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Kelling & Bittersohn #2
The Withdrawing Room
Sarah Kelling is glad her curmudgeonly complaining boarder Barnwell Augustus Quiffen was squashed under a subway train, and looks forward to another resident in her historic Boston brownstone. But an odd eyewitness insists Quiffen was pushed. Sarah and her basement boarder, art historian Max Bittersohn, are a proven team in solving murder.
208 pages, Paperback
First published October 1, 1980
About the author
Charlotte MacLeod
114 books242 followersNaturalized US Citizen
Also wrote as Alisa Craig
Charlotte MacLeod, born in New Brunswick, Canada, and a naturalized U.S. citizen, was the multi-award-winning author of over thirty acclaimed novels. Her series featuring detective Professor Peter Shandy, America's homegrown Hercule Poirot, delivers "generous dollops of...warmth, wit, and whimsy" (San Francisco Sunday Examiner and Chronicle). But fully a dozen novels star her popular husband-and-wife team of Sarah Kelling and Max Bittersohn. And her native Canada provides a backdrop for the amusing Grub-and-Stakers cozies written under the pseudonym Alisa Craig and the almost-police procedurals starring Madoc Rhys, RCMP. A cofounder and past president of the American Crime Writers League, she also edited the bestselling anthologies Mistletoe Mysteries and Christmas Stalkings.
Also wrote as Alisa Craig
Charlotte MacLeod, born in New Brunswick, Canada, and a naturalized U.S. citizen, was the multi-award-winning author of over thirty acclaimed novels. Her series featuring detective Professor Peter Shandy, America's homegrown Hercule Poirot, delivers "generous dollops of...warmth, wit, and whimsy" (San Francisco Sunday Examiner and Chronicle). But fully a dozen novels star her popular husband-and-wife team of Sarah Kelling and Max Bittersohn. And her native Canada provides a backdrop for the amusing Grub-and-Stakers cozies written under the pseudonym Alisa Craig and the almost-police procedurals starring Madoc Rhys, RCMP. A cofounder and past president of the American Crime Writers League, she also edited the bestselling anthologies Mistletoe Mysteries and Christmas Stalkings.
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Displaying 1 - 30 of 149 reviews
July 25, 2022
3.5
Short but sweet cozy mystery that is once again filled with Kelling family members, Kelling acquaintances and some Kelling friends.
Sarah is growing a backbone but I found some of her dialogue inconsistent with her nature, as displayed so far.
But there’s loads of charm from a number of the new featured characters which adds some fun along the way!
Dare I add, I also welcome the occasional technology-free mystery where the internet or cell phone doesn’t save the day!! 😎
Short but sweet cozy mystery that is once again filled with Kelling family members, Kelling acquaintances and some Kelling friends.
Sarah is growing a backbone but I found some of her dialogue inconsistent with her nature, as displayed so far.
But there’s loads of charm from a number of the new featured characters which adds some fun along the way!
Dare I add, I also welcome the occasional technology-free mystery where the internet or cell phone doesn’t save the day!! 😎
October 27, 2019
Another winner by Charlotte MacLeod. I always thought that too seldom used Tommy and Tuppence were the best detectives that Agatha Christie had in her stable. Here we find a suitable pairing of Sarah Kelling and Max Bittersohn, two vastly different people who in their own separate ways solve crimes in Boston. Of course all the crimes, so far, in the series have a direct connection to Sarah, who faints anytime there is a murder. She is not involved but here she has converted the family home into a boardinghouse and two of the residents are the victims of foul play. Max is a private investigator and he helps around the edges to connect the dots of the crimes. A very well written series with good main and subordinate characters. A fast read, and the felon is not revealed until near the end of the book. Really like this series!!!!
September 18, 2020
Oh, what a jolly romp the second Sarah Kelling and Max Bittersohn mystery is. Sarah, A young widow, member of an old Boston family with plenty of name and very little of the needful is forced to rent out rooms in the family manse. This would work if,
A: Total strangers would stop walking into her house thinking her possessions were for sale, and,
B: Her tenants would stop wandering off and getting murdered.
Fortunately her new friend Max Bittersohn is around to help her straighten things out.
This is a very silly story.
A: Total strangers would stop walking into her house thinking her possessions were for sale, and,
B: Her tenants would stop wandering off and getting murdered.
