Anty Boisjoly Mysteries Series (The Case of the Canterfell Codicil) by P.J. Fitzsimmons

[Hilary (A Wytch's Book Review), Co-Moderator, Featured Series]

Our second series for January 2024 is the Anty Boisjoly Mysteries Series. Here we have a historical mystery where the Wodehousian gadabout and clubman Anty Boisjoly takes on murder and mystery. The first book is The Case of the Canterfell Codicil.


The other books are :-


Any book in the series can be discussed.

[QNPoohBear]

The first 5 audiobooks are available through Hoopla if your library has that and you don't have Kindle Unlimited. The best way to describe this series is P.G. Wodehouse's Bertie Wooster with a brain solving mysteries. What ho! Prepare to laugh out loud.

[Karen]

QNPoohBear wrote: "The best way to describe this series is P.G. Wodehouse's Bertie Wooster with a brain solving mysteries. What ho! Prepare to laugh out loud."

You are so right!!

This was my first read of 2023! It is so good (** My Review **)!

I don't read a lot of "historical" mysteries, but I'll definitely continue with the series. I love the wordplay, the wit, the hero, and the mystery. Hope y'all enjoy it as much as I did.

[QNPoohBear]

I love the wit in the series too. P.G. Wodehouseesque but updated slightly. Anty is Bertie Wooster with a brain. Vickers is no Jeeves though, poor man.

I was an early reader for the first two books and "got" the author's intentions right away. I am eager to see what Anty gets up to next. I have a few more books in the queue ahead of him. The second book made me laugh out loud in two parts. One involves a cow and the other a scene in church.

[Karen]

QNPoohBear wrote: "Anty is Bertie Wooster with a brain. Vickers is no Jeeves though, poor man."
~and~
"I was an early reader for the first two books and "got" the author's intentions right away."

I found the first book on a freebie newsletter. I got author's intent from the "bio" he posted: "I dream of an alternative reality in which PG Wodehouse wrote locked room mysteries, and in which I’m PG Wodehouse."

That's all I needed to push me into it. I'm not really an historical reader, but I do love Jeeves & Wooster -- the books and the BBC series with Hugh Laurie and Stephen Fry. I did picture Anty a bit like Laurie's Bertie, but acting more like Fry's Jeeves. Or like Jack Farthing's Freddie from the BBC (Wodehouse) series Blandings (a stupidly funny series).

As for poor old Vickers -- whom I love! -- he is one I pictured looking like a Disney caricature, similar to, if not actually, the lawyer from The Aristocats:

[Mark]

I probably won't get it to until the end of the month, but this has encouraged me to dust off the first from my virtual TBR pile. I bought the ebook a couple of years ago. It sounds promising.

[Hilary (A Wytch's Book Review), Co-Moderator, Featured Series]

Likewise Mark! I really need to crack through some books to get to the books of the month!

[Zermeena]

I listened to The Case of the Canterfell Codicil .

I thought this book was okay, but not great. There wasn't anything particular wrong with it. More it didn't interest me. I'll try another one in the series, but not anytime soon.

[QNPoohBear]

Karen, YES Anty is Freddie Threepwood, after his marriage when he grows a brain. I watched the trailers for the Blandings show but it was way too different from the books. I LOVED the books.

[Karen]

Zermeena wrote: "I listened to The Case of the Canterfell Codicil .

I thought this book was okay, but not great. There wasn't anything particu..."

I wonder if that had more to do with the narrator than the story. I really can't picture (hear in my head) just anyone reading the story I'm not one for audio books, but I may try tracking this down to see if the narrator does it justice -- that is "sounds" like I "heard." :o)

[Mark]

A narrator can certainly make or break a book. Although I've found it is hard to switch from reading to audio because none of it sounds like what I was picturing in my head.

[Zermeena]

I actually thought the narrator did a good job. I think part of the problem was that I thought the author was trying to be humorous, but I didn't find it funny. As I said I'll try another one before making a judgement.

[Mark]

I'm finding those jokes funny, but I can see how, if they didn't land for you, it would make the book much harder to get through.

[QNPoohBear]

Zermeena wrote: "I actually thought the narrator did a good job. I think part of the problem was that I thought the author was trying to be humorous, but I didn't find it funny. As I said I'll try another one befor..."

It is supposed to be funny, in a Wodehouseian way but updated with Communist/Socialist leaning working people grumbling and with a hero who actually has a brain in there somewhere. The second one has some laugh out loud funny scenes.

[Mark]

I finished the book last night and really enjoyed it. Not sure when I will get to the rest, but they are definitely on my list. Official review to come next week.

Thanks for selecting this book and getting it off my TBR pile. Not sure I would have read it right now otherwise, and I'm so glad I did.

[Hilary (A Wytch's Book Review), Co-Moderator, Featured Series]

I wasn't too sure on this, it had some humorous bits, which I enjoyed but the overall story not so much. Still if I need another historical mystery for a challenge I might give others in the series a go!

[QNPoohBear]

The Case of the Case of Kilcladdich was too much for me. I don't know anything about whisky and I got so bored reading all this explanations about how it is made. I also hate golf so I got bored there, except when Anty and the policeman went out on the course LOL! I didn't really care about the mystery too much either. I missed Inspector Wittersham. Anty's stories were funny, very Wodehousian Drones Club. Tales from the Drones Club

The sheep were cute but the humans not so much.

The writing was still witty and clever. Anty is too clever for me. I was surprised at the identity of the murderer. I didn't pick up on the big clues. This isn't my time period so I'm not 100% familiar with all the details of what was happening.

I hope to read the next one at some point soon!

[Meg]

I read the first early last year and The Case of the Ghost of Christmas Morning in December. Enjoyed them both and have the third in audiobook already.