The characters are horrible examples of human beings but they are perfect in this setting. A whodunnit that drips with sarcasm, black humour, satire and hateable charecters - all set in a ridiculously big country house that has more secrets than anyone could begin to imagine.
It's a ridiculous book - but I'm hoping it's meant to be. It's not a straight-laced murder mystery, it made me laugh, it made me want to know how it was going to end.I'd happily read another book like this.

Well. I'm struggling for what to say about this. The blurb says it's Agatha Christie crossed with Wodehouse, but I actually think it owes a lot to Waugh's own family heritage - and it's trying to be Brideshead Revisted crossed with the satire of Vile Bodies, but funny. I'm not sure it works. Despite what the cover might suggest, it's set in the modern day, and there is a a lot of set up to get to before you get to the murder, there's not much actual detecting and I'm not sure the ending works. The shifting It has its moments, but ultimately, it doesn't really fit into any of the genres it's trying to, but doesn't satisfactorily break out of them either - so I don't think it works as any of them. Mostly it just made me want to read Vile Bodies again.

Born into a famous literary family, Daisy Waugh has forged an enviable career both as a journalist and author. As well as writing the Dolly Green series, under the pseudonym of E. V. Harte, she has tackled serious and comedic topics with equal skill. "In The Crypt with a Candlestick" is most definitely the latter, and she shows once more that she has a wicked sense of humour.

"In The Crypt with a Candlestick" feels like a tongue-in-cheek look at the world of historic houses and draws in some wonderful touches that are clearly inspired by Daisy Waugh's childhood. The central characters are hysterically believable, and we have them all in our own families, and even the appearance of a mysterious ghost is "fleshed" out so as to make her very much a part of the action. The idea of a whodunit combining family conflict and an historic house may not be new but Daisy has used her imaginative magic to make this absolutely irresistible.

"In The Crypt with a Candlestick" moves at a cracking pace and, if you're anything like me, will be impossible to put down!

I think it's mix of comedy of manners, humorous fiction and traditional mystery.
There's a lot of potential but the story somehow failed to deliver and the story fell flat even if it's quite enjoyable at times.
Not my cup of tea.
Many thanks to the publisher and Netgalley for this ARC, all opinions are mine.

A new author to me and I was drawn to the cover without a doubt and the promise of:

In the traditions of two great but very different British writers, Agatha Christie and P.G. Wodehouse, Waugh's hilarious and entirely original twist on the country house murder mystery comes complete with stiff upper lips, even stiffer drinks, and any stiffs that might embarrass the family getting smartly brushed under the carpet...

At Tode Hall, at ninety three Sir Ecgbert has finally died. Widow Lady Tode no longer wants to be lady of the manor and neither of her three children have much interest in the Tode Hall.


So the hall and all its residents is passed across to a distant relative much to the chagrin of the remaining family and staff. 

However Lady Tode's idea of spending her twilight years in Capri are thwarted when she ends up dead in the Hall's mausoleum. What follows is a half hearted attempt to find out who the culprit was and with the aid of the granddaughter of a former employee and a ghost it seems the answer has been staring them in the face all the time. 

This is not your normal murder mystery, a book which had a sense of wanting to be stuck in the past, the cover gives that impression but was very much in the present. The correlations to Wodehouse I could see, think Blandings not Jeeves and I am not sure if it has the real sense of Christie, that you may see in other homages. 

However it was humourous in an almost pastiche to the country house murder mystery and was a passable diversion. It perhaps did not deliver as well as it could have done. Shame it had potential.

Thank you to Netgalley and the publishers for letting me read this book. This story is told by multiple P.O.Vs so you got a scene of all the characters of this mystery book and I really enjoyed that accept, I really enjoyed reading through different characters of the events in this book, I found this book quite witty also. Overall I found this book very entertaining and I really was on the fence about it when I was first approved but I was highly surprised and this is a great book. I would definitely recommend it and I give it 4 stars.

A dead body has been found at Tode Hall but is it murder or just an accident? This is a crazy, comedic whodunit with a bunch of bonkers and, mostly, unlikable characters.  Great if you want a quick, silly read but probably not one I will be revisiting.

3.5 stars

Wonderful book cover, but sadly it reflect the content of the book. I have been a fan of Daisy Waugh's writing but this isn't up to her usual standard. A meandering plot and a light hearted stab at a who done it. It would be a perfect book if you want to dip in and out of reading whilst doing other things.
Thank you to Netgalley for sending a pre-publication copy in exchange for a personal, unbiased review.

In the Crypt with a Candlestick centers on the Tode family whose ancestral home in Yorkshire is a tourist hot-spot, great for the family's coffers but a pain to manage for even those with an interest. Upon the death of the patriarch, there's a bolt for the hills by his children to take over the reins.
Fortunately, a distant relative is found to take up the mantle of keeping the family estate and its obligations up and running. Thereafter all manner of shenanigans occur involving a host of madcap characters who whilst somewhat exaggerated are no less fun for it.

The murder mystery almost takes a backseat to the eccentricities of the Tode family, those who work for them and associated hangers on. Why there is a snobbish ghost who assists with exposition is not a question that needs to be asked. Inexplicably it works and therefore all we can do it admire their turn of phrase and stylish outfits.

