Death at Greenway: A Novel

Written by Lori Rader-Day

Narrated by Moira Quirk

From the award-winning author of The Day I Died and The Lucky One, a captivating suspense novel about nurses during World War II who come to Agatha Christie’s holiday estate to care for evacuated children, but when a body is discovered nearby, the idyllic setting becomes host to a deadly mystery.

Bridey Kelly has come to Greenway House—the beloved holiday home of Agatha Christie—in disgrace. A terrible mistake at St. Prisca’s Hospital in London has led to her dismissal as a nurse trainee, and her only chance for redemption is a position in the countryside caring for children evacuated to safety from the Blitz.

Greenway is a beautiful home full of riddles: wondrous curios not to be touched, restrictions on rooms not to be entered, and a generous library, filled with books about murder. The biggest mystery might be the other nurse, Gigi, who is like no one Bridey has ever met. Chasing ten young children through the winding paths of the estate grounds might have soothed Bridey’s anxieties and grief—if Greenway were not situated so near the English Channel and the rising aggressions of the war.

When a body washes ashore near the estate, Bridey is horrified to realize this is not a victim of war, but of a brutal killing. As the local villagers look among themselves, Bridey and Gigi discover they each harbor dangerous secrets about what has led them to Greenway. With a mystery writer’s home as their unsettling backdrop, the young women must unravel the truth before their safe haven becomes a place of death . . .

• Language: English
• Publisher: HarperAudio
• Release date: Oct 12, 2021
• ISBN: 9780063096875

Lori Rader-Day

Lori Rader-Day is the Edgar Award–nominated and Anthony, Agatha, and Mary Higgins Clark Award–winning author of Death at Greenway, The Lucky One, Under a Dark Sky, The Day I Died, Little Pretty Things, and The Black Hour. She lives in Chicago, where she is cochair of the mystery readers’ conference Midwest Mystery Conference and teaches creative writing at Northwestern University. She served as the national president of Sisters in Crime in 2020.

Reviews for Death at Greenway

[ellenh_28 · Rating: 4 out of 5 stars]

Reminiscent of an Agatha Christie type mystery (she is in it on the fringes)but with a little more undertones of personality possibly. I really liked it for its twists and history.

[ethel55_1 · Rating: 4 out of 5 stars]

Nurse trainee Bridget Kelly (Bridey) blames herself for a mistake made at a hospital. Faced with few choices, she signs on as a nurse for evacuated children. This war nursery is headed to Greenway, home of Agatha Christie. On the train, she meets the other nurse, inexplicably also named Bridget Kelly, as they get to know their charges and the Arbuthnots, the ones who spearheaded these ten babes evacuation. There are a lot of short chapters from varying viewpoints, and it took me a bit to get into it. However, once I got going, the bits of historical research were very well done. The home front and those left behind after young English boys are shot down, sometimes over their own country, were very well described within the townspeople. Ration books, lack of fresh food and other niceties show the true hardship of those even living in the country. And war nurseries were real--all these charges were five and under and Rader-Day has an interesting bit at the back of the book relating the memories of a real evacuated child and how she thought her parents had come to adopt her, because she didn't remember them.

[beckyhaase · Rating: 3 out of 5 stars]

DEATH AT GREENWAY by Lori Rader DayI was really looking forward to reading this novel about children evacuated to Agatha Christie’s summer home to escape the blitz in London. Considering the title I was also expecting a murder mystery. Hmmmm, not so much a mystery, not a romance, not a children’s story, not a coming of age. I’m not sure what it was.The premise of a disgraced nurse fleeing her training was interesting and then discovering TWO nurses with the same name and each with secrets – should have been fascinating. It wasn’t. It wasn’t boring exactly, but it certainly had some slow parts and could have been about 100 pages shorter. I hope someone else reads the book and tells me what I missed. Village life and the children saved this book for me.3 of 5 stars

[twink_2 · Rating: 4 out of 5 stars]

