It's England in 1925 and there's a party being thrown. The Earl of Unsworth is having a party after a respite of over ten years. Throwing a bit of a damper on the party spirit was the discovery of a young girl's body in the garden. No one seems to know her or at least that is what they claim.

Bring in a host of of family with some bearing their typically British stance and one by one the party goers are questioned. To this mixture is added Mr Quayle, a wonderfully efficient secretary of the ear's who works side by side with the powers that be to find the culprit. When a finger is pointed in the direction of a family member and said family member bolts for the door and escape, the plot thickens and one by one the devious, money seekers (diamonds are in the mix), and the not so devious are reveled.

I loved all the characters and the audiobook narrated by Rafe Beckley was just perfect with the stuffy British accent that was so wonderfully enticing and made the book come alive. I think the author paid tribute to Agatha C in his telling. Truly a 'Fun experience and I want to thank Anthony Slayton, Books Go Social, and NetGalley for a copy of this winner of a mystery which published in September.

What a fabulous book! Exceedingly well written story line with gentle humour and interesting characters.

That was really good!

Very good crime story set in XX century England. It gives the vibe of Sherlock Holmes or Poirot. If that does not convince you to read than I don't know what will.

Unfortunately I didn't figure out who was the murder which kept me on my toes till the end.

I had the chance to listen to the audiobook and I had a great time. The narrator was great. Overall it was very entertaining experience.

Well, it was a classic whodunnit, and I was quite entertained by both the story and the narrator.

But it is just that - a classic family-drama mystery - And sadly, it brings nothing new. It feels like something I have read before - most likely one or ten of Agatha Christie's books...

But if you are into the classic whodunnits - You won't be sorry picking this up.

Linguistically this is feast of posh English of the 20's, if that is your thing. Fantastic narration by Rafe Beckley.

The writing is strongly reminiscent of Hercule Poirot or Sherlock Holmes novels and doesn't really add anything new or fresh. In fact I found myself dozing off in parts due to the monotony. Truthfully, the dynamics and the mannerism of the British aristocracy are such that when put on pages they come out as right out boring.

Within the first few pages a body gets discovered on an aristocratic estate and the remainder of the novel is taken up by the investigation and solving the mystery. The night of the murder gets reconstructed through the eyes of family members and guests who gathered at the mansion in anticipation of a 'major announcement'. All are innocent at first sight, but their recollections get dissected and scrutinized by the sharp eye of an inspector as well as the master of observation and deduction, Mr. Quale.

In keeping up with the setting, and the formula, there is no fast paced action, but the novel manages to maintain a good balance between ‘showing’ and ‘telling’, even though throughout it inspired very little engagement.

This is a solidly written novel that unfortunately cannot escape the comparison to the classics. But because it doesn't bring anything new to the genre, I fear it will fade in the shadow of the famous predecessors.

Thank you to the publishers, author and NetGalley for the free copy of this audio book.

This was a satisfying, quick read. Good twists and pacing. The narrator was great for this.

Earl Edward Statham of Unsworth is hosting a party for his high-society family, the first in some time. He wishes to make an announcement at his ancestral castle, however before he manages to do so, the festivities are interrupted when a woman’s body is found in the garden. Mr Quayle - Edward’s Secretary is asked to observe and conduct his own investigation into the murder in parallel with the police.

A classic nostalgic English murder mystery set in 1925. I normally tend towards modern or futuristic reads, but this was really enjoyable - quaint, with hints of Agatha Christie or similar, it’s definitely one to listen to cozily on a rainy day in front of the fire.


The Narrator was excellent with perfect intonation and great voicing of each character.

<b>A Most Efficient Murder</b> is the first book in the Mr. Quayle series. The very private Earl of Unsworth hosts his first party in over a decade, but unfortunately it gets marred when an unknown young woman is found murdered in the garden.

