Colleen Cambridge (Mastering the Art of French Murder; Murder at Mallowan Hall) has created another diverting cozy historical mystery starring Phyllida Bright, Agatha Christie's fiercely capable housekeeper. In Death Down the Aisle, the sixth volume in the series, the beautiful but intimidating Phyllida is helping organize a new friend's wedding at a neighboring estate while "Mrs. Christie" is out of town. Although she doesn't appear on the page herself, Mrs. Christie's iconic detectives provide inspiration for Phyllida all too soon: Coatesworth Manor is unfortunately full of cantankerous cousins of the bride, and shortly after the bride and groom depart on their honeymoon, one of the guests is found dead in the chapel.
With unpleasant actors, horse-obsessed aristocrats, and truculent relatives, Phyllida has a houseful of suspects to rapidly investigate before the incompetent local inspector can mess things up. Aided by her own loyal staff of housemaids and footmen, Phyllida is determined to catch the killer. As she questions the guests, however, her interactions with the suave journalist Abernathy Vane end up straining her burgeoning relationship with Joshua Bradford, Mrs. Christie's charming chauffeur.
Witty and intelligent, Death Down the Aisle will have readers rooting for Phyllida to crack the case and renew her flirtation with Bradford. Death Down the Aisle contains no spoilers for earlier entries in the series and can be read on its own; it's a perfect historical mystery for devotees of the Queen of Crime. --Jessica Howard, former bookseller, freelance book reviewer