Fortunately her new friend Max Bittersohn is around to help her straighten things out.
This is a very silly story.
October 14, 2022
I have read and reread this witty, charming Charlotte MacLeod mystery countless times, which is why I reread it for the Book For All Seasons Desert Island challenge. There was some fascinating discussion about what a desert island read meant to different people - I took it as the no return, able to reread a book repeatedly to entertain and keep up one’s spirits. I know for a fact this author works for me - I just had to pick one of her books.
That was the tough part, because I also love her Professor Peter Shandy series, and reread the first, loosely Christmas- themed novel yearly; inevitably, one book leads to the next! Lovely way to round out the year, especially the last several years, with serious health issues for me and loved ones.
This book is the second in MacLeod’s second series, featuring well-born Boston Widow Sarah Kelling and art historian Max Bittersohn. I loved the first novel, also, but in that book Sarah is more the harassed, overworked wife to a kind but MUCH older, weaker man (always thought it was a bit creepy, since he was much older, married her young, and they were cousins of a sort), and in this novel she’s a widow coming into her own.
Sarah is broke and trying to hang on to her desirable Beacon Hill home; she’s no snob but knows how to play Lady of the House (while doing the cooking and some cleaning as needed), and knows boarders will pay for the address. With the hilarious, street-wise help of Mariposa, the maid, and Charles, the “resting” actor/factory worker/butler, Sarah is renting out rooms to “the right kind” of people (rich enough to pay the steep rents suggested by Sarah’s hilarious and irreverent Uncle Jem).
Her best room, the Withdrawing Room, goes to a friend of an old family friend, Augustus Barnwell Quiffen, a cantankerous old crackpot who soon ends up under a subway train; did he fall or was he pushed? Soon after, another old family friend takes over the empty room and meets a violent end - who’s stalking Sarah’s renters?
Max Bittersohn is renting the basement room, sharing a bathroom with Mariposa and Charles, and keeping an eye on Sarah, and does much of the detecting in this case; we only learn about his actions later at the “big reveal” of the case at the end. Sarah does a lot of interior monologue in the last half of the book, trying to decide who’s targeting her tenants. In later books, I know Sarah and Max will work together, which is fun to anticipate; at this point, Sarah is just trying to keep a roof above her head and keep up a respectable front for her boarders, while mourning the loss of her husband, and fighting a growing attraction to the handsome Max.
I love MacLeod’s wit and literate mysteries; like Elizabeth Peters’ beloved Amelia Peabody series, I’m entertained, amused, and often learn something. What else could you ask for? That is why this book would be a favorite desert island read for me.
That was the tough part, because I also love her Professor Peter Shandy series, and reread the first, loosely Christmas- themed novel yearly; inevitably, one book leads to the next! Lovely way to round out the year, especially the last several years, with serious health issues for me and loved ones.
This book is the second in MacLeod’s second series, featuring well-born Boston Widow Sarah Kelling and art historian Max Bittersohn. I loved the first novel, also, but in that book Sarah is more the harassed, overworked wife to a kind but MUCH older, weaker man (always thought it was a bit creepy, since he was much older, married her young, and they were cousins of a sort), and in this novel she’s a widow coming into her own.
Sarah is broke and trying to hang on to her desirable Beacon Hill home; she’s no snob but knows how to play Lady of the House (while doing the cooking and some cleaning as needed), and knows boarders will pay for the address. With the hilarious, street-wise help of Mariposa, the maid, and Charles, the “resting” actor/factory worker/butler, Sarah is renting out rooms to “the right kind” of people (rich enough to pay the steep rents suggested by Sarah’s hilarious and irreverent Uncle Jem).
Her best room, the Withdrawing Room, goes to a friend of an old family friend, Augustus Barnwell Quiffen, a cantankerous old crackpot who soon ends up under a subway train; did he fall or was he pushed? Soon after, another old family friend takes over the empty room and meets a violent end - who’s stalking Sarah’s renters?
Max Bittersohn is renting the basement room, sharing a bathroom with Mariposa and Charles, and keeping an eye on Sarah, and does much of the detecting in this case; we only learn about his actions later at the “big reveal” of the case at the end. Sarah does a lot of interior monologue in the last half of the book, trying to decide who’s targeting her tenants. In later books, I know Sarah and Max will work together, which is fun to anticipate; at this point, Sarah is just trying to keep a roof above her head and keep up a respectable front for her boarders, while mourning the loss of her husband, and fighting a growing attraction to the handsome Max.
