Misery Hates Company

Misery Hates Company

Elizabeth Hobbs

Enjoyment: Quality: Characters: Plot:

A young woman is invited to a mysterious relative’s estate and winds up entangled in a murder investigation in this witty historical mystery that pits the gothic eeriness of Crimson Peak against the comic absurdities of Cold Comfort Farm.Miss Marigold Manners may be steeped in the etiquette of her old-money, Boston family, but she is also an accomplished, modern woman and an avid student of archaeology who can handle any situation with poise. When the death of her parents leaves her too destitute to pursue her academic career and she receives a letter from a distant relative on Great Misery Island, Marigold decides she must do what any person of superior sense and greater-than-average curiosity she mounts her trusty bicycle and heads up the craggy, fog-shrouded coast of New England for a date with fate. Marigold arrives at Hatchet Farm, a moldering, gothic pile of a house inhabited by relatives so mired in the sins of the past, they have no future. She sets out to modernize the recluses with a brisk, ruthless efficiency, but her well-intentioned plans to manage their lives leads to malice—and murder. When Ellery Hatchet is found dead in the garden of the estate, Marigold finds herself accused. She must enlist the help of an eccentric, colorful cast of friends and found family to save herself—and everything she holds dear. As secrets are uncovered and lies exposed, the question of “who done it” turns into “who didn’t do it?”, and Marigold must face a truth that shatters her steely poise and shakes her very sense of self.


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  • Angelica
    Apr 28, 2025
    Enjoyment: Quality: Characters: Plot:

     Cozy murder mystery with a twist that almost broke my brain.
     
     Marigold Manners' estranged parents died leaving her penniless, causing her to drop out of college and, temporarily, delay her plans to go to Greece for an archeological expedition. Instead, she has to rely on the hospitality, or inhospitality, of distant relatives who live on Misery Island-- a real place off the coast of the North Shore of Massachusetts.
     
     Misery Island is packed with Marigold's miserable cousins but she is determined to make life on the island better, and when Marigold is determined, there is no stopping her. She makes quick work of cleaning the place up, making friend with her cousins, and winning over the people on the mainland.
     
     This was a fun cozy mystery that starts with a dead body and ends with a... no spoilers. I loved that there was a little bit of romance and the colorful cast of supporting characters. There was a twist at the end of the book that pulled me out of the story but I think that many people may enjoy it more. Overall it was a fun read, perfect for a quiet afternoon, a warm blanket, and a cup of tea.
     
     Thank you to Crooked Lane Books, Elizabeth Hobbs, and Netgalley for the e-ARC of Misery Hates Company in exchange for my honest review. 

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