This is book six in a series. This is a gripping historical mystery. It is well written and researched. The plot is twisty. There are a lot of characters but it is easy to follow. The ending is satisfying

It is a truth universally acknowledged that if you are holding a country house party with a bunch of people you don’t get on with it must be interrupted by an old hag shouting prophecies of doom and death and yes this is exactly what happens her. Debo Mitford/ Devonshire has gathered what remains of her family and brought them all including our former governess current PI to a big county house for Christmas and to avoid the Blitz for a bit. An old lady comes back and tells them about a maid she thinks has been murdered over a decade ago but everyone else just assumed when missing. Louisa investigates because she just can’t help herself but nobody is talking they all have secrets and with nobody it’s hard going. As these books have gone on the links to the Mitford have grown more tenuous and convoluted but this one felt a bit tighter in some ways. A closed house mystery usually is by its very nature. The mystery itself was very convoluted, it hinges on a bloody maids cap that has been kept for more than twenty years. There was also a distinct lack of Guy. I did like the factoids about Chatsworth and the bits about living in the blitz though. She does that well. Overall I felt this hung together better than the last book but the mystery itself bordered on ridiculous.

I read this in an evening, perfect light entertainment which left me wanting more……. Such a delightful read, ⭐️⭐️⭐️⭐️

It's Christmas at Chatsworth. The war is on and things are tight. By Deborah wants to bring the family to celebrate the best they can. After a séance held in the house the psychic is found dead the next morning. Did things she revealed the night before lead to her untimely death.
Louisa Cannon is also a guest staying in the house. An old family friend and also a private detective. She uses her skills to follow the clues that will lead to a killer.
Loved this book. I can see it would also be perfect to be made for the screen as a TV series.
Many thanks to the publisher and Netgalley for the opportunity to read an ARC

It has come to the end for this series and we have finally reached the last Mitford Sister. Deborah or ‘Debo’ was as well known for her married life in later years as that of her siblings escapades.

Newly married to Andrew Cavendish and going to be the poor relations to the heir to the Chatsworth estate, Deborah is determined despite war, despite some of her sisters being all over the world or in prison that she will make the best Christmas they can have. she invites the constant throughout this eries of books Louisa Cannon, who was her elder sisters nursery maid and been involved in their ives for a long time.

Time has moved on, Louisa now married and with a daughter is glad to escape the bombs of London but not to leave Guy, her husband behind to run their detective agency. However it seems that the house party this Christmas is going to be a bit more interesting. A psychic arrives one night and claims that a maid once died in this house and her body never found. Surely this woman is stirring up trouble until she is found dead.

It seems ideal that a private detective is staying at the house and Deborah along with older sister Nancy, look to Louisa to try and solved this very cold case as well as the most recent death. With many house guests staying all with something to hide it seems that Louisa is going to have her work cut out. What she really needs is help from her husband and luck would bring him to Chatsworth.

With the facets of a locked room mystery – surely it must have been one of the house guests, this is a great historical mystery for fans of big houses and the upstairs, downstairs life. Plenty of class and society struggles and a reflection of the time, perhaps some of the dates have been manipulated a bit so some of the characters such as Kick Kennedy and Adele Astaire appear. However all in all this is a well researched and great book showing the sphere that the Mitford Sisters lived in. I have enjoyed all in there series and the historical notes at the end are as fascinating.

A must for historical fiction fans, murder mystery really is the vehicle to get to know these Mitford Sisters more informally. I am sorely disappointed that it has had to end.

Thank you for the opportunity to read an advanced copy of ‘The Mitford Secret’ by Jessica Fellowes. I have read all of the previous Mitford books and loved them. This book is based at Christmas at Chatsworth, Deborah’s husband’s ancestral home. Nancy, Unity, Lord and Lady Resedale, Louisa and Maisie all decamp to the stately home and as expected, trouble isn’t too far behind.