Death at Greenway is Lori Rader-Day's latest book. WWII books are all the rage right now. Rader-Day has come up with a unique and different take on this genre. I was immediately intrigued when I read this descriptor from Harper Audio: "...a captivating suspense novel about nurses during World War II who come to Agatha Christie’s holiday estate to care for evacuated children, but when a body is discovered nearby, the idyllic setting becomes host to a deadly mystery."I know what you're thinking - and of course I had to know. Christie did own a home called Greenway. And yes, children from London were evacuated to Greenway. There were two nurses to look after the children - and here's where Rader-Day makes the story her own. (Note that Christie's involvement in this book is very minor)Bridey made a horrible mistake in her former hospital setting and has been terminated from her nurse trainee program. She is determined to make this posting a success, so she may reapply. But she hasn't shared that information with her employers. The other nurse is Gigi and she seems as lackadaisical as Bridey is devoted. She too seems to be harboring secrets. They're an odd pairing and Bridey is fascinated by Gigi. As a listener, I had my suspicions about her. Rader-Day slowly ekes out details about each woman's life, weaving a wide net that slowly grows smaller. When a body washes up on the shore near the house, it's deemed a murder, not a war casualty. And suspicions grow...Rader-Day tells the story from not just Bridey and Gigi, but also from others living in the house - the nurses' employers, the Arbothnots, the butler and his wife and even one of the children. There are other village residents that make appearances and there was more than one I was suspicious of as well. The atmosphere is worthy of a Christie book, even more as we hear from those different points of view.The mystery of the dead body is only one facet of a multi-layered story. Rader-Day provides lots of twists and turns on the way to the final chapters. And while I had guessed correctly at some of the outcomes, I was happily surprised by the others. Subplots include searching for a sense of self, relationships and friendships.I chose to listen to Death at Greenway. The reader was Moira Quirk and she was an excellent choice. She created the perfect voices for each character and it was very easy to identify who was speaking. Bridey's starts off somewhat hesitant and unsure, but grows as the book progresses and she becomes more confident. Gigi's voice had a rich accent, dripping with ennui. When Gigi wants or needs something or someone, she uses her voice and her words to manipulate situations and people - and Quirk does a great job of bringing that to life. Quirk infuses each voice with lots of inflection. The voice for Mr. Arbuthnot, a self centered blowhard, is spot on. Mrs. Arbuthnot's supercilious tones aptly capture her high self regard. Quirk's speed of speaking is just right, she's easy to understand, has a lovely accent and enunciates clearly. I'm always amazed who a conversation is carried out between two or more characters by one reader. Quirk never misses and I would swear I was listening to more than one person. Quirk interpreted Rader-Day's work very well and turned in an excellent performance.

[cathyskye · Rating: 4 out of 5 stars]

Death at Greenway is an evocation of time and place, a character study, more than a mystery. The story does have multiple points of view, but it is mainly told by Bridey Kelly, the young woman with a tragic past who only wants to save lives. Greenway House may belong to Agatha Christie, and her presence is indeed felt in her holiday home, but she is very seldom seen in residence. This story has nothing to do with her and everything to do with the house's other inhabitants. Greenway House is shrouded in mystery. So many of the people Bridey comes in contact with seem to be hiding something. Gigi, with her lacy knickers and long polished fingernails, is like no nurse Bridey has ever seen, and it's maddening how she gets away with doing very little work and sneaking out of the house at night. The more readers come in contact with the characters, the more the suspense and unease build. It's quickly learned that being away from the bombs falling nightly in London does not mean these people are safe. As the days, weeks, and months pass, think location, location, location, and some of the puzzle pieces may start falling into place. There are some wonderful scenes in Death at Greenway, some of them heartbreaking. Mrs. Arbuthnot telling off a suspicious villager. The Wrens with their signal flags. Cecilia Poole and little Sam. And the acknowledgments and notes at the back are not to be missed. Does Bridey ever find out just what was going on around Greenway House? Yes, but the journey she takes to overcome her past is often more interesting than the mystery. Lori Rader-Day's characters will be inhabiting the dark, furtive corners of my mind for some time to come.(Review copy courtesy of the publisher and Net Galley)

[aardvark2_1 · Rating: 3 out of 5 stars]

I found I was often confused as to who people really were and what was happening in the story.