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‘It’s hard to think of a better amateur sleuth series in the last decade,’ says Morning Star.

On By Eleanor RayIn A Messy Affair, Articles, Review, UncategorizedLeave a comment

It’s hard for me to think of a better review in the last decade too! I was absolutely thrilled to see this review of A Messy Affair in the Morning Star this week.

‘A Messy Affair is the third in the warm-hearted but sharp-tongued series about a Hungarian migrant working as a house cleaner in London’s Islington. Yet again, she becomes entangled in murder when her wild young cousin’s boyfriend is found dead in a hotel room.He was the star of a reality TV show and, as Lena discovers, there is no world less real than that of reality TV. The key to the mystery will lie in sorting out which parts of the dead man’s life were scripted and which spontaneous. It’s hard to think of a better amateur sleuth series in the last decade.’

Read the review online here.

A perfect antidote to the January blues

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Irish Inde AMA croppedIf, like me, you’re looking for an antidote to the January blues, the Irish Independent writes that you could discover it in the pages of A MESSY AFFAIR.

‘Light-hearted and engaging entertainment that bounces along merrily, a perfect antidote to the January blues.’

Sound appealing? Download from Amazon today

 

Interview with Writing Magazine

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I’m pleased to feature in March’s edition of Writing Magazine for Shelf life. We talk about the top five books that inspired my novels – spanning murder mysteries, poetry and cookery books!

Writing Magazine is a lovely title that gives great advice on how to become a better writer. My own tip? Attend a course with Philippa Pride. She’s a brilliant teacher, wonderful person and Stephen King’s UK editor.

www.writers-online.co.uk

 

Cover reveal: A CLEAN CANVAS

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I’m very excited to share the gorgeous cover for the second book in the Lena Szarka Mystery series:  A CLEAN CANVAS.

ACC cover

It’s out on 3rd January 2019 (4 days after my second baby is due!) and sees Lena tracking down the perpetrators of an art heist in a gallery she cleans.

Click to hear a free excerpt from the audio book, read by the wonderful Rula Lenska, currently gracing the cobbles of Coronation Street. Or pre-order on Amazon to be the first to read!

Full blurb and some lovely early feedback below.

Crime always leaves a stain…

Lena Szarka, a Hungarian cleaner, dusts off her detective skills when a masterpiece is stolen from a gallery she cleans with her cousin Sarika.  When Sarika goes missing, accusations start to fly.

Convinced her cousin is innocent, Lena sweeps her way through the secrets of the art scene. But with the evidence against Sarika mounting and the police on her trail, Lena needs to track down the missing painting.

Embroiling herself in the sketchy world of thwarted talents, unpaid debts and elegant fraudsters, Lena finds that there’s more to this gallery than meets the eye.

‘This second in the series crackles along with a fresh sense of fun’ Vaseem Khan

‘This is a witty and engaging story, as warm and satisfying as a bowl of goulash‘ LC Tyler

‘An intriguing mystery, memorable characters and a highly entertaining romp through the London art world’ Jackie Kabler

 

 

 

 

 

 

IN STRANGERS’ HOUSES reviewed by the Daily Mail

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IN STRANGERS’ HOUSES is reviewed by Geoffrey Wassell in the BOOKS FICTION CRIME section of the Daily Mail today. I’m thrilled that he says ‘Lena’s tenacity and common sense illuminate this engaging story.’

IN STRANGERS’ HOUSES
by Elizabeth Mundy

THE heroine of this debut novel is a Hungarian Immigrant, Lena Szarka, who works in fashionable North London, cleaning rich people’s houses. When her fellow cleaner, another migrant named Timea, goes missing, Lena immediately suspects that one of their clients is to blame. They all seem to have secrets to hide.

At first, the police do not seem interested, so Lena starts to investigate herself. Then Timea’s body turns up and the case suddenly takes a darker turn.

Lena’s tenacity and common sense illuminate this engaging story by the granddaughter of a Hungarian immigrant to the U.S., who now works at a London investment bank.

http://www.dailymail.co.uk/home/books/article-5422889/CRIME.html 

Publication day has arrived!

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It’s finally here. I started writing IN STRANGERS’ HOUSES in Spring 2013 on a stunning yoga and creative writing holiday with Philippa Pride, AKA The Book Doctor. I finished my final draft in early 2016, found a fabulous agent in the spring, a wonderful publisher that summer, finished final edits by the winter and now it is ready to go into the world!  Its beautiful cover is adorning the shelves of Sainsbury’s, Waterstones, independents and of course the virtual shelves of Amazon.

My baby son Teddy helped me celebrate at 3am this morning with a dirty nappy – he didn’t want me to miss a moment of publication day.

Thanks to everyone who has bought a copy so far – I hope you enjoy it!

x

 

 

 

‘In Strangers’ Houses’ – Elizabeth Mundy

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Thanks to A Cup of Tea and a Mystery for this lovely five star review of IN STRANGERS’ HOUSES

A Cup of Tea and a Mystery

In Strangers' Houses by [Mundy, Elizabeth]

This is a refreshing and topical take on the British amateur sleuth: a Hungarian cleaner, who has access to the houses of the great and the good in London, is desperately trying to find out what happened to her missing friend and colleague by cleaning the houses she last serviced.  By being entrusted with people’s properties for a few hours, Lena Szarka is able to draw conclusions, profile clients and follow a twisty trail that reveals sad and unpleasant truths .

This was an entertaining and enlightening read.  I enjoyed learning about Hungarian culture and the immigrant cleaner’s challenges in modern-day Britain and found Lena a likeable, intelligent and engaging protagonist.  London and the other characters are very well drawn and the story runs along nicely, sprinkled with humour and mounting tension, as shocking lies and truths are revealed when Lena’s investigation reaches a climax.

I heartily recommend this book…

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Elizabeth Mundy talks to Crime Time

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A piece on my Hungarian relatives immigrating to America features in Crime Time this week.

‘Curse you Christopher Columbus,’ said Magdaléna, my great grandmother, when her boat finally approached New York. She’d mistaken the Statue of Liberty for the explorer who discovered America. After 18 days beteg as a dog in steerage she wished the country had never been found.’ Click to continue reading.