When I first started this, I wasn't sure which era I was in as Alice was so old-fashioned. She runs a housekeeping agency with Helly and Jinx.
Alice is soon embroiled in a murder mystery when one of her employees is murdered.
While this is a cosy read, for me, it lost its way when Gerda took Alice's dog Agatha hostage. It just became unbelievable.
Also, the recipes weren't formatting properly, although hopefully that will be sorted before publication along with Alice being called Alice twice instead of Caroline.
I was invited to read this by the publisher HQ in return for an honest review. Thank you to them and Netgalley.

What a great read. Thoroughly enjoyed this. It was filled with such interesting characters; their personas made so much more colourful by the fact that they all seemed so unlikely in their roles.
The idea of making our protagonist a relative of someone so well known to us, was a clever move. It added a real depth to the story and made her so much more believable and charismatic.
From the first page, the plot had me hooked. I couldn’t put it down.
It became even more exciting as we were led through this murder mystery, towards the end, and all the threads were finally being drawn into place to ensnare the guilty parties.
This is one of those books that leaves the reader sad that it’s over, although maybe Alice will reappear on another case and bring her Detective with her!!! I have to say, the very last line of the Epilogue was just perfect.

Alice Beeton is related to the famous Isabelle Beeton of the famous Victorian Book of Household Management and tries to live up to her exacting standards especially in home baking. She runs The Good Household Management Agency to which Enya Fischer arrives with excellent references seeking a position. She’s placed with the wealthy Messent family although Alice has some misgivings. Shortly after Christmas she’s called by Met Officer Detective Rigby to inform her that Enya has died. Obviously Alice is now on the case, I do hope Detective Rigby doesn’t object. As for the Messents there’s something distinctly fishy, if not whiffy, there.

The start of this I find really slow as it’s too wordy and prevaricates and I just want to get on with the plot, so I guess I don’t get off on the right foot with this one. However, I do like the varied settings and the author creates a good atmosphere. The characters are likeable, there’s a good friendship between several of them which gives a nice feel to the storytelling. Alice has a dog called Agatha (after guess who) and she steals the show on occasions as she’s very cute

If you like cozy mysteries then this one is probably right up your street but I’m more in favour of more grit with my mystery. It’s set in the present day but does have the vibe of a Golden Age mystery. Obviously, it’s vital to suspend your disbelief as the plot unfurls but then you have to in the company of Hercule or Miss Marple. The plot is quite busy but parts are fun.

I think the author overplays the inclusion of recipes linking the protagonist back to her ancestor. There are way too many and some are very unnecessary- even I can rustle up a crumble without looking up the recipe. They become an irritating distraction from the storyline. The formatting makes it hard to read them anyway so it’s a good excuse to skim.

Overall, a mixed bag read for me, parts are entertaining and others less so. It seems as if it’s the first in a new series but I don’t feel inclined to continue. Please check other reviews especially if you are a fan of this genre as I may be on outlier island with this one.

The cover is very attractive though Christmas only plays a small part.

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

A very readable cosy crime set primarily in Miss Beeton's Good Household Management Agency. The main character is Alice Beeton, distantly related to the famous cookery writer, Mrs Beeton. Alice runs a very discreet household agency, placing staff with well heeled families around the world. When a new recruit comes into the office looking for work as a housekeeper, Alice is very taken with her and even misses some of her usual scrupulous checking of a recruit's references and backgrounds, especially as it is just before Christmas and she has a frantic phone call from a client needing a housekeeper immediately. When the new housekeeper is found dead a few days later, Alice is pulled into trying to find out how she died.
Alice has strong group of friends to support her in her investigations. Helly and Jinx work in the office with her, and she has various (conveniently talented) people whom she has placed in jobs whom she can call on for help when she needs it. Alice loves reading mysteries and watching crime dramas on television as well as cooking and these all factor heavily in the book. She comes across as a well rounded character but reassuringly unprepared for her role in this adventure.
The book is well set up for a sequel, no doubt featuring Detective Rigby, with whom Alice has begun a working/romantic relationship.
With thanks to Netgalley and Rachel Quinn marketing for a chance to read an arc copy.

This is a good murder mystery in the style of Agatha Christie's Miss Marple. The connection to Mrs Beeton is a bonus and I really liked the inclusion of recipes throughout the story. The final exposure of the killer was quite a surprise. I would recommend this book.

Alice Beaton is a distant relative of Mrs Beaton of the bakery cookbooks and housekeeper extraordinaire fame. Alice’s housekeeping agency finds itself mid murder investigation and Alice and her chums set about finding out who the murder we is and what is exactly going on. This book hopefully will be part of a long series and Alice can get more involved with the dishy detective Rigby. Thank you NetGalley for this arc in exchange of an honest review..

First of all, can we please have more books including recipes please? This seems to be a trend in recent years, and one that I would love to see growing!
Now, onto the review.
Based on the opening description, Alice Beeton did not seem like a protoganist that I would warm to quickly, but I was delighted to be proven wrong in this initial assessment as her warmth towards her friends, and sense of humour was quickly revealed.
The pace is medium but this allows for plenty of character development and for the relationships between Alice and her friends to be revealed.
All in all, this an entertaining read and though the setting is in the lead up to Christmas, through the early New Year, the novel could enjoyable be read at any time of the year.

