A Murder in Marylebone by Emily Sullivan #20BOS26-4

Alas, A Murder in Marylebone barely mentions Marylebone and is too obviously written by an American, although it began promisingly. Minerva Harper, a widow with two children, has returned to London after some 15 years in Greece. Her husband, Oliver, was a diplomat but left the British Embassy and retired with his family to Corfu. Minnie remained there after his death, against the wishes of her family, and recently undertook some typing for a mystery writer, Stephen Dorian. 

In A Death on Corfu, which I have not read, they solved a mystery together; however, they parted on unfriendly terms when he told Minnie her husband was involved in nefarious activity involving the illicit export of Greek antiquities.

Minnie accompanies her sister, Delia, an artist, to a gallery opening where she meets Delia’s beau, Charles Pearson, and encounters Stephen Dorian (Minnie would have been happier to see him, despite their quarrel, if he were not with a lady friend – jealous much?). But Minnie puts aside her own worries when Delia wakes her up in the middle of the night: she had crept out of the house to visit Pearson, only to discover her lover has been murdered. When Delia becomes the prime suspect and, oddly, Dorian’s brother is the Detective Inspector, Minnie realizes it may be up to her to discover the real murderer, even if she risks her reputation and her life.

Girton

The book is set in 1898 but the language and attitudes make it seem much more contemporary. Minnie's banter with Dorian is meant to convey their chemistry but often she came across simply as rude or unconvincing.  She is an educated woman (although does not always exhibit common sense), having attended Girton. Although Girton was founded in 1869 as Britain's first residential institution for the higher education of women, it took until late 1947 for the University of Cambridge to vote to grant degrees to women. It would have been very unusual for a young woman in 1898 to attend university – and the entire student body was less than 110 students.  

Among other things, references to Sir Armstrong-Hughes (surely it would not have taken much research to get a title right?), the heroine’s repeated use of the word “fine” and inappropriate familiarity with the servants, drove me crazy. Phrases like, “You look like you could use a drink,” and “You have an awful lot to explain,” and “why don’t you and I go to the kitchen and see what treats Cook has whipped up for us” and “I thought the two of you hung the moon,” are anachronistic. It also seems unlikely a gently bred female would use thieves’ cant like “double-cross” and the phrase “black market” was not commonly used until the 1930s. A good editor would point out these errors. Oddly, in at least two places, a character hums, but I think this was a typo and it was meant to be “hmmm.” 

The problem is that once one starts noticing flaws, it is hard to appreciate the plot or chemistry between the characters, and if you choose to write historical mysteries (or any type of historical fiction), you owe your readers careful research. My overall impression was that this book could have been much better. And because of the month I spent living in Marylebone in 2022, I was disappointed that neighborhood did not play a larger part.

Title: A Murder in Marylebone
Author: Emily Sullivan
Publication: Kensington, hardcover, 2026
Genre: Historical Mystery/series
Source: Library

Reading this book contributed to these challenges:

• 20 Books of Summer 2026
• Cloak and Dagger 2026