The first in a series of Mr Quayle who is working as secretary to Lord Unsworth. Everyone had secrets even Mr Quayle who found he shared a past with the Police Inspector in charge of the murder at Unsworth Castle.
Trusted by the Earl to investigate and keep the families reputation intact Mr Quayle will have to piece together this complicated Jigsaw puzzle.
This audio book was narrated by Rafe Beckley and l cannot recommend it enough. A clear precise telling of the story with very distinct characters who you can see in your minds eye. The tone of the story takes you back to a different social time of the 1920’s and the lingering effects of the First World War. I will be looking with great interest for the next in the series.
Thank you NetGalley and (publisher) for sending this book for review consideration. All opinions are my own.

A very easy to listen to audiobook.
The narrator had a voice that was comfortable to listen to too.

Interesting and well written I just personally couldn’t get into the story. Just a little slow and unbelievable at some points. Slow start and end. Very slow and just couldn’t engage in it. I received an advance review copy for free, and I am leaving this review voluntarily.

Enjoyed this audiobook, good narrator. Liked the characters and story. Thanks to Netgalley for the opportunity to listen to this audiobook

Great mystery story, fantastic narrator, I really enjoyed it!
Thanks to NetGalley, the publisher, and the author for the opportunity to listen to this ARC.

I really enjoyed this audiobook. This story definitely has that classic murder mystery vibe, but make itself its own. Very different from more modern murder mysteries. I can not wait until the second book in the series.

A Most Efficient Murder
The Mr. Quayle Mysteries
Book 1
By Anthony Slayton
Narrated by Rafe Buckley

What is it about 🔪
When a party thrown by the reclusive Lord Unsworth is marred by murder, his loyal secretary, Mr. Quayle, must unravel a web of red-herrings and old family secrets in this English country house mystery.

My thoughts
I really tried to get into this book but I really couldn't get into it. I really didn't care about any of the characters and didn't really care about the whodoneit, but on the positive Rafe Buckley does a really good job with the audiobook.

I am not sure that I would have continued to read this, if it hadn't been an audiobook. I found I really didn't care about any of the characters and I was pretty sure whodunnit from the beginning. I won't be reading any more in the series, because I really didn't care about any of the characters.

I tried. I really tried. I tried three different times to get into this book so I could fairly rate it, but it just didn't work for me. I got through about 40% and, though I rarely dnf, I have to give this one a pass.

This was a fun murder mystery novel. I actually quite liked it. At first I didn’t think I was going to because like so many murder mysteries, it was plot heavy, with flat characters and I tend to like my characters a little more fleshed out than what is typical of this style.
Also, I typically can figure out the “mystery” straight away giving me nothing to really like about the book. But I did not figure it ALL out in this one. Here and there I had pieces but it was so much better orchestrated on the page than what I was thinking.
It did leave me with some questions, but I suppose that I’ll have to read the next one to get those answered.
Overall, I liked it a lot, will continue with the series, and would def recommend to anyone that likes the genre.


**Thank you NetGalley for the chance to listen to this audiobook and give my honest opinion.**

I found this book simply brilliant! I love Anthony Slayton's style, word choice, irony and his ability to create a rhythm in the story even without using shocking plot twists.

With A Most Efficient Murder, the author succeeded in creating a story that might well have been written in another era, say in the 20s, the time in which the story is set. It reminds me of Agatha Christie's works in that it is characterized by chorality: all characters participate in the investigation and in the denouement guided by Mr Quayle (basically Slayton's Poirot or Miss Marple, in fact there are more stories that tells about his investigastions and I hope more are coming). There are some minor red herrings and plot twists but I think the reader is entertained by Slayton's skillful construction of the course of the events and the fact that, just as it often happens, everyone keeps secrets (especially when it comes to aristocracy), some are bigger and more dangerous. I also enjoyed how Slayton describes characters: even if there are no detailed physical descriptions, their thoughts and expressions are portrayed so vividly that one can imagine them.

This narrator is the perfect choice for the book, he compliments the narration with his style and accent, he makes the story even more enjoyable.

The first Mr Quale book and what a smashing listen, based a few years after WW1 with the feel of Agatha Christie book. Secrets and lies abound in this tale, good characters and pacing and Rafe Beckley is spot on as the narrator, and hope he narrates the rest in series.
I received this audiobook from Booksgosocial audio and Netgalley for a review.

This was a better listen than I expected as I enjoy a modern day psychological thriller rather than a 1920's murder mystery
That said it had plenty of twists to keep you guessing this is book 1 of a series but I personally won't be following the series not because I didn't enjoy the book just its not my type of book

I listened to this book. It wasn't awful. But it wasn't wonderful either. At the end of the day, it wasn't even memorable. Sorry.

Thanks to NetGalley and the publisher for an advanced audio book in exchange for an honest review.

4 stars

Enjoyable mystery with excellent narration.

Mr. Quayle is the new secretary for the Earl of Unsworth. During a party for the Earl’s favorite niece, a woman is found dead in the garden. The year is 1925 so its good old fashioned sleuthing to determine who the woman is and why she was murdered.

Looking forward to the next installment.

