I think I would have loved to have lived in the 1920’s of England. The courting, beautiful gowns and small village life all sound wonderful for at least a little while. But for Abigail Dixon being suppressed as a society reporter is not her idea of being a hard news reporter. Having once again been assigned a fluff piece, Abigail must report on the wedding of Cressida Wimborne to Reginald Mitchell. But family drama, vandalism and murder mars the festivities of this delightful book and Abigail is in the thick of it whether her Editor wants her to report in it or not.

4.5 stars

Warren keeps the reader on their toes in this second book of the series. Abby is champing at the bit to write some 'real news' but her editor determines that she must continue to write 'women's news.' All the more so as she is requested by the "car king" of America to be the only invited journalist to his son's wedding.

While en route, Abby reads of a murder connected to the house she's traveling to for the wedding. Once there, in between fashionable outfit changes, sabotage begins happening to the happy couple... and I won't reveal any more, as that might be cheating.

The story keeps you on your toes and mulling over the different pieces of evidence sprinkled throughout the book. Personally, I liked this installment better than the first.

I received an ARC; this is my honest review.

A wonderful follow up the first book in the series. Abigail gets sent off to England to cover a society wedding - horror of horrors! As much as she wants to write 'hard news' she keeps being relegated to writing for the womens pages. But the 'hard news' story follows her to England and while at Darrington Estate a murder occurs and she's right in the thick of things once again. The investigation takes numerous twists and turns and keeps you guessing. Abigail is a marvellous character. It was also nice to have Paul Joubert put in a short appearance and the enigmatic Inspector Deschamps plays a big role again. Thouroughly enjoyable and I look forward to another of Abigail's adventures.
Thanks to Netgalley, Storm Publishing and Nancy Warren for a free copy in exchange for an honest review.

This was such a fun book. Fans of Agatha Christie and Downton Abbey will love this. The story was easy to follow and had a great cast of characters. I couldn't put it down. A brilliant novel that I highly recommend.
💓 Thank you to netgalley and the author/ publisher for my arc ebook copy of the book in exchange for an honest review.

Very much a romp through the privileged world of the 1920s. A society wedding. Fabulous fashion and afternoons fo country men shooting and fishing and then Coco Channel joining everyone for dinner. This has a real whiff of Agatha Christie although has a lighter hearted feel about it, almost a little tongue in cheek. Some lovely character development, and touches of the 1920s world that bring the book to life and make it real fun to read.

This is book 2 of the Abigail Dixon Mystery series and it was just as good, if not better, than the first book, which I also gave 5 stars! In book 2 we find Abby headed to England to cover a high-society wedding at the request of an American car tycoon, whose son is set to marry an English aristocrats daughter. On the way from Paris to England there is news that a local girl, who worked at the manor where Abby is staying, was murdered. Abby is once again relegated to only covering “puff pieces” and not the hard hitting news that she prefers, but when a second murder takes place she can’t resist some sleuthing of her own!

A few friends from the first book also appear in the second book and these characters are so incredibly enjoyable! The story was fast paced and I finished it in a day! I am really hoping we get more of this series, I’d love to see where these characters go!

Huge thank you to NetGalley and Storm Publishing for approving this ARC for me to enjoy! .

Abigail Dixon is in Paris in 1925 working at newspaper and trying to prove that she can be an investigative reporter. However, her editor assigns her to a societal wedding at Darrington Manor in England. Abigail takes the assignment with the hope that she will find something more to her liking. Abigail is in the midst of English society with her friend acting as her dresser wearing the designs of a well-known French designer. She is indeed a bit peeved with her editor, when an accident happens at the manor, followed by a death. Abigail begins investigating and finds that perhaps the bride is not in love with the son of the American automobile tycoon. The cozy is filled with historic details of dinners, hunts, and small village gossip as well as a strong female protagonist. An entertaining entry in this series. Thanks to Net Galley for the arc.

