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The Imbroglio at the Villa Pozzi (Angela Marchmont Mystery #6)

Clara Benson

Start date: April 10, 2020

Finish date: May 7, 2020

Discussion: Buddy reads

Why we're reading this: Continuing with the Angela Marchmont series.
[close] Continuing with the Angela Marchmont series.

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What Members Thought

Apr 09, 2020 Susan rated it really liked it

Angela Marchmont is on holiday in Italy and plans to go to Venice next, when a plea from an old friend, leads her to go to Stresa instead. A new friend, Elsa Peters, is also visiting, as are two art students, who she has met. Angela’s old friend, Mary Ainsley, says her vicar husband, Jonathan, is distressed about two local spiritualists, who he feels are defrauding English residents and visitors. Angela agrees to help, but quickly decamps from their cramped apartment, to a nearby hotel, where sh ...more

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Apr 19, 2020 Susan in NC rated it liked it

3.5 stars for another enjoyable outing with the glamorous, likable Angela Marchmont; this time, readers get a delightful visit to Stresa, Italy as she answers a friend’s request to interrupt her holiday to investigate two questionable psychics.

Angela is enjoying a delightful, but rigorous, guided tour of Italy (great pandemic reading, Angela always travels to interesting places in this series, set among the British upper classes between the wars). She has made a friend, Mrs. Peters, who is trave 3.5 stars for another enjoyable outing with the glamorous, likable Angela Marchmont; this time, readers get a delightful visit to Stresa, Italy as she answers a friend’s request to interrupt her holiday to investigate two questionable psychics.

Angela is enjoying a delightful, but rigorous, guided tour of Italy (great pandemic reading, Angela always travels to interesting places in this series, set among the British upper classes between the wars). She has made a friend, Mrs. Peters, who is traveling on to Stresa, and speaks highly of the town and it’s beauties. Angela means to see Venice, but an old school friend asks her to come to Stresa as she needs her help.

Angela goes, and finds the town beautiful, but is less than thrilled when her friend, Mary, explains the problem - her husband, the local English vicar, feels a mother and daughter pair of psychics, are conning English visitors and depleting his flock. Angela agrees to try them for a sitting, and promptly checks into the nicest hotel catering to English tourists. She meets some interesting locals and fellow tourists, has a seance with the interesting and agreeable Mrs. Quinn and her daughter, and runs into an old acquaintance (I haven’t read the entire series, so was not familiar with the backstory of Edgar). Soon, one of the English ex-pats is found dead, apparently a suicide, but Angela isn’t satisfied...

I mostly enjoyed this book and it was a treat to visit Italy with Angela and learn a bit more about her - this Edgar guy is very attracted to her, she doesn’t want to visit her stuffy brother, and her husband is apparently still alive. I’ve read a few other books in the series with the Reading the Detectives group, and gather she lived in America for awhile and left her husband, but her past is somewhat of a mystery. I’d like to read the next book, where she visits the stuffy brother and family, to see how that goes, and see if we learn more about the cliffhanger ending of this book. No spoilers, but there is no resolution of the mystery, so that affected what had been an enjoyable book for me - the romance angle took over. I’ll probably read the next book to see what happens, and if the mystery is more front and center in the next outing. ...more

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Sep 14, 2014 Damaskcat rated it it was amazing · review of another edition

Angela Marchmont is on holiday in Italy and has plans to go on to Venice when she receives a telegram from a friend who is married to the vicar of an English church elsewhere in Italy asking her if she can help with a problem. Reluctantly Angela changes her plans and goes to see Mary. Her husband, Jonathan believes a local spiritualist is enticing his congregation away from him and wants Angela to investigate.

Angela is a little reluctant to get involved but decides it can't do any harm to book a ...more

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Apr 12, 2020 Jill rated it really liked it · review of another edition

Shelves: clara-benson

I have given this a 4 star rating but it is a weak 4 stars as I didn't like it as much as those that went before it. I did find Angela a bit trying at times. I hope the romance either takes off or a line is drawn under it, as the on/off does tire me. Other than that, the characters were different with a religious man and wife, a spiritualist mother and daughter, and a new friend who found romance. The Italian setting didn't really come to the forefront. ...more

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