🎧 Audiobook duration: 8hrs 20m

I've hit the cosy crime 🔎 mystery bookshelf again. This audiobook is the first in the Mr Quayle Mysteries. Set in a stately home in the English countryside during 1925, I initially had to stop reading this after an hour. The setting was just too similar to the family book club Poirot novel I had started reading.

A few weeks later I was back to finish the book. It accompanied me whilst I was sewing a couple of new velvet cushions with contrast zips for my reading room. They turned out great. But enough of that it's time to get back to the book...

I found the story had quite a lot of characters, adding to that Agatha Christie feel. The descriptions of the rooms, house and gardens was done very well. The storyline also draws on the first world war, set just 10 years earlier.

You need to keep your wits about you. The solving of the mystery is a little complex, something I found tricky to keep track of. Trying to listen to the book and multi-tasking whilst sewing, means I probably missed a few things. I think you need to make this your one focus.

3.5 / 5 Stars

Many thanks to @netgalley and Books Go Social for the review copy

Thank you NetGalley and BooksGoSocial Audio for accepting my request to audibly read and review A Most Efficient Murder.

Author: Anthony Slayton
Published: 09/15/22
Narrator: Rafe Beckley
Genre: Historical Fiction -- Mystery & Thrillers

Narrator Rafe Beckley bumped my reading experience up to grateful. I wanted to DNF, but was committed to a review unless the material was offensive or defective. It was neither, I just didn't care for the book.

I do believe it is the writing style, and if there is a name for it, I don't know it. Some books make better television (Masterpiece Theatre) and this is one I would watch. This moved slow. I didn't connect with the characters, and after picking it up and down several times, I finished it.

It is simple and reminded me of a time I tried to read Agatha Christie and was bored. I did, however, enjoy Margaret Rutherford.

If you enjoy reading old English, Miss Marple, give this a try.

This was an absolutely wonderful audiobook! The narrator was perfect!

An upper family is waiting to know who will be the next heir. A family has gathered to celebrate a birthday for Fannie. They are all milling around, enjoying the evening when there is a sudden scream. Fannie has stumbled on a body.

The story unfolds with layers through the eyes of a detective and a personal assitant to the head of the family and house. Both POV are precise and experienced investigators. But the family has secrets, whether they are about the murder or not, and the family is adament no one gets to know anything. They don't want anything splashed across rag newspapers or spoken about among society. It isn't until one of them runs from an interview that the family must finaly accept that a murder has happened and one of them has done it.

I loved the old family, old money feel of the family. It was perfect captured by the narrator the feel of the story. I liked the characters and the twists - I had no idea who had done it or why and I loved the reveal. So well done and such a fun story! I'll definitely be looking for book 2!

A huge thank you to the author and publisher for providing an e-ARC via Netgalley. This does not affect my opinion regarding the book.

I received the audiobook of A most efficient murder by Anthony Slayton through the Netgalley platform.

The book starts like a typical murder mystery: a reclusive nobleman hosts a party at his mansion to celebrate his niece’s birthday and announce his heir. But a body is found on the grounds – someone not invited to the party. Who is the young woman, and why was she there?

What follows is a few wild goose chases, an unlikely fugitive, and a lot of deception. And finally, tales of adultery, gambling debt, and the family diamonds are revealed along with the murderer.

It took me a while to get into the story, which I think was mostly due to the narrator, who sounded like he was reading from an obituary. Changing my listening speed solved that problem.

This is the first in the Mr Quayle Mysteries, and I look forward to reading more of his adventures.

Actual Rating 3.5

When I started listening to this book, I couldn't help compare it to Agatha Christie's novel 'Body in the Library' which is a Miss Marple story. Like Christie's book the story here begins with a body of a stranger, lying dead in the garden(instead of the library). The Earl of Unsworth, whose garden the body was discovered, was having a party in his Unsworth Castle after a decade, a party to which the scholarly Lord Unsworth is a reluctant host. The dead body stirs a storm amongst the snooty Unsworth family members and as a danger of a scandal looms over them, Lord Unsworth requests his secretary, Mr. Quayle to protect the family from malicious gossip and help the police to investigate the matter. But Mr. Quayle's intrusion into the police investigation is not taken very graciously by Inspector Wintle, who is acquainted with Mr. Quayle from their years in the army.

I enjoyed listening to this audio book and I must say that my suspicions on who the actual murderer was, was proven to be wrong. But in this case, once the police and Mr. Quayle uncover the victim's identity, we go from no motive and no suspects to multiple suspects with very strong motives. So in my defense it was a very difficult case to crack. Well done Mr. Quayle! As in any typical aristocratic family, most of the members have secrets that they want to hide no matter the cost. And almost all of them have insufferable attitudes. Despite all of these hurdles, can Mr. Quayle uncover the identity of the killer and will his loyalty to his employer be tested as shocking secrets tumble out of the Unsworth closets?

The audiobook narrator, Rafe Beckley, has done a wonderful job and it was delightful to hear him bring the characters alive. I'll look forward to next books from this series. Thanks to NetGalley and BooksGoSocial Audio for an early copy of this book.