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The Bloomsbury Affair

(Flora Maguire Mysteries #5)

Anita Davison (Goodreads Author)

4.10 · Rating details · 52 ratings · 20 reviews

1905 London is a heady mix of unimaginable wealth and simmering political tensions, and with war looming Flora Maguire wants to keep her family safe.

So when her beloved charge Viscount Edward Trent is accused of murder, she's determined not to leave the investigation to the police. Flora has trodden the path of amateur sleuth before, but with so much at stake, this time i

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Kindle Edition, 333 pages

Published November 20th 2018 by Aria

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· 52 ratings · 20 reviews

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Sep 17, 2018 Faith Hogan rated it it was amazing

I have been looking forward to reading this book since I put the last Flora and Bunny book down. Thankfully, this did not disappoint with the series moving on smoothly and absorbing me just as much, if not more. The writer makes London in the early 1900's really come to life as well as making our intrepid heroine and her very modern (for the times) husband every bit the couple we are rooting for.
It's the perfect time of year for a Flora Maguire, with the evenings drawing in darker and chillier, ...more

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Dec 26, 2018 Amanda rated it it was amazing

I have a little confession to make- yes another one. I must admit that I haven’t previously come across Anita Davison nor her lead character Flora Maguire. Now after reading ‘The Bloomsbury Affair’ I am left asking myself ‘why the hell haven’t I come across them before?’. I really enjoyed reading it but more about that in a bit.
I couldn’t help but take to Flora Maguire. She used to be a governess but she is now married and lives rather comfortably with her husband, Bunny. A former charge of hers I have a little confession to make- yes another one. I must admit that I haven’t previously come across Anita Davison nor her lead character Flora Maguire. Now after reading ‘The Bloomsbury Affair’ I am left asking myself ‘why the hell haven’t I come across them before?’. I really enjoyed reading it but more about that in a bit.
I couldn’t help but take to Flora Maguire. She used to be a governess but she is now married and lives rather comfortably with her husband, Bunny. A former charge of hers gets in touch with Flora, regarding the death of his companion on the train. Her former charge is prime suspect. Flora decides to investigate the case and try to ascertain who the murderer is. Flora is feisty, determined, stubborn and she isn’t afraid to make her way in what was then a traditionally male dominated role. I loved the way in which she isn’t easily dissuaded from a course of action. If she decides she is going to do something then she does it and she isn’t easily frightened.
I have to confess that this Ginger Book Geek is a history nerd with a particular interest in Edwardian Britain. I love reading and learning about that period in time. I love the attention to detail with Anita has and she has clearly done a lot of research into that era. So you can understand why this book appealed to me so much. The author uses such powerful and vivid descriptions that I really did feel as though I had travelled back in time to an era of great interest- to me anyway. If I closed my eyes, I could easily imagine that I was there with all the relevant sights, sounds and smells.
I was hooked on this book from the moment I read the synopsis. It didn’t take me long at all to get into the story and to take to some of the characters. I was so swept along by the story that I really didn’t realise how quickly the pages were turning or how quickly the time was passing. The first time I checked, I was really surprised to see that I had read about a third of the book and a few hours had gone past. I binge read the book over the course of a couple of days and at times I just didn’t want to put the book down. I had to keep reading because I needed to know if Flora solved the case, if her former charge was innocent and if Flora made it to the end of the book in one piece. The more I got into the story, the quicker the pages turned and the quicker I got through the book.
In short, I thoroughly enjoyed reading ‘The Bloomsbury Affair’ and I would definitely recommend this book to other readers. I can’t wait to read what Anita comes up with next but whilst I wait, I will definitely be seeking out the other books in the series and I will definitely be reading them as soon as I can. The score on the Ginger Book Geek board is a very well deserved 5* out of 5*. ...more

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Nov 21, 2018 Jane Hunt rated it really liked it

Shelves: netgalley-reviewed

Historical fiction with a murder mystery brings together two of my favourite genres. This is a later book in the 'Flora Maguire series', but it reads as a standalone. The mystery is created and solved within the book, and any backstory for the characters and their interrelationships is provided in the early chapters.

England in 1905 was characterised by political intrigue and a shifting in the social and gender class systems. This story uses the ethos of unrest to dramatise and authenticate the ...more

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Oct 29, 2018 Katherine Hayward Pérez rated it really liked it

Shelves: netgalley, historical-fiction, my-blog-tours

1905 and a viscount is on the Cheltenham train when he discovers his companion has been murdered. His cousins are Flora and Bunny and after what happened he looks to them for help. Like some other historical- mystery novels, this one gets straight into the action. The descriptions are very vividly detailed and the characters are well fleshed out. I felt like I was there and was following Flora on this whodunit search.

