3.5 stars
Where do I start with this book. On the one hand, it's rather quirky and a tad far fetched, on the other it's dashingly good fun, with a side order of bonkers. It is also peppered throughout with recipes which, as I am a rubbish cook and never bake, I just ignored...
Anyway... we start with Alice Beeton (yes relation) and her Good Household Management Agency on a day when a new client shows up for an interview. Enya is in need of a job and she comes with the most excellent references. As luck would have it (luck eh ?) at the same time another client calls desperate to fill a position that coincidentally (hmmm) would be perfect for Enya. Happy Days! Well, until she is found dead that is...
And so begins the aforementioned bonkers, far fetched, delightful, if a little wordy, tale which did hold my attention nicely and which did keep me intrigued. Even though I did manage to guess a fair few things early and continued to roll my eye along the way. It's also a bit busy in places so I did have to do a bit of juggling to keep things straight. Characters were on the whole good, especially Agatha :) and all played their parts as per...
Basically, what I am trying to say is that it has its good points and its bad ones too. The bad never being nearly bad enough for me to decide to pull the plug. Now, the way this book ended, it's pretty clear that it is more than likely to be a series opener. Whether the bad is bad enough to prevent me from continuing, the jury is still out...
My thanks go to the Publisher and Netgalley for the chance to read this book.

4.5* and an early Merry Christmas to me!

Now I am a cosy mystery reader through and through but to date haven't found a contemporary one that has worked for me. With Miss Beeton's Murder Agency I'm so happy to say that's changed.

This series opener (I mean, how can it now be a series!) has all the hallmarks of my favourite cosy historical mysteries - it's a fun read with a trusted canine companion, a found family with a motley crew of trusted sidekicks and of course, an initially reluctant yet attractive male character who quickly comes round to become a potential love interest and sleuthing partner. Along with a solid mystery this has all made for a winning combination and I can safely say already that I want more.

If you love cosy mysteries that have a small element of peril and plenty of shenanigans and subterfuge all whilst being led by an amiable amateur sleuth then this will be right up your alley too!

Thank you to HQ and Netgalley for inviting me to read an eArc of "Miss Beeton's Murder Agency" in exchange for my honest and voluntary review.

"Miss Beeton's Murder Agency" falls into one of my favorite mystery categories -- the cozy but not too cozy genre, where I can get a welcome break from more intense thrillers, but still enjoy a satisfying mystery.

This book feels like it could be a worthy successor to Agatha Raisin (RIP M.C. Beaton), with a dash of Nita Prose’s “The Maid” and a recipe-based structure a la Joanne Fluke’s Hannah Swensen series.

While I really got a kick out of Miss Beeton and the cast of quirky characters in this book, the recipes included between each chapter felt a little forced -- almost to the point that they felt unnecessary. For instance, it felt like cooking and baking were almost an afterthought to make the recipe structure fit, and not really an integral part of the story or the character.

Despite this, I'm hoping that this is the first in a series so that I can read more about these characters, and to see what else this well-fleshed out sleuth gets into. And yes, more Jinx and Agatha too please!

lice Beeton has an employment agency, placing prime candidates into plush jobs.  But when a demanding client loses a housekeeper she has to send in a new recruit.  Things seem to be going great..until the housekeeper ends up dead!

With her friends and colleagues Jinx and Helly, Alice makes a bold plan to help save the agency's reputation and discover who murdered the housekeeper.

The Messents are wealthy art connoisseurs and used to getting what they want, when they want.  It's a pity they don't spend the same effort and attention on their daughter, Laura.  With Alice working undercover she keeps an eye on Laura whilst ferreting out the truth.

There is a strong found family vibe between Alice, Jinx, Helly and their long term temps.  Alice's own family are pretty horrific if I'm honest - I certainly couldn't put up with them.  Detective Rigby is a good foil to Alice.  He's hard done by cop, who isn't completely annoyed by Alice's interference.