I love MacLeod’s wit and literate mysteries; like Elizabeth Peters’ beloved Amelia Peabody series, I’m entertained, amused, and often learn something. What else could you ask for? That is why this book would be a favorite desert island read for me.
September 13, 2021
Another delightful installment in this cozy series. Ms. MacLeod's pacing is excellent and each scene flowed well into the next without hesitation. The twists and red herrings were excellent that I never guessed "who done it" until the reveal. Enjoyable characters and often humorous conversations within the Kelling relatives made this a fun experience.
May 15, 2017
I've been sick, so all I've really wanted to do is lie in bed, drink orange juice, read cozies written before the genre embraced the pun so wholeheartedly and feel sorry for myself. Thank goodness I had a few Charlotte MacLeod/Alisa Craig books on deck to help with that.
June 24, 2014
This series is sequential. “The Withdrawing Room” rolls into Sarah’s mismanaged legacy. Rather than give up the house in which she used to tiptoe; it’s remodelled. The withdrawing room, trivial now, becomes a suite with the rest of the manor. Boarders provide the means to keep it. One perishes at a subway, a mishap an eyewitness brings under suspicion. Their replacement tenant, with whom Sarah’s relatives are familiar, seems jovial but is bothersome after all.
A few criticisms account for a dimmer star rating, this time. A person must maintain boundaries and respect but Sarah smashed her resolute foot down, numerous times, in a manner that was needlessly jarring. Her first talking-to with an old man could have been kinder; especially her treatment of an elderly sister, with no place to host a funeral. No one should be walked over like a door mat. Sarah was right in explaining inappropriate, inconvenient liberties. But a heroine I respect, would do it a good deal more courteously. The major downer for me is that you think the titular room is going to contain secrets or some form of excitement; which would offer a more electrifying atmosphere. The room is mainly significant as belonging to two boarders who died. Unless I missed a detail, the desire to have it was meaningless after identifying a culprit.
Even a 4-star book by Charlotte shines. I relish the hauteur Mariposa & Charles infuse at every meal; the very grandeur sought by their formally-dressed motley crew. I adore Theonia Sorpende’s air and the gumption of Mary Smith, whom Max befriends. The eclecticism of the regularly gathered tenants, sparkles. Otherwise this would blandly be a novel about disproving an accident. Frequent break-in attempts cause unease and hasten the pace. It is most reassuring that Max joins their fold.
A few criticisms account for a dimmer star rating, this time. A person must maintain boundaries and respect but Sarah smashed her resolute foot down, numerous times, in a manner that was needlessly jarring. Her first talking-to with an old man could have been kinder; especially her treatment of an elderly sister, with no place to host a funeral. No one should be walked over like a door mat. Sarah was right in explaining inappropriate, inconvenient liberties. But a heroine I respect, would do it a good deal more courteously. The major downer for me is that you think the titular room is going to contain secrets or some form of excitement; which would offer a more electrifying atmosphere. The room is mainly significant as belonging to two boarders who died. Unless I missed a detail, the desire to have it was meaningless after identifying a culprit.
Even a 4-star book by Charlotte shines. I relish the hauteur Mariposa & Charles infuse at every meal; the very grandeur sought by their formally-dressed motley crew. I adore Theonia Sorpende’s air and the gumption of Mary Smith, whom Max befriends. The eclecticism of the regularly gathered tenants, sparkles. Otherwise this would blandly be a novel about disproving an accident. Frequent break-in attempts cause unease and hasten the pace. It is most reassuring that Max joins their fold.
July 16, 2020
The late Charlotte MacLeod has become one of my new favorite authors. I'm so happy her family (i think) has made her wonderful mysteries available. Written around 50 years ago, these books bring back the era of the 70's. But with a twist. Sarah Kelling, the main character, is one of a long-respected, well-heeled family of Boston--Beacon Hill even. However, she is not wealthy and is a new widow. So she decides to make her imposing Beacon Hill house into a genteel boarding house. Against her family's wishes. Anyway just as in MacLeod's Peter Shandy mysteries, the cast of characters is COLORFUL to say the least! And her fellow in solving mysteries, Max Bittersohn is the opposite of the social world that Sarah came from and lives in. It's a story with so many surp,rises and unexpected twist--my goodness!!! Highly recommended for those who enjoy something a bit different and page-turning.
