1922, Mabel is hired to act as a private secretary at a conference for suffragettes. One of the potential leaders is murdered shortly after arrival and Mabel calls upon her London Ladies’ Murder Club to help her investigate while they wait for the police…
Murder of a Suffragette is the 4th book in the Mabel Canning series of cosy murder mysteries set in the 1920s.
Annie Harkin has always been prominent among the suffragettes and it has negatively impacted her health. But she still believes she has the strength to lead them again and joins the conference where she is killed before the members elect a leader. Luckily Mabel is on hand to start off the murder investigation while the ladies wait for the police to arrive. She is joined by her neighbours who have helped her in the past.
Mabel has had a thoroughly modern outlook throughout the series so I enjoyed seeing her alongside the suffragettes. Her romanctic relationship with Park continues to simmer and add an extra dimension as a subplot. Mabel has a number of suspects and motives to explore. There is little violence as you would expect from the cosy genre of murder mystery. I enjoyed the historical aspects to the plot and characters which have been well researched.
Murder of a Suffragette is an enjoyable historical murder mystery and I liked the added social commentary surrounding the fight for women’s suffrage.
Book Description:
Women from all around the country have joined together to fight for the vote. But when one of them is killed, only amateur sleuth Mabel Canning can halt a murderer’s campaign…
Fellbridge Hall, England: Mabel Canning is thrilled to be organising a suffragette conference. But when all the women are settled in the sprawling country mansion, she barely has time for a sip of gin before chaos ensues. Leading suffragette Annie Harkin has been found murdered in her bed, clutching a white feather in her outstretched hand…
As the guests clamour for justice for Annie, young police officers Ned and Ted arrive in time to trip over the banners and be roundly ignored. And with a killer on the loose, the suffragettes swiftly vote for Mabel and her pals to take control. When it comes to solving mysteries, there’s nobody equal to the London Ladies’ Murder Club!
But soon it’s clear many a suffragette is hiding a secret under her sash. Eccentric veteran of the cause Dorothea Goose is acting rather flighty; why is she so afraid of the police? Would Annie’s rival go this far to replace her as leader? Or has someone taken a life to stop the cause of women’s lib?
Then Mabel uncovers what happened to Annie’s closest comrade in the years before the war, and she is sure the answers lie in the past. But will Mabel be elected as the killer’s next victim? Or can she crack the case and save the fight for Votes for Women?
A totally addictive whodunnit bursting with suspense and sparkling with wit, from USA Today bestseller Marty Wingate. Perfect for fans of Agatha Christie, Richard Osman, Verity Bright and T.E. Kinsey.
Author Bio:
Marty Wingate is a USA Today best-selling author of both mysteries and historical fiction. Marty enjoys weaving humor into her books and creating characters—from quirky and loveable to sinister and duplicitous—that leap off the page. Before embarking on her series about the London Ladies Murder Club with Bookouture, Marty published three contemporary cozy mystery series (the Potting Shed, Birds of a Feather, and First Edition Library books). She has also published two standalone books of historical fiction and found stories of the past to be compelling. She’s delighted to combine her penchant for both mysteries and histories to bring her readers more satisfying stories. Marty currently resides near Seattle, Washington.