Abigal Dixon, a reporter for the Chicago International Post in Paris, travels to Darrington Manor in Somerset to cover a high-society wedding. The groom is the son of an American tycoon, and the bride is the daughter of the English aristocrat owner of Darrington Manor.
The joy surrounding the pre-wedding celebrations—afternoon teas and drinks in the drawing room is soon dampened by tragedy. During a trout-fishing trip, a young man is found dead. A young woman employee of the Manor was recently found murdered in London, setting everyone on edge.
When Abigail starts looking into the manor in search of a story, she quickly learns that there are many sinister, dark secrets surrounding it. Her list of suspects includes the manor estate manager, who is secretly in love with the bride-to-be, a butler, and a local mechanic who has several grievances against the manor's owner.
Abigal delves into her investigation, despite the dangerous environment. Will she be able to expose the killer and save the wedding?

Book Title: Death at Darrington Manor
Series: Abigail Dixon Mystery #2
Author: Nancy Warren
Publisher: Storm Publishing
Genre: Cozy Mystery, Historical Fiction
Pub Date: June 27, 2024
My Rating: 3.5 Stars
Pages 285

Spring 1925. Abigail Dixon is a reporter and assigned a wedding to cover. She considers this another fluff assignment for the women’s page. But she is willing to cover it hopeful her work will merit something more In the future.
She leaves the glamor of Paris and goes to London to what is regarded by high society as the ‘wedding of the year”. Reginald Mitchell the son of American car tycoon and Cressida Wimborne the daughter of an English aristocrat!
Abigail is expects posh afternoon having tea and later cocktails Certainly not reporting on the two deaths one of a man on a fishing trip and a woman strangled by her own silk stockings.

As she investigates, Abigail is able to find some very interesting as well as dark secrets lurking within Darrington Manor.

I love a good cozy and Nancy Warren didn’t disappoint. She has written more than 100 novels –
how is this only my first???
Well it certainly won’t be my last!

Want to thank NetGalley and Storm Publishing for this early eGalley.
Publishing Release Date scheduled for June 27, 2024.

When Abby is forced to go to English Manor house to cover a wedding of a son of a wealthy American auto maker and a daughter of an English Lord little does she know that she will have to solve not one, but two murders that at first don't seem to be linked. Together with her friend Vivian who is pretending to be her maid and her frenemy inspector Henri she has to save a man who was wrongly accused and solve the murders of the Darrington maid and the groom's best friend. I didn't see the end coming and was a bit surprised. GThe ending was quite satisfactory. The beginning was a bit slow and the murder didn't happen until the second part of the book but i enjoyed reading about the life in the English manor.

I do love a cosy English country manor murder mystery! It had everything you would expect, including a satisfying conclusion.
I found that setting the scene took longer than I would have liked, and the main murder came later than I expected, but apart from that, I enjoyed the tale. It held my interest, so that I looked forward to picking up my book, and that’s a good reason to give it 4 stars.

My Thoughts /

First and foremost, a huge THANK YOU to NetGalley, Storm Publishing, and author Nancy Warren, for providing me with a copy of this publication, which allows me to provide you with an unbiased review. Publication date is currently set for June 27, 2024.

The fascination of shooting as a sport depends almost wholly on whether you are at the right or the wrong end of the gun.
— P.G. Wodehouse

In the first book, journalist, Miss Abigail Dixon was despatched to report on the latest in women's fashion from renown couturier, Monsieur Paul Joubert. In book #2, Death at Darrington Manor, Abigail's editor, Walter Strutt, has her travelling to Somerset to report on the high society wedding of the year, between The Honourable Cressida Wimborne, daughter of Viscount and Viscountess Wimborne, to American Industrialist Heir Reginald Mitchell Esquire, the son of an incredibly wealthy automobile manufacturer, Charles Mitchell.

To say that our Miss Dixon is less than happy about this latest assignment is an understatement. She tries to debate her reasoning with Walter Strutt - she more than managed to make headlines with her reporting of the murder at the fashion house; but as her editor points out - you were there when it happened, and the victim happened to be your stepmother. Strutt is old school, and his opinions are not about to be swayed by a woman. Women report on fashion and create stories for the society pages - who's attending which parties and what were they wearing - end of story. Abby, together with her roommate and best friend Vivian head off for Darrington Manor in Somerset for a week of festivities prior to the wedding.