February 9, 2012
A lot of my fondness for this book is nostalgic (this series was a favorite when I was a kid) and occasionally the language comes off as a bit dated, but I will continue to re-read The Withdrawing Room and other early Sarah Kelling mysteries because they are funny, sweet, and the descriptions of various characters still bring joy after all these years.
February 12, 2013
I am enjoying my re-reading of this cozy mystery series. In this second book, Sarah opens her home as a boarding house to make ends meet. This is one of my favorite aspects of these books--the quirky characters who are her boarders. Max Bittersohn also moves in and their courtship slowly begins. The mystery was clever and I didn't see the end coming. That's always nice when re-reading a mystery!
September 13, 2018
I had to DNF it... A widow from Boston's upper echelon decides to rent out rooms in her house to make ends meet, and one of the boarders ends up dead.
I just couldn't get into it. The language and writing is overly complicated, as though it was set among the 19th century England aristocracy. I'm perfectly capable of reading literature, but this book seemed to be trying too hard.
I just couldn't get into it. The language and writing is overly complicated, as though it was set among the 19th century England aristocracy. I'm perfectly capable of reading literature, but this book seemed to be trying too hard.
June 13, 2020
What an entertaining book. Full of lovely characters who were so well developed & fun 2 know.
Of course Sarah is the protagonist but have no doubt that without her trusted help - Mariposa and Charles- she would have failed as the leading lady of the story. I love them to bits.
Then her Boarders. Oh my goodness! What an interesting group of diverse personalities. This author did a great job of playing them off each other.
Then killing off a couple. And as she stepped outside the formula, the Butler did not do it. Thank heavens bc I really like Charles...
Mr Bittersohn is another lovable one. I’m hoping that he & Sarah get together in a more personal encounter, if U know what I mean. They belong together.
Lots of surmising and speculating before the murderer is unmasked, of course, but in such a way, that it made me want to re-read certain chapters to see if there had been hidden clues.
Wow!. What a reveal.
Most entertaining.
Of course Sarah is the protagonist but have no doubt that without her trusted help - Mariposa and Charles- she would have failed as the leading lady of the story. I love them to bits.
Then her Boarders. Oh my goodness! What an interesting group of diverse personalities. This author did a great job of playing them off each other.
Then killing off a couple. And as she stepped outside the formula, the Butler did not do it. Thank heavens bc I really like Charles...
Mr Bittersohn is another lovable one. I’m hoping that he & Sarah get together in a more personal encounter, if U know what I mean. They belong together.
Lots of surmising and speculating before the murderer is unmasked, of course, but in such a way, that it made me want to re-read certain chapters to see if there had been hidden clues.
Wow!. What a reveal.
Most entertaining.
December 17, 2020
This is the second in the Sarah Kelling & Max Bittersohn series, and features more of Sarah than Max, but he does ride to the rescue part way through the story. Sarah is opening up a boarding house in the family home she inherited along with multiple mortgages when her husband and mother-in-law died in the first book in this series. Unfortunately, her luck in selecting lodgers is hit and miss, and two of them are murdered in the course of this story. As always there are fascinating characters and interesting mysteries to solve so once again I am being drawn further into this series.
December 30, 2018
I’m enjoying this series. Sarah is sweet and smart. Since her husband died, she is turning their home into a boarding house. Enter quirky characters. Oh, and some murders. And don’t forget the love interest! I must admit the ending was rather far fetched. The characters are what makethe story though.
January 22, 2018
Reminder of a great Agatha Christie story!
I couldn't stop until I finished this story. Mrs Kelling needed to take in boarders so she wouldn't lose her beautiful house. One of her obnoxious boarders was murdered first. A beautiful story well told.
I couldn't stop until I finished this story. Mrs Kelling needed to take in boarders so she wouldn't lose her beautiful house. One of her obnoxious boarders was murdered first. A beautiful story well told.
