Flight of Fancy: A Clara Fitzgerald Mystery (The Clara Fitzgerald Mysteries Book 2) by Evelyn James

Flight of Fancy: A Clara Fitzgerald Mystery (The Clara Fitzgerald Mysteries Book 2) Reviews

• 
  Damaskcat

  Clara Fitzgerald, the only female private investigator in Brighton, meets the charismatic Captain O'Harris when he lands his plane - White Buzzard on the beach. Clara and her brother Tommy are invited to visit the Captain and he asks Clara if she will look into the mysterious death of his late uncle. Clara agrees somewhat reluctantly as she finds herself falling under the Captain's spell.
  
  Almost as soon as she starts to investigate the case, she receives notes warning her not to look into the case. Needless to state these threats don't put her off and she is determined, once her curiosity is aroused, to find the solution to the mystery.
  
  This is an interesting story with some well drawn characters and a convincing historical background. I like the relationship between Clara, Tommy and their less than conventional maid of all work - Annie - who is more of a friend to both of them than a servant. If you're looking for a new historical mystery series then you might be interested in this one. The books can be read as standalone novels or as part of a series. This book is the second one in the series.
• 
  Tony Hisgett

  In this book the murder mystery is actually a ‘cold case’, which was OK, but not as interesting as I hoped.
  The thing that kept me interested during the first book was Clara’s relationship with her maid Annie and I hoped she might become more involved in Clara’s investigations, unfortunately that didn’t happen.
  If possible I would have given 2.5 stars.
  
• 
  Amanda Jane

  Very good read, complex and surprising end
  
  When Clara meets the dashing pilot Captain O'Hara, and he takes rather a shine to her, she finds herself intrigued by his family "mystery".
  
  Some years earlier the Captain's Uncle Goddard died while smoking a cigar outside after dinner with his wife Florence and a friend Colonel Brandt. After finding his body lying prone on the grass Colonel Brandt rushes off to find a police officer while Florence goes to call their doctor. On their return the body has gone! Subsequent searches turn up nothing, there's no trace of either his body or . So who killed him and how? With two suspects and only one of the party still alive to fill in the blanks.. are they helping or hindering her investigation?
  
  After Florence held a funeral with an empty casket and with no evidence at all the police had no choice but to close the case. Now Aunt Florence has also passed away, some time ago, leaving everything to Captain O'Hara much of which is still as Goddard and Florence left it. Will the house provide the missing links so Clara can fathom it out?
  
  Clara is persuaded to look at the case with fresh eyes and see if she can determine who actually murdered Goddard and where his body lies. O'Hara's about to set of in his biplane to try and make a record breaking flight across the Atlantic and insists that Clara try her best to solve the mystery before he sets off.
  
  A well written novel with plenty of twists and turns, false trails and even threatening letters trying to persuade Clara to stop digging into the past.. I didn't see the ending coming and it's certainly not the obvious conclusion.
  
  Having read a huge number of books in this genre I commend Ms James's fresh ideas and for providing a new unexpected result.. so as not to spoil it for you all I will add is "it wasn't the butler!". I would give it more stars if I could!!
• 
  JJ

  I read the first Clara Fitzgerald book over a year ago and just thought it was ok and didn’t look out for another. However, I kept seeing that the series got favourable reviews and four or five star ratings so thought I’d try book two.
  Well, I have just got book three so that should be some recommendation.
  Clara and wheelchair-bound brother Tommy get involved with a dashing pilot.
  He then asks Clara to see if she can find out who murdered his uncle ten years back. He has suspicions it was his aunt but sincerely hopes this was not the case, as he was quite fond of her.
  Two things hinder Clara’s investigation; the passage of time and a paucity of suspects and witnesses.
  She is a product of the years after WW1, when young women were modern, independent and a bit fearless, but always very polite.
  Older brother Tommy suffers from PTSD, not that much was known about it in those early days. However, handicapped though he is, he is Clara’s ‘partner in crime’ and a sounding board for her ideas.
  The book fairly moves along, even when Clara is unsure what direction to go in next and I found myself really interested to find out how she’d sort it all out.
  
• 
  Kerry Buchanan

  Lovely, gentle, old-fashioned mystery
  
  Thoroughly enjoyable story, but it dropped a star for the slightly erratic grammar and the habit the author has of slipping between points of view. The plot and most of the characters were sufficient, on the whole, to keep my attention but I did tsk to myself a number of times when errors distracted me from the story.
  I began with a later book in the series (Ms James' grammar and tendency to head-hop is slightly better in later books), and now I'm reading the whole series from the beginning. Can't be that bad, then! I definitely intend to read on because Clara is adorable.
• 
  Clara Berge

  This series is fun. The main characters are likable and interesting. I like the setting and window into history it gives in a fictional yet real way. Post war Britain with so many young men wounded and dead struck a chord with me in a way I've never felt it. Yet it is done so well through identifying with the characters. All in all light reading with a touch of real history.
• 
  Voirrey

  We see the characters from the first book developing further, and Clara tackling an old mystery - what happened to the uncle of their new friend and, even more mysterious, what happened to his body?
  
  There are hints of romance, and of danger, for our central characters too.
  
  
• 
  Helen Miller

  The twenties in a nutshell
  
  The Clara Fitzgerald mysteries are totally charming. The characters are well written. Even though I had worked out the answer well before the end I enjoyed the story.
• 
  Ruth

  A between the wars cozy mystery. I’m not quite sure if the author manages to convey the building relationships but apart from the odd since or two, it was an enjoyable and quick read. Recommended to the normal crew.
• 
  Claire Barker

  Couple of historical inaccuracies and some proof reading needed. I.e.missing commas and question marks, as well as 'conscience' being used for 'conscious.'
  
  Overall a light and entertaining read.
• 
  PJ

  Another mystery solved and I am SO enjoying these books!!
  
  On to book number three as I cannot wait to delve into another mystery….
  
  Will Clara EVER get it together with Oliver Bankes, the sweet photographer? Will Tommy EVER get it together with Annie? Will Tommy EVER realise his legs work and he CAN walk?? All these questions to be answered in this 23 book series….. I hope!!!
  
  Fans of Agatha Christie will adore these 1920’s mysteries as they have a good plot, decent amount of characters and suspects, a smidge of “will they, won’t they?” romance, and a good old murder thrown in!! What’s not to like on these cold, winter evenings but a murder mystery and an ice cold Gin?!!
• 
  Johanna

  I enjoyed this one slightly less than the first book, mostly because the mystery just didn't gab me quite as much.
  But the characters are still enjoyable and fun, their relationships are further developed and we learn new things about them.
  A nice read for the holidays. ^^