Mr. Quayle is Lord Unsworth's secretary and is very loyal to his employer. Once the police arrive, they quickly start asking questions of Lord Unsworth and his aristocratic family which doesn't go over well. Mr. Quayle is asked by Lord Unsworth to keep an eye on the investigation while also conducting an investigation of his own on the family's behalf. The lead detective on the case served in the military with Mr. Quayle during WWI which added an interesting dynamic to the investigation.

I love mysteries where the setting involves an old English estate and a cast of interesting characters. Set in 1925 England, this is a good old fashioned well-plotted whodunnit with an interesting cast of characters, family secrets, and lots of red herrings along the way. Mr. Quayle is a very capable amateur sleuth and I look forward to continuing on with this series. I listened to the audiobook which was magnificently narrated by Race Beckley. 4 stars.

3.5 stars

A very twisty & exciting murder mystery set between the wars in the English countryside. I really liked Mr. Quayle, the MC, & will be looking out for the next book in this series!

[What I liked:]

•The mystery builds up to a logical conclusion but also contains some twists I didn’t predict. It has a very satisfying ending!

•I really liked Mr. Quayle, the Earl’s private secretary & amateur sleuth. I look forward to finding out more of his backstory in future books in this series.

•The writing is very smooth, & there are some funny dialogue moments.


[What I didn’t like as much:]

•The side characters didn’t get much character development, which would’ve made some of the big reveals at the end more impactful for me.

CW: murder, infidelity

[I received an ARC ebook copy from NetGalley in exchange for my honest review. Thank you for the book!]

I'm so glad that I had the opportunity to listen to the audio version of this book thanks to the publisher and Netgalley. I thoroughly enjoyed it; it is just my cup of tea! I found it a light but clever mystery. I loved listening to the narrator. He enhanced my enjoyment by making it more atmospheric with his British accent. The author did a great job bringing the characters to life, and I look forward to the continuation of the series. I have already downloaded the prequel novella to read soon. I highly recommend this book to cozy mystery lovers.

A Most Efficiant Murder by Anthony Slayton is a nostalgic, cozy mystery akin to those of A. Christie and L. Penny. Set in 1925 at the vast Unsworth castle in the English countryside. Heir to the family fortune is about to be unveiled when a surprise pronouncement is given that a body has been found in the garden. The pace of this mystery was perfect. The setting delightful. The author takes the reader on a interesting, who-dun-it plot that kept me guessing until the end. If you like cozy English mysteries then this one is for you. Highly recommended. Thanks to the author, publisher and Netgalley for the advanced copy.

3.75 stars rounded up

I really enjoyed this mystery book. It had all the good elements of the regency times and it was a pretty quick to listen book.

Thank you NetGalley for allowing me to read this book.

A Most Efficient Murder by Anthony Slayton
Rafe Beckley, Narrator
Mr. Quayle Mysteries # One
I simply could not get interested. I swear I really tried but it was just too trite and derivative.
Narrator was okay but this just did not appeal to me.

I saw on the author's bio that he watches Midsomer Murders and Poirot on repeat, and as I have those on auto record on my DVR, I thought I might like this book., and I was right! A Most Efficient Murder is written somewhat in the style of an Agatha Christie mystery: a crumbling heap of a castle, check; a gathering of family who become suspects, check; and a glorious Golden Age setting.

The Earl of Unsworth has gathered his family members for his first party in a decade, and he has an announcement to make. But before he can do so, the body of an unidentified young woman is found on the grounds. The Earl wants this murder solved quickly and with as little bad publicity for his family as possible, so he asks his secretary, Mr. Quayle, to handle proceedings. Mr. Quayle served with the Earl's son in the Great War, and the heir to the Earldom was killed during the war. Out of his admiration and sense of duty for his former commander, Mr. Quayle has offered his services to the family.