August 20, 2021
I thought a digital version of a vintage cozy mystery would be a relatively safe read, but within the first 2 pages of this book, the offensive language (including the Lord's name in vain) was so bad I could not go on. I returned it for a refund within 5 minutes of buying it. I don't recommend it.
February 15, 2021
I enjoyed the story despite knowing who did it. The characters were interesting and the weaving of the story made it entertaining.
June 4, 2017
Enjoyable for the characters. The plot isn't really anything to call home about.
July 6, 2013
I love Charlotte MacLeod. This is the second Sarah Kelling/Max Bittersohn book. Sarah is trying to recover from the loss of her husband and trying to keep the properties that were fraudulently mortgaged by her mother-in-law's conniving lover. Sarah is fighting to keep them until the decision can be made whether they belong to her or the bank. So, she has decided to take the house in Tulip Street and turn it into a boarding house. Not all of her relatives approve and she has to shout down Cousin Dolph to tell him that Aunt Emma and Anora Protheroe approve of the idea. So she gets Dolph to get her the necessary permits and Uncle Jeremy helps to chivvy the workers to get alternations done to the house. Sarah interviews prospective borders with Mariposa and Charles to help. She has fired the unhelpful and angry Edith, and will take on the cooking and housekeeping with Mariposa's help. Charles, Mariposa's friend, is going to play the butler in the evenings since he works in a factory during the day (doing his bit for room and board). Several of the relatives have sent boarders to her, and she has to weed out those who are looking for a handout from those who can pay.
Anora brings her Mr. Quiffen, an unpleasant man, but he can pay the amount she is charging for the private suite she had made from the withdrawing room.
Anora brings her Mr. Quiffen, an unpleasant man, but he can pay the amount she is charging for the private suite she had made from the withdrawing room.
April 29, 2016
Sarah Kelling Kelling, who is now a poor aristocratic widow, is trying to make her house into a boarding house to make ends meet. However, this leads to not one, but two, murders in rapid succession among her tenants. Sarah manages to get Max Bittersohn as a tenant as well. He helped her out enormously in the first book, which I'm still trying to get. This was loads of fun but I would probably do better reading these titles in order!The characters are so well drawn that you can't wait to find out what will happen to these people. Especially Mrs. Sorpende who is so mysterious and the interesting Mary Smith. Sarah is just a sweet tough young lady and Max is so laid back and efficient that it is clear that it will take Sarah some time to start to really appreciate him! I still haven't decided whether to keep the titles I have but it is a great excuse to read the entire series from the beginning, more or less.
July 26, 2020
Sarah Kelling is broke. Or pretty close to it. She is a recent widow and still rather young (at least that's what I am gathering; somehow I missed that this was the second book in the series and felt like I was missing a lot of information. Some slowly trickled in but it took awhile.) In an effort to keep her husband's family manor, she decides to take on boarders. When one of her boarders is killed in a subway accident, it is almost a relief as the man was decidedly unpleasant. But when another boarder dies, people start to believe there might be something more going on. Especially Max Bittersohn who worked with Sarah on a previous mystery.
A good story but I did feel lost for a lot of it. And Max doesn't even feature much in this book even though the series is Kelling and Bittersohn. He shows up halfway through and then is absent, apparently investigating, for quite a bit at the end.
A good story but I did feel lost for a lot of it. And Max doesn't even feature much in this book even though the series is Kelling and Bittersohn. He shows up halfway through and then is absent, apparently investigating, for quite a bit at the end.
December 13, 2018
After Sarah Kelling's husband and mother-in-law die and she finds that the family homes are heavily mortgaged, Sarah takes the necessary steps to set up the Tulip St. house to take in "paying guests." True to form the boarders that Sarah gets are quite the collection of interesting characters and when one of the dies in a questionable subway accident Sarah is once again in the middle of murder and mayhem.
The characters in this series just continue to grow and delight me. Ms. MacLeod had a firm grasp on human nature and does a lovely job of entertaining us by using almost every facet of behavior know to polite society. This book is very much like a trip to visit one's eccentric relatives.
The characters in this series just continue to grow and delight me. Ms. MacLeod had a firm grasp on human nature and does a lovely job of entertaining us by using almost every facet of behavior know to polite society. This book is very much like a trip to visit one's eccentric relatives.
