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littletaiko's review
3.0
Rounding up to 3 starts I think. It was a fine enough way to spend a couple of hours, but the dialogue was repetitive and I’m not sure I actually liked Lady Elizabeth all that much. The depiction of Martin, the butler, bothered me too. Not comfortable with someone with dementia being used for laughs.
dmwhipp's review
3.0
Lady Elizabeth “Lizzie” Compton is dealing with a crumbling manor, senile butler, grumbling cook, and cheeky maid, when one of her tenants asks her to solve the murder of her rather promiscuous teen daughter. Set in a small English village during WWII, Lizzie is also preparing her home to house a group of American officers to aid in the war effort. Putting aside a member of the nobility deciding to play detective, I found this a fair British cozy and quick enough read. But the characters didn’t feel fully fleshed out and the members of Lizzie’s household were not very likeable. The running gag of the butler’s dementia fell flat and grew old very quickly. And, while the murder was solved, many loose threads for other plot elements – such as the impending arrival of the Americans to the house, Lizzie’s attraction to a certain officer, the maid’s efforts at playing grown up – were left for a future book which I doubt I’ll be reading.
brooke4131's review
4.0
A Bicycle Built for Murder is the first in the Manor House Series and is a fantastic read. Although the story starts off a bit slow, stick with it! Lady Elizabeth is the impoverished owner of a manor on the coast of rural England during WWII and is doing her best to keep her village United during such tough times. Matters only become more difficult when a young girl disappears and American troops are to be moving into the Manor's East Wing! The author does a wonderful job of inculding lots of historical details from the era and introducing us to a wide variety of characters. I'm looking forward to the next book in the series!
corncobwebs's review
So we started the song "Daisy Bell" to our cat Richard. We replace the name "Daisy" with "Dixie," cause that's his nickname. One of the lyrics in the songs is "We'll look sweet upon the seat of a bicycle built for two." I sing this sing a lot (way too much if you ask Arthur), so all the lyrics are burned into my brain. I just really like the mental image of riding a tandem bicycle with Richard, because he's super-cute.
So that's why I bought this book at Myopic Books - because the title reminded me of my cat, which is either pathetic or awesome. Also, sometimes I just need to read a cozy mystery. It can be the perfect balm after a workday of dealing with the public and peoples' vast array of, uh, idiosyncrasies.
The book wasn't super-memorable, but I think it would have appeal for folks who enjoy Downton Abbey -- the settings are pretty similar, although this story takes place during World War II. The main character, Elizabeth Hartleigh Compton, was a bit of an enigma to me -- she seemed to believe that women can be strong and independent, yet adhered to bunch of sexist social customs. I can't think of any specific examples off the top of my head, but I know that it bugged me. My favorite part about the mystery aspect of the story was that Kingsbury included one tell-tale clue -- astute readers who picked up on the clue would have been able to figure out the identity of the murderer. Alas, I'm not that astute, so I didn't pick up on the solution before the big reveal. But I appreciated the fact that the author provided that opportunity to figure out the mystery along with Lady Elizabeth.
So that's why I bought this book at Myopic Books - because the title reminded me of my cat, which is either pathetic or awesome. Also, sometimes I just need to read a cozy mystery. It can be the perfect balm after a workday of dealing with the public and peoples' vast array of, uh, idiosyncrasies.
The book wasn't super-memorable, but I think it would have appeal for folks who enjoy Downton Abbey -- the settings are pretty similar, although this story takes place during World War II. The main character, Elizabeth Hartleigh Compton, was a bit of an enigma to me -- she seemed to believe that women can be strong and independent, yet adhered to bunch of sexist social customs. I can't think of any specific examples off the top of my head, but I know that it bugged me. My favorite part about the mystery aspect of the story was that Kingsbury included one tell-tale clue -- astute readers who picked up on the clue would have been able to figure out the identity of the murderer. Alas, I'm not that astute, so I didn't pick up on the solution before the big reveal. But I appreciated the fact that the author provided that opportunity to figure out the mystery along with Lady Elizabeth.
dontmissythesereads's review
4.0
Book #20 read in 2007
I loved this book! The WWII setting in England was a great perspective. I enjoyed Lady Elizabeth and her manor staff very much. I can't wait to read more in the series.
I loved this book! The WWII setting in England was a great perspective. I enjoyed Lady Elizabeth and her manor staff very much. I can't wait to read more in the series.
mohogan2063's review
4.0
I like it. I really enjoyed meeting Kate Kingsbury. She signed my paperback copy.
dreichler's review
5.0
I think I read this previously and got mad because the Major is married. But now I don't care and this is a good mystery of the kind I like. Serious but not too. Quirky characters, historical.
murderbydeath's review
3.0
A re-read and a lovely one.
Review: http://jenn.booklikes.com/post/659122/bicyclemurder
Review: http://jenn.booklikes.com/post/659122/bicyclemurder
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