I enjoyed watching Mr. Quayle unravel the threads of the murder, and eventually reach the correct conclusion. And as I suspected, this is the beginning of Mr. Quayle's adventures, as the book is listed as number one in a series. I will look forward to seeing if Mr. Quayle stays with the Earl of Unsworth, or moves on to other fields.

I listened to an audio of this book and the narrator is perfect for the job. Anyone who loves Golden Age mysteries or even cozy style mysteries may love this book. It was jolly good!

A splendid charming and so English who dunnit! Great characters, twists and descriptions. Lovely read and worth the time invested.

This book is ideal for any one who is a fan of British historical murders. I could see this being made into a miniseries or TV show. The story is solid and evolves in a believable way. I would definitely read more from this series and author. I will definitely recommend this to my audience.

Decent listen. Narrator suited the plot. Suitable for listening on the go. I listened during car journeys. Good premise, characters unlikeable at points, would have liked to know more background. Descriptive and engaging. Would reccomend. Unsure if the cover art led me to believe th3 story would be different maybe.

Firstly.. great narration. My only issue is, it's a bit too slow, and since Netgalley doesn't have a 1.1 speedup, 1.25 was a touch too fast, so that was frustrating. But otherwise, lovely sound quality and vocals.
The story itself was very very good. Just enough twists to keep you guessing. Let's you think you're figuring things out, but still has some reveals at the end.
I felt that there were some set ups that dead-ended. Not sure if this was for future stories or just extraneous info, so maybe it needed a little more editing.
No real character connection but this is primarily a mystery, not much of a need to really feel strongly about any of the characters. If more were to come out with the main character, I'd definitely read them to get to know him and the family better.
A solid 4.5 stars. Strongly recommend for fans of British historical mystery (1920/30s).

𝑨 𝑴𝒐𝒔𝒕 𝑬𝒇𝒇𝒊𝒄𝒊𝒆𝒏𝒕 𝑴𝒖𝒓𝒅𝒆𝒓 by Anthony Slayton
Published: April 3, 2022
Reviewed by: Mel
Format: Audiobook from NetGalley

⭐️ ⭐️ ⭐️ ✨

What a fun throwback murder mystery/whodunnit! It takes place in 1920’s England, and certainly feels like it also could have been written at that time. Since I listened on audio, the immersion into the story was definitely thanks to the narrator who definitely set the scene and really did the book justice.

All of the characters were a bit confusing to keep track of, but from what I did follow, it was tied up nicely as far as the plot, all of the connections between the characters, etc.

I enjoyed the writing style, it was definitely a change of pace from my traditional list of thrillers and suspense. Very much looking forward to the next installment in March 2033!

Thank you, NetGalley for the audiobook ARC!

A Most Efficient Murder by Anthony Slayton
(The Mr. Quayle Mysteries, Book 1)
Narrated by Rafe Beckley

This audiobook was fun to hear. The narrator was perfect for the story and I felt like I could see the location and story in my mind's eye. It's 1925 and the Earl of Unsworth's loyal secretary, Mr. Quayle, has been tasked with finding out who murdered a mysterious girl during a birthday party at the Unsworth Castle.

Mr. Quayle's assistance isn't exactly appreciated by the official investigators but at least the head inspector is someone who knows and respects him from the last war. Also, Mr. Quayle fought under Earl Unsworth's late son in the war and Earl Unsworth cherishes him for that reason. I really like Mr. Quayle and am glad that there will be a second book so we can once again follow his amateur sleuthing abilities.

The story brings back the best of the old murder mysteries, so different from murder mysteries of today. There is a lot of traipsing around with a hoard of family members and friends following Mr. Quayle. He's determined to not let his employment with Earl Unsworth interfere with his finding the real murderer. He's doing this all for the memory of Earl Unsworth's late son, a person that I feel meant very much to Mr. Quayle. I hope in the next book we find out more about how the son and Mr. Quayle are so closely connected. I very much enjoyed this complicated murder mystery.

Thank you to BooksGoSocial Audio and NetGalley for this ARC.