This is the first book I have reviewed by Anita Davison and understand there a ...more

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Oct 31, 2018 Jennifer Young rated it it was amazing

So, once more I’ve stumbled late into a series of cosy historical mysteries, and once more I’m left vowing to go back and catch up with the treasures I’ve missed early on in the series. The Bloomsbury Affair is the fifth in the Flora Maguire series by Anita Davison (though, a little confusingly, Flora is now Mrs Harrington rather than Miss Maguire, but that’s a minor detail).

In Edwardian England, former governess Flora Harrington is settled with her solicitor husband Bunny and they’re doing ver So, once more I’ve stumbled late into a series of cosy historical mysteries, and once more I’m left vowing to go back and catch up with the treasures I’ve missed early on in the series. The Bloomsbury Affair is the fifth in the Flora Maguire series by Anita Davison (though, a little confusingly, Flora is now Mrs Harrington rather than Miss Maguire, but that’s a minor detail).

In Edwardian England, former governess Flora Harrington is settled with her solicitor husband Bunny and they’re doing very nicely, thank you. Affluent, well-looked after by the staff, socially well-connected and with the delightful addition of a new baby, everything is going fine — until the arrival of Edward, Viscount Trent, a young man to whom Flora was formerly governess. Ed was on a train with a young man who was found murdered, and he’s the main suspect. Convinced that he can’t be guilty, Flora and Bunny, hampered by Ed and to the exasperation of the detective on the case, set out to prove his innocence.

What follows is a romp through Edwardian London involving the aristocracy, a mysterious interloper and a plot to inherit, all against the background of exiled Russian revolutionaries, including Lenin himself. The plot was twisty yet credible and kept me guessing all the way through. The historical background was cleverly done but not overdone, and somehow Davison manages to subsume her readers without them noticing, so that I felt I was sitting in the lobby of the Dahlia Hotel, or in the doctor’s waiting room in Cheltenham or wherever else she happened to take us.

The book’s greatest strength, however, is its characterisation. All of the main characters are well-drawn and entirely believable. Flora is slightly uncomfortable with the gulf she sees in social class yet human enough to enjoy her advantages, and the relationships between the main characters are wonderfully done. Flora’s interactions with chirpy maid Sally and aristocratic Ed both respect their individuality and yet keep within the social requirements of the times. And Flora’s relationship with Bunny is humorous and touching.

I’m a harsh critic and no book is ever perfect, but the only criticism I have with this one is minor. It’s part of a series and the author seemed to want to make sure we knew it, though actually it worked fine as a standalone. Early on in the book there were plenty of references to Flora’s previous adventures, which added nothing to the plot and served only to spoil a little of the mystery for me for when I go back and catch up with the others. But that’s a minor gripe. I’m looking forward to books one to four in the series — and I’m certainly looking forward to book six.

I received this book from Aria Fiction and Netgalley in return for an honest review. ...more

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Nov 23, 2018 Stacy Walton rated it it was amazing

The Bloomsbury Affair is a delectable tale of murder and mystery and I was hooked from the opening page and devoured each and every word. The writing is open and inviting, pulling you into its web of mystery and adventure. Flora Maguire is the perfect character at the helm to capture the attention of the reader and hold intrigue throughout the book. Her amateur detective skills are in need yet again when Viscount Edward Trent is under suspicion of committing murder, creating another sleuthing ch ...more

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Nov 26, 2018 Elite Group rated it it was amazing

I love this series!

Flora Harrington is upset when Bunny, her husband, arrives late and somewhat dishevelled for the dinner party they are hosting for Flora’s mother, Alice and father William. Flora had hoped that by inviting them to a dinner party, they might get reacquainted and even rekindle their love. Some twenty years earlier, William’s family had forbidden them to marry, forcing Alice to marry Riordan Maguire. The marriage was a disaster, with Alice disappearing and her disappearance being ...more

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Feb 04, 2019 Joanne rated it it was amazing

Shelves: read-2018

Anita Davison is back with a fifth Flora Maguire mystery in The Bloomsbury Affair. This time its her younger cousin Viscount Edward Trent who the one being investigated. While on a train to Paddington to visit his sister, Ed shares a compartment with a young gentleman, when it’s time to leave the train Ed finds the man dead and the police think he’s to blame. Panicked he runs to Flora’s house where he hopes her, and husband Bunny will help clear his name before he’s sent to jail.
As the mystery a ...more

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Jan 09, 2019 Rosemary Morris rated it it was amazing

I enjoyed the first four mystery novels in Ms.Davison’s Flora Maguire series and also enjoyed her new novel, The Bloomsbury Affair, Book Five.

Flora and her husband Bunny’s love is heart-warming. Although Bunny has misgivings about his wife being an amateur sleuth, he is always there for her.

