I read 5 books in the Belchester Chronicles, three of them within a couple of days, and then a couple of weeks later the fourth and fifth in the series. These are fairly short reads, books are around 170-200 pages each.
They seem to be a parody of the aristocratic sleuth of the 1920s, but taking place in the current time, featuring Lady Amanda Golightly, an eccentric but rich arisocrat, who is short, stout, forthright and inclined to be bossy. They also include Hugo Cholmondley-Crichton-Crump, an old friend she finds living unhappily in a nursing home, who she installs in her home, and proceeds to involve in her sleuthing (whether he wants to or not). She also has an outstanding butler, Beauchamp, who manages to (mostly) keep her out of trouble.
The story is filled with cliche lines, based on drinking a lot of cocktails (the names of the books are based on unusual cocktails), and unusual situations. I believe it is meant to be a light-hearted read, with a bit of a mystery thrown in. The cliches may be overdone a bit, the characters are a little over-the-top, and I hate that the stories end with a to-be-continued, however, I found them fun and easy to read (mostly).
Strangeways to Oldham is the first in the series. Lady Amanda goes to visit an old friend of her father's, who is in a nursing home. He is dead, and Lady Amanda suspects murder. She also discovers an old friend unhappily living in the nursing home, and takes him home to Belchester Towers with her. When she reports her suspicions to the police, she is dismissed as an old, slightly batty, bitty. She begins her own investigation to show up the young whipper-snapper and to prove him wrong. Enjoyed this book, it was a fast read, and it was entertaining.
White Christmas with a Wobbly Knee is the second in the series. Lady Amanda is going to open up her castle to guided tours, and as a trial run invites a group of old friends to Belchester Towers at Christmas for snacks and a free tour. Lady Amanda is drawn into another investigation when one of her guests is discovered dead, killed several different ways. Hugo is drawn in again, as is Beauchamp and Lady Amanda's friend, Enid Tweedle. I enjoyed this story, even laughed out loud a couple of times. A fun read.
Snowballs and Scotch Mist, the third in the series, takes place in Scotland, where Lady Amanda has been invited for a visit. She doesn't want to go, but Hugo pleads as he wants to experience Scotland, tartans, kilts and the like, and Lady Amanda finally agrees. She and Hugo, accompanied by Enid and Beauchamp as their personal servants, visit Castle Rumdrummond during January. Scotland in January is very cold, and the castle is very old-fashioned, and Lady Amanda is not used to "roughing it", preferring a life of comfort. Beauchamp and Enid manage to make the visit bearable, and then the inevitable body shows up. Again, an amusing read.
Old Moorhen's Shredded Sporran, the fourth in the series, takes place immediately upon their return from Scotland. They arrive to find a letter from Hugo's sister, informing them she will be arriving for a visit the very next day, and will be staying a month. Lady Amanda is not fond of Hugo's sister, Tabitha, who picked on her at school, and was overbearing and hard to get along with, so the visit is annoying to her, especially as she was already upset to find out that Beauchamp and Enid have become engaged. With this hanging over her head, they discover that while they were in Scotland, several items have been stolen from Belchester Towers, and then a member of their staff is murdered.
While I still enjoyed this story, it seemed a little rough compared with the others. There were a couple of places where the scene didn't seem quite finished, and the characters seemed to be a little off from what they had been. And the ending was annoying.
Caribbean Sunset with a Yellow Parrot, is the fifth in the series, and takes place on a Caribbean Island. An old school friend of Lady Amanda's arranged a school reunion on a small, privately owned island, with the idea to sell some of the villas she has built, some of which have already been bought by old school chums. Lady Amanda and Hugo join several of her friends who are traveling by sea to attend the reunion, sailing on the same ship, as are poor newlyweds, Beauchamp and Enid. The sleuths are soon involved in solving blackmail, murder and possible smuggling.
All in all, the stories were a light, fun, read, and I enjoyed them, even if some of the parody seemed a little heavy-handed.
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