In The Mitford Secret, the final instalment of the Mitford mysteries series, it's 1941 and the youngest Mitford daughter Deborah invites the family to Chatsworth for Christmas. Included in the invite is Louisa Cannon, ex employee of the Mitford family and now friend and private detective. Leaving her husband Guy in London Louisa arrives with her young daughter Maisie. When a psychic declares that a maid was murdered in the house many years ago Louisa's interest is piqued but she soon has a present day murder to deal with.
I enjoy reading anything about the Mitford sisters and I've absolutely loved this series. I love the character of Louisa, the period detail and the historical and social elements of the novels. The Mitford Secret is not the strongest in the series, but it did not disappoint, and I found it to be an enjoyable and easy read. Recommended.
Many thanks to NetGalley and the publisher for the opportunity to read and review this digital ARC.

Author Jessica has said that this would be the final Mitford mystery… but I really hope it isn’t. It is 1941 and Deborah Mitford invites her famous family (yes, those Mitfords) to Chatsworth House for Christmas. It’ll be pretty spartan but everyone is happy to be there, especially Louisa Cannon, former member of the ‘help’ and now a mum of one and private detective. She and her daughter must leave her husband in London but she quickly helps the sisters get into the festive spirit. Until one evening when a psychic pitches up and agrees to hold a séance. The psychic reveals a maid was murdered in the house and she has proof. It isn’t long before there’s an actual murder and Louisa and the sisters Mitford must use everything they have to figure out what’s going on. And if there’s a murderer among the guests, that’s one thing, but there’s plenty of social-filled dilemmas that need answered. It’s cosy crime with a historic twist, and I’ve read them all.

A Fitting Finale…
The sixth in the Mitford Murders series and another well written, deliciously atmospheric mystery and a fitting addition to this wholly engaging series. 1941 and war has damaged the household, the Mitford sisters are, if anything, more divided than ever. In an effort to gather the clan, invitations for Christmas at Chatsworth are sent out. Not all will go to plan, however, and secrets may well be spilled despite best efforts. Another immersive whodunnit and a fitting finale to the series.

I would like to thank Netgalley and Little, Brown Book Group UK for an advance copy of The Mitford Secret, the sixth and last novel in the series featuring former maid to the Mitford sisters, Louisa Sullivan, née Cannon, set in 1941.

The youngest Mitford daughter, Deborah, has invited her family and Louisa to Chatsworth, her marital family’s home, for the Christmas season. One night a psychic reveals that a maid was murdered in the house twenty five years ago and she can prove it. Louisa takes on the challenge to investigate this cold case in the face of opposition from both families who would prefer to keep their secrets hidden.

I enjoyed The Mitford Secret, which is a period mystery set In beautiful surroundings with plenty going on. I do not think it is the strongest novel in the series, but it is still entertaining.

The novel is told from Louisa’s point of view, so the reader knows what she knows, which for much of the novel is not very much. The rich and titled have a way of encouraging loyalty and sealed lips, so Louisa spends her time trying to prise information from people unwilling to give it. This contrasts with the final chapters which unleash a torrent of information and explanations. It does make the novel lopsided, but, on the other hand, it gives the reader plenty of opportunity to speculate., not that my personal speculation got me very far.

It is a slightly strange Louisa in this novel. Obviously stressed by the war and missing her husband, Guy, who has stayed in London putting himself in danger every day as part of the Home Guard,, she doesn’t have her usual clarity of thought. She tends to jump to conclusions, based on little more than her interpretation of what she learns. It gives the novel a slightly muddled feel. Still, the plotting is complex and encourages the reader to carry on.

I think the period detail in the novel is good. The class boundaries are eroding slightly with Louisa and her family accepted as guests, but servants, while scarce on the ground, are still underlings, reflecting the new world to come. Rationing is front and centre in the novel, as it was at the time. There is also a subplot, which I’m not going to explain, that reflects the times rather well.

The Mitford Secret is a good read that I can recommend.

Whilst I don't think I enjoyed this as much as some of the other books, it is always good to be back with Louisa and Guy.
It makes no difference I don't know a thing about the Mitford sisters (though I currently know a bit more about them than I did before)
These books are just a nice escape for a few hours.
Louisa does have a knack of attracting trouble, and Christmas in the country isn't going to get in her way of solving crimes.
Come to think of it, a war isn't going to stop her.
I do like Louisa.
Enjoyable