When Bunny arrives too late to dine with guests Flora is annoyed. After they leave Bunny fetches Eddy, a viscount, whose governess she had been before her marriage. Flora is shocked by his appearance. “His ...more

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Sep 06, 2018 Mystica rated it really liked it

1905 London was a tough place for women. There was disdain for any woman getting into the professions and the suffrage movement had started. Most men wanted women restricted strictly to hearth and home.

Flora and Bunny were a different kind of couple. Fortunately. Flora was a modern young woman who had come out of a complicated family drama where she found a long lost family of both her mother and father and lost the much loved father she ever knew. Flora and Bunny have previously solved two murd ...more

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Nov 28, 2018 Nada rated it liked it

It was a delight to be introduced to Flora’s world as this is my first of hers.
I couldn’t say no to a mystery and as a big historical fiction fan, I was sure this was the book for me.
It wasn’t easy for me to get into the book at first, felt there were so many characters and names which I’m sure were introduced in the first books of the series and I felt I am missing out on some traits of them.
But still, I was told this could be read as a standalone and it is certainly so.
Set in 1900’s, a murder ...more

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Sep 30, 2018 Debbie rated it liked it

"The Bloomsbury Affair" is a mystery set in 1905 in London. It's the fifth book in a series, but you don't need to read the previous books to follow this one. However, the characters referred to events in the previous novels and spoiled the previous mysteries.

The characters were interesting and acted realistically. Historical details (like politics, technology, etc.) were woven into the story. The mystery was clue-based, and I realized whodunit before Flora did. Unfortunately, Flora's active inv ...more

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Dec 30, 2018 Grace J Reviewerlady rated it really liked it

If you enjoy a good mystery with a surprise or two along the way, then this is a must-read for you.

In the early twentieth century, we find Flora happily married and with a new baby to enjoy. However, old habits die hard and when her previous charge looks set to be arrested for murder, Flora sets outs to find out the truth despite dire warnings from her old adversary, Inspector Maddox.

This is a very entertaining read, true to the time it's set in. Not only is the mystery attention-grabbing, but t ...more

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Sep 26, 2018 Shivangi rated it really liked it

Thank you to NetGalley and the publishers for sending me an eARC of this book for an honest review.

I didn't realise that this book was one of a series - that I hadn't read before - so when I was reading it, I thought it had just begun in the middle of something and there were certain aspects of Flora's personal life that I found I couldn't grasp really well. I do understand that not having read the previous books, I am missing out on quite a bit. This didn't hinder the main plot of this story th ...more

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Nov 18, 2018 Annarella rated it really liked it

Shelves: historical-mystery, ngchallenge2018, netgalley

A very nice, enjoyable and entertaining historical mystery.
I loved the cast characters, all are well developed and intereting. Flora is great character and Bunny a great counterpart.
The mystery was good, it kept hooked till the last page.
There're some slower part but it's an enjoyable and fun read.
The historical background is well researched and I liked the way the women condition was described.
I look forward to the next instalment in this series and will surely look for the previous ones.
Recomm ...more

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Nov 22, 2018 Jennifer Wells rated it it was amazing

This is the third book in this series I have read and I was happy to return to Flora’s world. As with the other books, you can’t help get swept along by the mystery. Anita Davison is an expert at recreating the past and immersing the reader in it. The settings are so well visualised and the characters so colourful that you feel as if you have walked the streets of Edwardian England with people you have come to know well.

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Nov 27, 2018 Donna Maguire rated it it was amazing

Shelves: 2018-books-read, kindle-read, historical-fiction, net-galley-books-read

https://donnasbookblog.wordpress.com/...

I really enjoy this series so I was delighted to see that a new book had been released!

I love Flora and it was brilliant reading about her again in this one. Her interaction with the other characters were great and I thoroughly enjoyed every page – and I have to say I do love Bunny too – she definitely deserves a mention!

The writing style was excellent and the book flowed very well. It was a real page turner for me and I was hooked! I love a good historica ...more

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Dec 20, 2018 Anjana rated it liked it

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Dec 04, 2018 Linda rated it it was amazing

Lovely book

Really enjoyed reading this series of flora Maguire mysteries read the first one didn't know what to expect but was hooked hope there are others to follow ...more

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Nov 09, 2018 Susan rated it really liked it

Shelves: netgalley

In 1905 London, Viscount Trent has arrived from Cheltenham via rail only to discover that his travelling companion is dead, presumably murdered. He makes his escape, and go to his cousins, Flora and Bunny Harrington for help. Obviously Inspector Maddox believes him to be, at the moment, the prime suspect.
An enjoyable well-written cozy historical mystery, with its well-drawn characters. Another good addition to the series. Though I was not especially taken with the Viscount with its seems his sen ...more

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