After arriving, Abby soon realises that the Manor needs a serious injection of funds and thoughts begin to form whether this is a marriage of 'convenience', as from her observations the bride-to-be doesn't seem to share her beau's affections. Things then take a darker turn when the groom, in a car gifted by his father to his future in-laws, veers off the road and crashes into a tree. The groom, luckily, walks away with only minor injuries. The luxury car, however, was not so lucky. When the car is brought back to the Manor it becomes clear that this was no 'accident' - the cars brake lines had been cut. Was someone out to murder Reginald Mitchell? The was the first of many red herrings and I must admit to falling for all of them.

But it's not until, during a planned fishing activity for the wedding guests that death got real, and the best man, Oliver Platt is found face down floating in the river, dead. Fortunately for Abigail, Inspector Henri Deschamps (a close friend of the Viscount) was also attending the wedding festivities and stayed with the body while Abigail alerted the local constabulary. Was this intentional or an accident? It turns out that Oliver was wearing Reggie's coat, and at first glance, it looked as though it was Reggie that was face down in the water.

Warren has given us another well-written story, one with lots of family dramas and secrets. There's even an appearance by French fashion designer and businesswoman, Coco Chanel - ooh la la, fancy! I enjoyed the interactions between Miss Dixon and the Inspector in solving this mystery, and Vivian is just a ray of sunshine and brings joy and humour into the story.

I wonder if book #3 will have Miss Dixon finally getting her wish to cover a hard-hitting news story? Can't wait to find out!

With thanks to NetGalley and especially to Storm Publishing for the much appreciated arc in return for an honest review.

#DeathatDarringtonManor #NetGalley

An aspiring and spirited journalist gets caught up in a murder mystery while reporting on a society wedding.

Cosy crime/ murder mystery is a genre that I generally read and enjoy. This was not exception to that. It was easy to read, not entirely predictable but gave some clues and had a good mixture of characters.

The one thing I felt uncomfortable with was the use of the word 'invalid' to describe a person or state of being. It was most likely acceptable in the time period the book was set but it seems inappropriate for use in a book written in current times.

Thank you Storm Publishing for providing this book for review consideration via NetGalley. All opinions are my own.

#DeathatDarringtonManor #NetGalley

Thank you netgally for the ARC.
Unfortunately this book wasn't for me. I loved the writing, and the characters are great, but the beginning is a bit too slow for me.
Fukk review comes later

Paris 1925: Intrepid Reporter Abigail Dixon yearns to be reporting on major news items but seem to be forever relegated to the women's pages. When she is assigned to report on a society wedding in Somerset, England, Abigail sets out for a week of festivities prior to the wedding of a society debutant to an American millionaire at Darrington Manor. On her way to her assignment with her 'maid', best friend Viv, Abby learns of the death of a woman in London strangled by her own silk stockings. While in Somerset, a man is murdered on a trout=fishing expedition. The quaint village of Darrington is very quickly abuzz with gossip about the dead woman and Abby finds herself in the midst of murder and scandal. It also appears that Darrington Manor is not the place of peace and harmony as it seems.

There have been many stories written in the theme of this one and I found this story by Nancy Warren to be a most enjoyable read. Put together Paris and a society wedding in England in 1925 and one would not be surprised to discover the talent of the famous couturier Coco Chanel who designed the bride's dress. Together with French Detective Henri Deschamps, the American family, the estate manager and other interesting characters, Death at Darrington Manor is an interesting and fascinating read.

I loved this story and look forward to reading more of the series. And, I have discovered this is Book #2 in The Abigail Dixon mysteries so now I'm going back to Book #1 Murder at the Paris Fashion House! Thank you Nancy Warren for a delight read and thank you NetGalley for the opportunity to read an advanced copy prior to publication.

Working in the Paris office of the Chicago International Post, reporter, Abbie Dixon, dreams of being the next Nellie Bly. Unfortunately for her, her editor only deems her capable of writing about society and fashion. It is the 1920’s, after all, and women are not encouraged to have careers. So, despite her journalism degree, Abby is sent to England to cover the wedding of an aristocrat to the son of an American auto tycoon.