There is a lot of gentle and very British humour throughout.  The plot may be a tad predictable but it does hark back to vintage murder mysteries so that may add to the Deja vu.  I love a great animal sidekick and Agatha was an adorable addition.  The gentle, timid, hint of a romance was teased throughout the book and I'm hooked to see what will happen. The addition of the recipes links Alice to her ancestor and there are some that I'll definitely give a go, even though I am the world's worst baker!

Alice had a great debut and I'd happily read more.

Thank you Netgalley and HQ for my ARC copy.

When I requested this arc I just knew I was going to love it and it didn't disappoint. This is such a good festive cozy murder mystery and was such a quick read. I Read it in 24 hours and will 100% be recommending this to people this festive season

JOYOUS. JOYOUS. JOYOUS. Cozy, Festive, Magical. I loved this so much and to also be sent an amazing hamper from the publisher was the cherry on top! Thank you thank you thank you so much for sending me this as an early read, I just wanna cuddle up with it again with a warm hot chocolate and a fire in the background, perfect for the darker evenings and blanket snuggles.
-
A VERY strong recommendation!!

What a great story! Cosy Crime at its best.
There’s a lovely community feel to this book as everyone rallies around to help Alice as she attempts to find the murderer.
Such an easy and enjoyable read with a well thought through plot.

Alice Beeton runs the Good Household Management Agency in Mayfair, supplying staff to the rich and famous. One day a young woman called Enya arrives with an impressive CV wanting a housekeeper role. Alice receives a phone call from a client needing a housekeeper urgently and after doing some preliminary checks, she gives Enya the role.
On New Years Eve, she is horrified to be called to the house and be told that Enya is dead.
Shortly afterwards a woman called Gerda arrives at the agency begging Alice for help. Enya was her friend and the police seem to have swept the investigation under the carpet. At the same time the houseowner calls wanting a housekeeper right away. Alice doesn't have one, but the houseowner threatens her agency if she doesn't get what she wants, so Alice goes in undercover to look for clues for Gerda. Suddenly the stakes are upped and Alice finds herself in the middle of a major investigation.......
A very entertaining read.

This is such a cosy fun read. The characters are all brilliant! I hope there is more because I really rated this book,. Unfortunately some of the recipes etc didn’t translate/ render at all I hope to the see the things I missed out on in the real book.
All in all - a fantastic read and Alice is so likeable

I absolutely loved this beautifully written story. A bit different to lots of other detective stories out there it was somehow gripping but also wonderfully gentle and warm . Alice is fabulous as are her cast of friends. I can’t wait to read the second one!

A cosy crime that includes recipes! A fun read even though it was - for me - a little fantastical at times. Alice is a distant relative of Mrs Beeton, she is single and the wrong side of 50. She is also struggling a little financially as she keeps bailing out her younger brother who promises to repay her but never quite manages to. However she has her own very successful Good Household Management Agency - she provides staff to mainly rich clients and has built a very good reputation. If the The Good Household Management Agency have provided a member of staff then that person will be exceptional. Working with her are Jinx and Helly - close friends as well as co-workers. When Enya Fischer arrives, just before Christmas, with excellent references and in search of a position she is placed with the very wealthy Messents. Alice was slightly uneasy because everything was completed much quicker than usual but overall, she had liked Enya, her references had checked out and she had not wanted to upset Camille Messent. Everything seemed perfect until she received a call on New Year's Day to say that Enya was dead. With the police and family closing ranks, Alice investigates. As I said, a nice cosy crime which makes you suspend belief occasionally, but Alice is likeable although my favourite has to be Jinx. I only had one complaint and that was that it was slow to get going. The blurb tells us That Enya dies, but we seem to be a long while getting to that point. Another problem - and this doesn't affect the novel - is that in the arc that I received on Kindle the recipes are totally unreadable - the formatting if corrupted in some way, not that I would ever pick up a crime book if was going to look for a recipe. However, a fun read.

A cozy, Christmas whodunnit. Great characters and the story kept me engaged all the way through. Thanks to NetGalley and the publisher for the advance reader copy.

I love a cosy crime book so this one was perfect, it was such a fun read overall with the perfect amount of danger and mystery.