The story is told from multiple characters' point of view, so the reader has access to the flawed, unlikeable, pretentious and even those hard done characters. There is no real happy ever after at the end, but matters are resolved to the satisfaction of most, I include myself in that number.

I found it witty, an astute rendering of caricatures with funny dialogue that provided several laugh out loud moments. It was an amusing, entertaining read and I thoroughly enjoyed the madcap fun that ensued.

4 Stars - Really Liked It

The story was good but did not keep me intrigued. I expected the story to be written about the past as per the cover however it was written in modern day. I liked the setting of the novel in the country house,

Initial thoughts of this book was that it was just plain old silly, a patische of Wodehouse and Christie but as the story progresses, it satisfied a bit more. An enjoyable romp, not ever so original but entertaining nevertheless!

A very outrageous and over the top Cluedo style murder mystery weekend. The characters of Tode Hall could all have done it. Lady Tode’s death is thought an accident but over a murder mystery weekend the truth is found with help from resident ghost Geraldine, Lady Tode’s mother. This is a fun tongue in cheek story with eccentric characters to enjoy.
I was given an ARC of this book by Netgalley and the publisher in exchange for an honest review.

What you assume is going to happen is some kind of Agatha Christie-esque investigation, what with her name being mentioned in the blurb, and Poirot being mentioned more than twice in the content of the book. Alas, no.
Instead there’s just a rambling story involving nymphomaniac gentry, posh people getting sloshed, staff glaring at the new owners with unconcealed contempt, and a ghost with awesome dress sense.

You know when you’re at a party, and you’re the only sober person? Everyone else is absolutely plastered, finding themselves utterly hilarious and you’re just there, in the corner, waiting for it all to end.
I’m sorry to say that’s how this book made me feel.

The attempts at satire were just far too much, it was overwhelming and about as funny as shingles. The characters were all unlikable, and very poorly developed. Given how often we were told the existing staff hated India, or how horrible Lady Tode was, we were never shown any reasons as to why these two facts were the case.

I have no doubt there is an audience for this book, who will enjoy it for the silly story it is. However, I am not that audience. It will be easier to pitch it to the right readers if the blurb left out Agatha Christie, and the cover, which evokes a 1920’s feel, actually reflected the fact the book was set in the present.
I definitely found it all very misleading and confusing.

Unfortunately this was not working out for me, so at 30% I finally gave up the ghost. The characters were irritating me, and I dreaded the return to reading it again. Sadly, the humour, nor the satire were sufficient and mostly did not work for me. I just am not the audience for this novel, no doubt there will be others who love it. Many apologies. Thanks to the publisher for an ARC.

This book didn't seem to hit it's mark as either funny or gripping. The cover gives a certain 1920s feel. Yet it's set in the present day. All the pieces were there - the most beautiful grand house in England, a mad baronet, The murder of the widow of the preceeding baronet and some very strange inhabitants of the grand house, and odd resentful staff.

Missed its mark for me.

Thanks to Netgalley and the publisher I read a free advance review copy of the book. This review is voluntary, honest and my own opinion.

There's a certain light hearted way with this book... which made it fun to read.
Early on in the book there were (for me) shades of Tom Sharpe,which is never a bad thing.
The book took a turn I wasn't as keen on,and then it all got a bit hectic.
Fun still,but possibly not completely my cup of tea.

such a gripping story, perfect for this time of year. great paced and kept me interested throughout.

This is clearly a take off of an established English tradition - magnificent house, eccentric landowners trying to keep the old ways going by introducing new and not going the "Nutty Trust" way to survive - diversify is the word perhaps? Tea Shoppes, garden/house tours but not big fierce animals for once. Sir Ecgbert (11th) dies, widow (much younger) can now escape but dire children, including the heir Ecgbert (12th), not going to take over the reins. Enter cousin Ecbert and glam Mrs from Wandsworth to do just that. Enter too, Alice, grand daughter of old retainer as "Fun Manager" - leaving behind her absolutely appalling triplets. The widow then found dead in mausoleum after a few weeks and I thought that we might be moving to the murder. Wrong. We just kept getting more and more eccentric generally unpleasant characters all of whom had reasons to bump off the widow - had quite a bit of discussion about these but to no effect. There are quite a few well-written, sharp, over the top bits about the ways and means of getting funds from tourists to keep the old pile going and these were quite entertaining. Definitely a hint of Wodehouse rather than Christie though. I did like Geraldine. Old houses should always have a Geraldine in the background. Thanks to NetGalley and Little, Brown Book Group UK for an advance copy in exchange for my honest review.

Gorgeous cover but this isn't like either Agatha Christie or PG Wodehouse as promised in the blurb: it's closer to chick lit where an ill-assorted family group try to revive an old country house. There is a death but it's well into the book and there's no real investigation or mystery. The 'foolish chumps' trope might have worked better if all the characters hadn't been quite so vile. Gertrude Tode perks things up a bit when she appears but the rest falls a bit flat - and the pointed names (Mrs Danvers, A Prance Through the Music of Time, Todes of Tode Hall, Brideshead) seem a bit aimless. Sorry, but the silliness just didn't work for me, I'm afraid :)