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Murder at the Brightwell (2014)+
Jan. 13th, 2026 04:19 pmA Most Novel Revenge I have fallen off of writing about books here, because I write about them in the newsletter, and have mostly felt that I didn't have more than a few sentences worth to say about them. But I've been thinking about this last one, my first read of 2026.
Murder at the Brightwell by Ashley Weaver is a mystery written in 2014 and set in the 1920s. There are a lot of these now, because the 1920s were the beginning of the Golden Age of detective fiction, and much of the big names were writing and setting their stories in the interwar years. I enjoy it for that reason, and also because I find the interwar period thematically crunchy. So I read these books, but am often disappointed by them for various reasons, so my starting bar is pretty low. So maybe take my delight with this one with that grain of salt.
The heroine of Murder at the Brightwell is Amory Ames, a wealthy white woman who has been married 5 years and is thoroughly disillusioned. Her husband Milo is always going off to swan around in society in foreign places and leaving her behind. He's forever being photographed with other women, and whether or not he's actual being unfaithful seems largely immaterial as people assume he is and she's sick of their pity.
The book begins with him returning unexpected (he never communicates where he's going or why with her) to their country house. Unchanged through all my romance-reading years is a pair of unhappily married people falling in love, so I am PRIMED to enjoy this. Coincidentally on the same day, the man to whom she was once engaged (before she left him for Milo) appears and asks her for a favor: will she accompany him to the seaside (giving the impression that she's left her husband even if she hasn't) where his sister and HER playboy fiancé will also be in the hopes that seeing Amory unhappy with her choices will make her realize that she will also inevitably be unhappy. Amory would not normally be interested but she's freshly mad at Milo so she does it. Naturally as soon as they arrive the playboy fiancé is murdered.
I'm three book into the series at this point and am delighted to report that it really is about two people fixing their marriage by learning to be in cahoots with one another. It's extremely good. I kept waiting for the reveal that Milo was actually a spy or some such, because typically romance novels don't let their men be truly bad, but in fact he just sucks! He is just a wealthy upper class man who is easily bored and it's never occurred to him that his behavior might hurt his wife. For her part, Amory has gone out of her way to prevent him from realizing it. So they are on either side of this impasse, and it takes 2 books, 3 deaths, and 1 near-divorce to bring them together.
Aside from the romance of it all, the period setting is excellent--Amory wears beautiful clothes and Weaver wants you to know about it--and the plotting and dialogue are quite good. I'm having a wonderful time. My primary complaint thus far is the lack of gayness. I felt sure that there would be a queer twist in the last one (A Most Novel Revenge) and was disappointed. Here's hoping one of the next 4 books rewards me.
Murder at the Brightwell by Ashley Weaver is a mystery written in 2014 and set in the 1920s. There are a lot of these now, because the 1920s were the beginning of the Golden Age of detective fiction, and much of the big names were writing and setting their stories in the interwar years. I enjoy it for that reason, and also because I find the interwar period thematically crunchy. So I read these books, but am often disappointed by them for various reasons, so my starting bar is pretty low. So maybe take my delight with this one with that grain of salt.
The heroine of Murder at the Brightwell is Amory Ames, a wealthy white woman who has been married 5 years and is thoroughly disillusioned. Her husband Milo is always going off to swan around in society in foreign places and leaving her behind. He's forever being photographed with other women, and whether or not he's actual being unfaithful seems largely immaterial as people assume he is and she's sick of their pity.
The book begins with him returning unexpected (he never communicates where he's going or why with her) to their country house. Unchanged through all my romance-reading years is a pair of unhappily married people falling in love, so I am PRIMED to enjoy this. Coincidentally on the same day, the man to whom she was once engaged (before she left him for Milo) appears and asks her for a favor: will she accompany him to the seaside (giving the impression that she's left her husband even if she hasn't) where his sister and HER playboy fiancé will also be in the hopes that seeing Amory unhappy with her choices will make her realize that she will also inevitably be unhappy. Amory would not normally be interested but she's freshly mad at Milo so she does it. Naturally as soon as they arrive the playboy fiancé is murdered.
I'm three book into the series at this point and am delighted to report that it really is about two people fixing their marriage by learning to be in cahoots with one another. It's extremely good. I kept waiting for the reveal that Milo was actually a spy or some such, because typically romance novels don't let their men be truly bad, but in fact he just sucks! He is just a wealthy upper class man who is easily bored and it's never occurred to him that his behavior might hurt his wife. For her part, Amory has gone out of her way to prevent him from realizing it. So they are on either side of this impasse, and it takes 2 books, 3 deaths, and 1 near-divorce to bring them together.
Aside from the romance of it all, the period setting is excellent--Amory wears beautiful clothes and Weaver wants you to know about it--and the plotting and dialogue are quite good. I'm having a wonderful time. My primary complaint thus far is the lack of gayness. I felt sure that there would be a queer twist in the last one (A Most Novel Revenge) and was disappointed. Here's hoping one of the next 4 books rewards me.