Miss Alice Beeton runs the Good Household Management Agency, she places staff to the rich, housekeepers, drivers, chefs and she runs a tight ship. When she gets a call from the feted Messants whose Housekeeper has abruptly left, she places Enya Fischer who happens to have come in that day requiring a position.
Yet when Enya is found dead at the Messants New Year’s Eve party, it is Alice who is best placed to get to the bottom of this murderous puzzle.

This book was a delight for a crime and cosy crime fan like me. I loved the premise of Alice Beeton, descendant of the OG Mrs Beeton running a household agency. I adored Agatha named for the OG Mrs Christie, she is a fabulous character all by herself. The other characters are all wonderful, thought has been given to each one, even the minor ones, to exactly why they are there.
Alice has gumption, and seeing as I’m not too far away from her in age, it means I can imagine having my own murder agency too!

It’s light, it fun and it has a great murder mystery. I loved trying to puzzle it out!
I am hoping for lots more from Miss Alice Beeton and her murder agency

Thanks to the publishers and Netgalley for an advance copy of this book in exchange for a review.

I really enjoyed this and hope that it's the start of a series, I'd love to hear more about the adventures of Alice and her team.

Alice Beeton lives in a basement flat in London with her wonderful dog, Agatha (in honor of Agatha Christie). She loves reading mysteries as well as cooking and baking. She's a distant relative of Mrs Beeton, of household management fame and she runs the Good Household Management Agency, along with her best friend from school, Jinx. These two couldn't be more different, but they make a great team. This comes in handy when Alice turns sleuth after one of the women she's placed in service, Enya, ends up dead in the early hours of the new year. Enya just turned up out of the blue and happened to be there when Alice took an urgent call from a woman desperately looking for help over the festive season. No one else was available and Enya seemed perfect, so Alice only did a cursory background check and sent her off. Who was Enya, and what's up with the husband and wife she was working for? Who wanted her dead? With the help of Agatha and her friends, Alice is determined to find out.

I thought this was a delightful cozy Christmas mystery. The setting is modern, but the book has the feel of one set in earlier times, which I loved. I'm a big fan of Christmas cozies, so that fit the bill, too. Agatha made me laugh more than once. I enjoyed the descriptions of food and of the Christmas holiday spent at Alice's family home with her brother. The recipes scattered throughout added to the vibe and were a good reflection of Alice's personality. Secondary storylines, such as that of Alice's relationship with her upstairs neighbors and building manager also added to the setting. The mystery itself was well done, even if chunks of it seemed quite implausible. Then again, it's a cozy and that's to be expected, I think, so I was happy to just suspend my disbelief and ride along. As I understand it, this is the first in a series and I would definitely read on. I'd be happy to spend more time with Alice, Agatha, and all their friends.

This was an artfully woven but extremely fun crime read featuring the fictional Alice Beaton (distant relative of the Mrs Beaton) who also shares a love of cooking. Alice runs a household management agency placing trusted staff into affluent households, when a new appointed housekeeper is found dead during a New Year’s Eve party Alice finds herself drawn into finding out what happened.

The characters are engaging and the reason for the murder was unexpected but the plot was written well enough so not to make it implausible. There were lots of minor characters in this who all turned out to have a role to play in helping solve the crime making it very well plotted and quite fun to see how they are relevant to the story. I personally wasn’t interested in the recipes that interspersed the story, I think I would have preferred them together at the back but otherwise it read very well and if it proves to be the start of a series I would definitely read more. 7/10

This was a fun cozy mystery. I liked the MC - her insecurities and strengths made her an engaging character. The mystery itself was interesting although a bit predictable for me. I did not love all the recipes. It's just not something I'm interested in and so it felt like a distraction. I think the series has potential and it is clearly being set up to have a sequel. I think the author built a good cast of supporting characters that I would like to see more of.

Thanks to NetGalley and the publisher for this ARC!

Alice Beeton, proprietor of the Good Household Management Agency (and a distant relativeof THAT Mrs Beeton), provides domestic staff to the extremely well-heeled. When a potential new recruit lands in the office at exactly the same time that an urgent call comes in for a housekeeper, it looks like good luck.

But it isn't.

When the new housekeeper is found murdered at the house she was placed at, Alice feels morally obliged to find out what happened...

Brilliant. Hope this is the start of a series.

As someone who once had to write an essay on Isabelle Beeton's monster of a book (which I also had to read, so many things preserved in aspic, yuk) I was pleased that this was so much more fun. I loved Alice and Agatha, Jinx, Helly, Jacques, Massoud and all their pals. What a crack team Alice assembled to help her undercover mission. Absolutely delightful stuff, I really hope there's more to come.

Side note to HQ - please sort out the formatting on the recipes for the ebook, if they go out as is, they're a mess. I'm sure you'll fix it, but just FYI.