Death Sits Down to Dinner by Tessa Arlen is a turn of the twentieth century mystery novel. It begins with an invitation to a birthday dinner for Winston Churchill's 39th birthday. I'll start off with a bit of a spoiler. This was a botched assassination attempt on Winston Churchill. Unfraternally, another guest, from an important family, and who looks like Winston Churchill from behind, is murdered. Lady Montfort is a guest and an amateur detective.
Lady Montfort and Mrs. Jackson, the housekeeper, solve the mystery. Lady Montfort would not presume to poke her nose downstairs, at the gossip and goings-on, of the help, but Mrs. Jackson can and does. That's how the two ladies put two and two together to solve the problem.
If you enjoy historical settings, you will enjoy the Edwardian setting and mores. It took me awhile to get everyone straight. I had to put a bookmark on the list of characters, so I could refer back. Whenever I read about families with servants, I always think the servants are more interesting. They also had more fun. The upstairs/downstairs focus was certainly intriguing.
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