A Rather Difficult Conundrum is a fun cozy historical mystery and the second amateur sleuth adventure featuring "Wispy" Fescue and his cohorts, set in the early interwar golden age by Geoffrey Start. From The Book Guild, it's 320 pages and  available in paperback and ebook formats. It's worth noting that the ebook format has a handy interactive table of contents as well as interactive links and references throughout.

It's a modern effort, written and published currently, but there's a nice verisimilitude with 1920s classic mysteries and there's more than a soupcon of homage to PG Wodehouse, Marsh, and Allingham contained in it. The main protagonist is a minor noble, one Sir William "Wispy" Fescue who, along with his lady wife and a pair of friends manage to track down stolen prize cattle, works of art, and in the latest adventure, hopefully rescue the daughter of a shipping magnate before she comes a cropper.

The whole is delightfully well written and all the moving parts function precisely as intended. In another nod to Marsh, it happens that head sleuth Wispy's wife is a recognised artist who has already been accepted at the Royal Academy exhibition. (Shades of Chief Inspector Roderick Alleyn).

There's a great deal of humour throughout, and much lighthearted banter. The author has a tendency toward internal monologue/commentary on pretty much every page, but the rhythm soon fades more or less into the background.

Four stars. Delightful very light fun.

Wispy Fescue and his detective agency are called upon by a shipbuilding magnate to find his missing daughter. The characters most certainly are, there is as much action as there are laughs and gastronomical excursions. A great fun read!

Quite simply an excellent read , yet again, from this talented author .

This sequel proved just as enjoyable to read as the debut novel. The reader is completely conveyed to the 1920s with precise attention to cuisine, fashion, transportation and language. I thoroughly engaged with the characters and its sense of pace. I am looking forward to the next one already.

Operation to rescue a nightingale.....

Having greatly enjoyed 'The Biscuit Barrel Murder' last year I have been eagerly awaiting this second outing for Wispy Fescue and his team and to borrow a compliment he might well have paid himself - 'it's an absolute corker!'
The author writes with a seductive lightness of touch and a ready wit, teasing his readers with some fabulously eccentric characters who wouldn't be out of place in a P.G. Wodehouse romp.
The plot is intricate and intriguing and there's a real sense of 'Boy's Own' adventure in an international chase by foot, car, rail, sea and air, and the introduction of two new flying aces, Count von Dohmenhorst and Baron von Scharmbeck, and scenes worthy of John Buchan at his best.
An absolute joy to read. I look forward to the next in the series.

Absorbing story from start to finish

This was a totally absorbing story from the first page to the last. Great interaction between the various participants, which brought the story to life. All the boxes were ticked on the way to the conclusion, which was a fitting ending.

A race against time

Another exciting adventure for the Wispy Fescue detective agency, featuring probably the best fed detective partners of the era. This is a really easy read, featuring subtle humour and a light touch, amidst an action packed race against time across Europe. The more we get to know the main characters, we look forward to learning further about their personalities.
There is a certain nod to P. G. Wodehouse here, and I look forward to the third adventure for the Wispy Fescue detective agency.

Highly recommended

Witty, entertaining, and enjoyable. A well plotted and entertaining cosy mystery I thoroughly enjoyed
Highly recommended.
Many thanks to the publisher for this ARC, all opinions are mine

Super 1920's Crime Romp

This is a fun light-hearted crime story set in the upper class world of the 1920s. Great characters, lovely imagery and a storyline that keeps the reader guessing until almost the end. A page turner. Recommended for anyone.

If you like a spot of jolly hockey sticks sleuthing and dastardly murderers, you’ll enjoy this!

I thoroughly enjoyed the Biscuit Barrel Murder. As one of the reviewers mentioned, it has a touch of P.G.Wodehouse – delightful. Also if you like the best bits of Richard Osman, you will love this book. First class !

A lovely book to read that lifts your spirits whilst looking out at the rain falling in the garden. Written in what I would term a very nostalgic way. You really did feel like you were there living in 1922. The language was of the day. The respectful way that conversations were held, and there’s plenty of those to keep up with. There’s obviously been a lot of research conducted to mention all the buildings and locations throughout the story. I have personally been in a few of them and chuckled that they appeared in this book. Those that I haven’t been to I can now say I look forward to visiting, especially as they are classic centuries old pubs. 

From the title and cover design, I thought this seemed like a fun book that I might enjoy.

I thought this was a charming book. It was a 1920s cosy mystery, and a light, entertaining read. It reminded me a little bit of P.G. Wodehouse. It filled my craving for a cosy mystery, and it was the perfect kind of book to relax with, over a cup of tea and a few biscuits.

The plot was interesting and intelligent, the characters were engaging and unique, and the story was filled with a great deal of humor. A cozy historical mystery that makes for a light, fun read—and I hope will be the first in a long running series. Very much recommend!

The team at Fescue's are a likeable crew. The red herrings are suitably eccentric and there's a ghoulish Lord Chief Justice who seems almost incapable of stopping himself from sending an innocent woman to the gallows.
The author perfectly recreates the period setting: there's the Nippy in Lyons Corner House and he even gets all his blends of tea perfect to a tee (pun intended!)
An easy read that is fun from beginning to end with echoes of P.G. Wodehouse.

In an entertaining romp taking in rural Kent, Derbyshire, London, and Boulogne in France, the friends ingeniously gather their evidence, narrowing the field down to three suspects.

This was a thoroughly enjoyable read, and I particularly liked the interaction of the main characters. The dialogue reflects the days when the quickest way to cross the English Channel was via fishing boat and is all rather charming.

In a crowded market of crime fiction, this series is a refreshing change and I raced through it in no time. More mysteries are eagerly awaited, with the ending of this story sowing the seeds for the agency's next investigation.

Although a modern production, there's an impressive verisimilitude and it truly reads as though it could've been written in 1920. The main protagonist is a minor noble, one Sir William "Wispy" Fescue who, along with his lady wife and a pair of friends manage to track down stolen prize cattle, works of art, and in the latest adventure, hopefully save a local well heeled young woman from the hangman's noose who's been convicted of murdering her fiancé, Viscount Thurmaston.

The whole is delightfully well written and all the moving parts function precisely as intended. Although it's not derivative, it *is* very much an homage to the beloved departed classicists of the Golden Age, specifically Marsh and Allingham. It even happens that head sleuth Wispy's wife is a recognised artist who has already been accepted at the Royal Academy exhibition and is in line for a potential second honour.

There's a great deal of humour throughout, and much lighthearted banter. It's strongly foreshadowed that there's a potential series in the offing, and that's a wonderful prospect.