June 8, 2016
Just as good as the first book
Life moves on for Sarah and Max in book 2. Sarah has opened a boarding house in the family mansion & Max moves into one of the rooms. As you would expect, the plot revolves around the back stories, deaths & activities of the residents of the house. I didn't have any idea of the murderer(s) until the big reveal at the end of the book. The only negative comment I have is about editing, or lack thereof. I found many instances of random punctuation which was confusing in the context of the sentence. Other than that one small point, it was a delightful book!!
Life moves on for Sarah and Max in book 2. Sarah has opened a boarding house in the family mansion & Max moves into one of the rooms. As you would expect, the plot revolves around the back stories, deaths & activities of the residents of the house. I didn't have any idea of the murderer(s) until the big reveal at the end of the book. The only negative comment I have is about editing, or lack thereof. I found many instances of random punctuation which was confusing in the context of the sentence. Other than that one small point, it was a delightful book!!
June 26, 2018
After finding out that she is deep in debt following the murders of her beloved older husband and detestable mother in law, young Mrs Kelling determines to turn the contested house into a higher class boarding house with her being both landlady and cook. Good thing she was used to pinchpenny ways even when everyone believed that her family was wealthy! Applicants were many, but she thought she did well until she not only had two awful tenants in a row, but each of them got murdered. Nicely done and with plenty of humor. First published in 1980, there are landlines and other things unusual today.
April 6, 2016
Silly, fast read, and very light. The book has an old fashioned feel to it, but was written in the 1980's and some of the dialogue and thoughts are more modern, so it is an odd mix. I am not sure what time period it is actually supposed to be. I like the main character, Sarah, and her no-nonsense approach to running a boarding house and pinching her pennies. I would like a more complex mystery, but perhaps this series just isn't geared that way. I preferred the first book in the series, but will read one more.
January 25, 2018
Early Bird Book Deal | An enjoyable read, if you're not a stickler for true realism. | Worth continuing the series, though not at full price (I'll check the library). For such a short book, a surprising amount of time was given to Sarah musing over ridiculous theories. The end romance didn't fit the characters as they had been written throughout the rest of the book, the wrapping up and explanation seemed nearly interminable, but the resolution was not obvious, and most of the characters were good to spend the time with.
July 26, 2022
Sarah Kelling, new widow, turns her old family mansion into a boarding house. The boarders are recommended by friends and family, but despite that, she gets a couple of nasty surprises including two murders.
Sarah is a darling, totally believable, and her vast family with its support and its feuds is amusing. MacLeod had a knack for unexpected solutions. Highly recommended to those who like cozies.
Favorite Mystery Read of 2012. Read 7 times, listened once.
Sarah is a darling, totally believable, and her vast family with its support and its feuds is amusing. MacLeod had a knack for unexpected solutions. Highly recommended to those who like cozies.
Favorite Mystery Read of 2012. Read 7 times, listened once.
April 23, 2013
the wonderful second outing for Sarah Kelling and Max Bittersohn; i just reread it after several years.
This book and The Family Vault, its predecessor, are SO good that it just makes me cringe that MAcLeod now confines herself to the silliness of the likes of "the convivial codfish" etc.
but this one holds up wonderfully! Great sense of a certain segment of Boston society and very funny throughout!
This book and The Family Vault, its predecessor, are SO good that it just makes me cringe that MAcLeod now confines herself to the silliness of the likes of "the convivial codfish" etc.
but this one holds up wonderfully! Great sense of a certain segment of Boston society and very funny throughout!
January 17, 2020
This is the second in the Sarah and Max series. After the death of her husband in book one Sarah is trying to make ends meet by turning her mansion into an upper class boarding house. The withdrawing room goes to an unpleasant man who is murdered shortly afterwards. He is eventually replaced by another man who is in turn murdered. Another cosy page turner full of red herrings. Highly enjoyable.
January 30, 2016
Fewer holes than the first novel
Lovely, relaxing read, fun blend of characters and light plot. The writing is much, much better than average for cozy-style mysteries, and the characters drawn with wit and affection. Perfect for lying on the couch while fighting a head cold.
Lovely, relaxing read, fun blend of characters and light plot. The writing is much, much better than average for cozy-style mysteries, and the characters drawn with wit and affection. Perfect for lying on the couch while fighting a head cold.
Displaying 1 - 30 of 149 reviews