British Review of The Crown for Castlewood Manor

Veronica posting the letter

I reviewed a novel set in Britain and written by an American Anglophile.  Think Downton Abbey, crowns, manors, glamour and Midsomer Murders.

Crack open a bottle of the very best bubbly and slip inside the pages of The Crown for Castlewood Manor.  Let’s raise our glasses ‘to love and lust, past, present and future.’

Veronica is an Agatha Christie adoring fan (Miss Jane Marple is my heroine); lover of all things royal (especially those crowns!)

Do you fancy being a VIP at some glamorous parties attended by royalty?  Dust off your best bib and tucker and prepare yourself for glamour, opulence and a right royal story.  However, this invitation comes with a health warning.  Please take care and beware of the murderer!  There are shadows hiding beneath the glitz and sparkle.  Don’t be tempted to go into the woods or too near the edge of the cliff.  I did warn you!

This is the book I placed in my handbag

Follow Dr Gemma Phillips, with her brains and beauty, on her journey of discovery into the ancestry of Cherrywood Hall.  Can she help her cousin to secure a deal to use the manor as a filming location for the latest period drama- Castlewood Manor?  As other lords and ladies compete for the coveted title mysterious evens begin to occur, and the murder mystery element had me completely hooked.  This was unadulterated escapism into another world.  It was fun to recognise: the influence of British murder mystery conventions, celebrity rom coms and Downton Abbey. I also played Guess Who? with the cast of royal characters.   Visiting eccentric British aristocratic world from an American perspective is a joy to behold.

I kept thinking about the Earl and Countess of Carnarvon’s decision to allow a period drama series to be filmed at their estate—would you allow cameras and production settings at your home?

Veronica Cline Barton has a bright and breezy style of writing with description of photographic quality.  I was lost in vivid descriptions of houses that resonated with my visit to various National Trust stately homes and palaces.  I meandered down the secret corridors, peered into the hidden rooms and learnt about some past scandals haunting these families.  Wow!  The author has woven a tangle web, and I was ensnared in this narrative trap until I uncovered the resolution.  And, of course, there is a smoldering romance to add flames to the fire, and a friendly ghost to send a shiver down your spine

This novel has it all and is a fun reading retreat. A light-hearted, entertaining and fun read – a darn good yarn, darlings!

Having read the book, I asked Veronica Cline Barton to send me a guest post from California.  I wanted to know more about the inspiration behind the fun.

Tell us about Veronica…

Meet the fabulous Veronica Cline Barton

Agatha Christie adoring fan (Miss Jane Marple is my heroine); lover of all things royal (especially those crowns!); Anglophile (according to ‘23andMe’ I’m 60% English/Irish from the DNA profile); Downton Abbey devotee; reader (love the Indie writers on Twitter); cozy mystery writer (began in 2016); blogger (myamericanalmostroyalcousinseries.com); traveler (especially to the UK—love those castles and palaces); wife; mother; grannie; owned by two cats—Daisy and Ebbie. Whew!

To me, there’s nothing better than a British cozy mystery series. In my cozy reader’s mind, I enjoy traveling to a great manor house, tending a lovely garden, walking the grounds in my wellies in the rain, and sipping tea and sherry by a roaring fire to ponder the day’s events and ‘mur-dahs’ (things I don’t get to do very often in hot, dry, congested southern California). I love getting to know the fictional characters (at least the surviving ones—perils of being a cozy mystery character, LOL) and watch them develop and grow over the years.

Tell us about your My American Almost Royal Cousin series

This is the latest book.

When season six of Downton Abbey ended, my life changed. I couldn’t wait for the opening scenes highlighting the beautiful Highclere Castle. I kept thinking about the Earl and Countess of Carnarvon’s decision to allow a period drama series to be filmed at their estate—would you allow cameras and production settings at your home? This question went through my mind, over and over again, and so…

My series starts when American heiress Gemma Lancaster Philips, PhD, travels to the UK to assist her cousin, Evan Lancaster, 8th Marquess of Kentshire and his estate, Cherrywood Hall, compete in a contest for the set location of the highly anticipated period drama series, Castlewood Manor (my fictional version of Downton Abbey).

The stakes are high, and the competition deadly. Throw in ambitious actors, jealous ex’s, a little romance (Kyle Williams, the Cherrywood Hall estate manager catches Gemma’s eye), royals (my royals are fictionalized out of respect to the British royal family), a beloved ancestral ghost, and more than a few ne’er do wells who attend the glamorous red-carpet events and voila! Cozy British mystery with some very unexpected twists. What could possibly go wrong?

  • The Crown for Castlewood Manor: American heiress Gemma Lancaster Philips helps her British cousin’s ancestral estate win selection for an English TV series, only to discover that the other contenders are killing off the competition.
  • Cast, Crew, & Carnage; the Filming of Castlewood Manor: The lines between fiction and fact become blurred when a television production comes to Cherrywood Hall. Can Gemma stop a killer before the show and countless lives are ruined?
  • Deadly Receptions; the Debut of Castlewood Manor: The global premiere of the highly anticipated period drama series Castlewood Manor, the Telly Tiara awards show, and hosting the royal wedding of the season at the newly opened wedding pavilion at Cherrywood Hall is keeping Gemma busy to say the least.

 

Please see all my guests’ posts at Mail from the Creative Community and my website and blog at JessieCahalin.com

My novel can be found here.

10 thoughts on “British Review of The Crown for Castlewood Manor”

  1. Hi Jessie, really enjoyed reading this review and Q&A with Veronica- Like the idea of a cosy mystery so it is on my list of must reads. Big Thank You.

  2. Jessie, I loved learning about the book and a terrific interview with Veronica … it’s always those ‘what if’ thoughts that lead to novels!😀

  3. I love the way we are so interested in each other’s cultures. If only there was more of this – maybe there would be fewer wars. I must go and polish my tiara now and bake some scones, before taking out my corgis. Actually, my WIP set in Tuscany needs to be written. (We’re all at it escaping into our other worlds). Thanks for this blog, Jessie – reaching out across the miles to new friends.

  4. This fabulous review echoes exactly how I felt about this first book in the My Anerican Almost Royal Cousin series. Am finishing up book 2 and the plot is even more exciting and engaging than the first book. A must read and if you’ve never read a cozy mystery before this is definitely the place to start.

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