From running the Good Household Management Agency, Alice is suddenly thrown headlong into going undercover as a housekeeper to solve the murder of Enya. I loved the premise for this book, the historical link to Mrs Beeton's recipe book (and the addition of recipes too always a bonus!), the hilarity brought by other members of Alice's team (especially Jinx), the twists and turns kept me on my toes too - all in all a great murder mystery! Would highly recommend!

**Thanks to NetGalley, the publisher and author for the opportunity to read an advanced e-copy of this book. All opinions are my own **

A thoroughly enjoyable cosy crime mystery with a cast of loveable characters. I devoured Miss Beeton's Murder Agency in almost one sitting as I became so absorbed in the story. Alice is a wonderful character; I loved her mantras, and the added recipes were a wonderful bonus. Jinx and Alice have a wonderful friendship, I could see them so clearly in my mind’s eye, I'd love to see their story on screen. This book had everything I love in a cosy crime book, a clever crime, good characters, humour as well as a little romance and a satisfying resolution. I found myself smiling while I was reading and when I finished, I was left wanting to read more. A great book, I really hope Josie Lloyd writes more and they become a series.

Oh man, I do enjoy a good cosy murder and this is a good cosy murder. I really hope this is the start of a series as I just adored Alice, Agatha, Jinx, and Helly. There is so much scope in the characters and the set-up of the household management company for many a great tale of detection and dusting!
The story itself is a traditional whodunnit, with dastardly villians, stately homes, and people using false identities - it was such a caper, it kept me guessing as to how everything was going to pan out. The descriptions of Alice's own family stately home were fantastic, I could really see it covered in snow, a little rough around the edges but still grand.
There is a real nostalgic retro feel to the book that I thought worked very well - moneyed people tend to cling to traditions so it didn't feel out of place. I know they re not the same genre, but it really reminded me of Mrs Harris goes to Paris - I felt that Alice and Mrs Harris were two of a kind.
The humour scattered through the book hits just right, in my opinion. It helps to bring the characters to life and makes them feel more relatable.
I'm definitely crossing my fingers for a follow-up as I love to catch up with the team again.
A great festive cosy murder with a sprinkling of laughs and the hint of some romance in the future.

Miss Beeton’s Murder Agency is a fun mystery that kept me entertained from the very beginning.
Alice is a wonderful character. Her detective skills and knowledge of housekeeping, a great use in helping her to work out the mystery of the death of the housekeeper newly assigned to the Messant household.
The support network around Alice was lovely and I really enjoyed her relationship with Jinx - and Agatha, a great detective on her own.
This is a great start to what looks likely to be a fun cosy mystery series, and I look forward to seeing what adventures come next for Alice and Agatha.

I absolutely adored Alice and Agatha! The investigation into Enya’s death was succinct and followed a logical path, but even so the reveal was exceptionally well done and the culprit a shock to the reader. I would have loved a little more development to the side characters so they weren’t JUST side characters to Alice.

Alice Beeton, a fictional distant relative of Isabella Beeton of The Book of Household Management fame, runs an agency providing domestic staff to wealthy households in London, as well as sharing the original Mrs Beeton's passion for cooking. When Alice places a new housekeeper, Enya, into the household of wealthy art dealers the Messents and Enya is later found dead, Alice finds herself investigating out of a sense of duty to establish what happened to the young woman with the perfect CV.

This could be described as a cosy crime novel, and it's certainly the perfect choice to read over the festive period, dotted with Alice's recipes and filled with escapades and Alice's cast of idiosyncratic friends, including fashionista Jinx, the ever-helpful Massoud who turns up at the drop of a hat to ferry Alice around in his limousine, and Alice's dog, Agatha. It also contains more than a passing nod to golden age crime fiction, and is an absorbing and complex mystery in which Alice's intuition and skills of observation mean she runs rings around the official police investigation.

I hope this book will be the start of a series. The characters were very well drawn and memorable, and I'd happily follow them on further adventures.

An absolute joy of a cosy mystery. I’m hoping this is the first of a series and I’ll be waiting for the next one! Fabulous cast of characters and plenty of red herrings.
The formatting of the recipes was off though, they were totally unreadable.