The Archivist

Unputdownable cozy mystery for readers of The Appeal and The Thursday Murder Club

By: LP Fergusson

Narrated by: Virtual Voice

A quirky, dark-edged mystery full of twists, turns and playful surprises

Max Black, retired stock broker and single parent, is facing a crisis. His daughter has left for university, and despite the companionship of his faithful Cairn terrier Monty, he feels panicked, untethered and not very well. His doctor tells him to get out more, change his lifestyle and find himself a job. Could Duntisbourne Hall, a rundown stately home recruiting tour guides, be the answer to his empty-nest syndrome?

Joining the team of eccentric retired professionals who shuffle the general public around on tour, he meets BS Moreton, the charming and erudite archivist, working alongside the impressive Sam Westbrook. She's arrived from the British Museum to create a new exhibition from a unique hoard of erotic artefacts, and although she has a great deal in common with Max, she has bigger worries. Is the collection real, or an elaborate eighteenth-century smutty joke? And where have all those missing pieces gone?

As Max helps Sam to dig deeper, BS Moreton, held in such esteem by colleagues and visitors alike, sees his world begin to unravel as the secret behind the collection turns out to be more surprising than anyone could have guessed.

Readers love the Duntisbourne Hall mysteries:

‘I couldn't stop myself returning to it and read the last two-thirds through as if it was an old-school thriller.’ Jabez Clegg ⭐⭐⭐⭐⭐

‘Intriguing but safely good natured you'll soon be loathed to close the book before you've reached the end.’ L. Sears, Amazon reviewer ⭐⭐⭐⭐

‘The plot rattles along at a pace and, despite being a slow reader, I finished the book in just a few days, unable to take my eyes off the emotional and social collapse of 'the archivist'. berlin_reader reviewer ⭐⭐⭐⭐⭐

‘Acorn Antiques meets Ann Summer… This was a fun and different read.’ Anthony V, Amazon reviewer⭐⭐⭐⭐⭐

‘Brilliant. This is a reader’s book. I enjoyed it as much as I did Dickens and Peake.’ David, Amazon reviewer ⭐⭐⭐⭐

‘I love a good book. The human condition… it’s all here… I could wait for bedtime so I could read this book.’ Mary, Goodreads reviewer ⭐⭐⭐⭐⭐

Just OK

The virtual narrator is terrible. It is distracting and takes away from the writing. The story line was just ok. It took a long time to get to the “mystery” but honestly I didn’t care by the end of the book.

Flat Narration, Flat Plot

I chose this hoping for a fun cozy mystery, but it’s been a letdown. The AI narration makes it a tough listen — the voice is okay, but the intonation is flat and robotic, which drains any charm from the story. I’m on chapter 22 and still waiting for an actual murder mystery to unfold. At this point, I’m only sticking with it to see if anything actually happens. If you’re considering this one, I’d recommend giving it a pass.