Abby is lucky enough to have a fashion designer friend who dresses her so she will fit in, and her roommate insists on accompanying her as her maid. I loved the way the relationships are portrayed. Abby may not like to be called plucky, but she is definitely that. The murder mystery is believable, and I was surprised by the culprit. Descriptions of the various characters and the English estate add to the reading pleasure.

What else can American reporter Abigail Dixon do to prove that she is a serious journalist. Not covering a wedding at an English manor she would think. Yet this is exactly what Abigail will be doing.Covering the wedding of a Lord and the son of an American auto maker who specifically wanted Abigail at the wedding. If we all know Abigail things don;t always go exactly to plan.

As the festivities begin things start to go array. First the groom is in a car accident in the car that his father gifted to his future in laws. Then a fishing accident occurs which turns into the victim being murdered. Are these all accidents or are they intentional? Is someone after the groom because it seems like he is always in the middle of these so called accidents? While this is going on Abigail is writing a story that would get her career on the right track. Yet will her editor have her write the story of a lifetime? Will she find out who is behind all of this murder and mayhem?

As always I love reading these kind of cozy mysteries. The character of Abigail is so well written. She is funny, hard working and is always looking for a hard news story. Now she also brings along her good friend Vivian as her ladies maid. Vivian brings along some humor and it is nice to see the serious friendship between the two. This is book two in the series and of course the Inspector Henri is back since he is a dear friend of the families and was invited to the wedding. I enjoy how he and Abigail interact. Something always happens when they are together.

This is a very light and enjoyable read. The story is interesting and I like where it all takes place. I love reading about the early times of Lords and Ladies of the Manor. Reminds me of Dowton Abbey. Then you throw in CoCo Channel and murder how can you not enjoy this book.

Thank you NetGalley and Storm for the ARC copy. Also thank you Ms. Warren for another enjoyable read. I hope Abigail Dixon has more adventures to go on, I would love to see how her career progresses and what the Inspector has in store..

Journalist Abigail Dixon was assigned to cover the high society wedding of Cressida Wimborne, daughter of Lord and Lady Wimborne, to Reginald Mitchell, son of the fabulously wealthy Charles Mitchell, innovative Detroit automaker, and his wife Mildred. Abby lived in Paris and had been consigned to cover “women’s news,” much to her chagrin. But this assignment called for her to spend a week at the Wimbornes’ home, Darrington Manor in England.

Abby, along with her best friend Vivian, pretending to be Abby’s lady’s maid, arrived in England prepared to enjoy a week of parties and, of course, the wedding. Strange events began to take place—a automobile accident that injured Reggie, the death in London of a poor girl who had worked at Darrington Manor, and the death of one of the guests at the Manor. The evidence seemed pretty clear, implicating an employee at the Manor, but Abby’s journalism instincts told her that more investigation was needed. She longed to report hard news, not just society events.

It seemed to me that the plot unfolded rather slowly, and I was at least halfway through the book before I was truly engaged with the story. However, the story gained momentum, and ended with a satisfying twist. A fun read. I recommend it to lovers of cozy mysteries.

Very much enjoyed reading this book. Death at Darrington Manner is an intriguing balance of mystery, romance and historical references. The characters are multifaceted and engaging. I am looking forward to the next book in the series.

newspapers, family-dynamics, family-drama, famous-persons, relatives, amateur-sleuth, attempted-murder, sabotage, local-law-enforcement, journalist, journalism, frustration, friendship, class-consciousness, wedding, country-estate, 1920s, witty, situational-humor, investigations, murders****

American Abigail Dixon is a girl reporter who has been starting her career in Paris but finding that all her editor will let her do in the 1920s is "puff pieces" and "society stuff". Her roommate Vivian talks Abby into letting her go along with her to an English country house (as her personal maid) where Abby is supposed to cover a society wedding and nothing else (thank you very much). There's lots of family drama, attempted murder, and then a full murder which they sleuth with both British and French detectives but STILL CAN'T WRITE ABOUT! Very enjoyable addition to this new series.
I requested and received a free temporary EARC from Storm Publishing via NetGalley. Thank you!