The Murder at World's End by Ross Montgomery

The Murder at World's End

A Novel

Ross Montgomery

HarperCollins · Print & ebook · January 6, 2026

Knives Out meets Downton Abbey!

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Who it’s for
A light-footed mystery with a playful tone and just enough layers to keep you turning pages.
Genres
Historical Mystery, Cozy Mysteries, Historical Thrillers
Published
HarperCollins, January 6, 2026

About this book

Knives Out meets Downton Abbey! Secrets, murder, and mayhem collide as this unlikely sleuthing duo—an under-butler and a foul-mouthed octogenarian—hunt a killer in a manor sealed against the end of the world, in this locked-room mystery by #1 New York Times bestselling author Ross Montgomery. Cornwall, 1910.

Continue reading

On a remote tidal island, the Viscount of Tithe Hall is absorbed in feverish preparations for the apocalypse that he believes will accompany the passing of Halley's Comet. The Hall must be sealed from top to bottom—every window, chimney, and keyhole closed off before night falls. But what the pompous, dishonest Viscount has failed to take into account is the danger that lies within... By morning, he will be dead in his sealed study, murdered by his own ancestral crossbow. All eyes turn to Steven Pike, Tithe Hall's newest under-butler. Fresh out of Borstal for a crime he didn't commit, he is the wrong man in the wrong place at the wrong time. His unlikely ally? Miss Decima Stockingham, the foul-mouthed, sharp as a tack, eighty-year-old family matriarch. Fearless and unconventional, she relishes chaos and puzzles alike, and a murder is just the thrill she's been waiting for. Together, this mismatched duo must navigate secret passages, buried grudges, and rising terror to unmask the killer before it's too late...

Playful Whodunit

A light-footed mystery with a playful tone and just enough layers to keep you turning pages.

Come here for

  • cozy mystery shape
  • playful, school-adjacent intrigue

Expect

  • accessible clues
  • amateur-sleuth energy

Where it sits

Historical Mystery66%
Cozy Mysteries59%
Historical Thrillers30%

Percentages are BookFrontier’s reading of the book.

Publisher categories

  • Mystery
  • Women Detectives
  • Historical Mystery
  • Cozy Mysteries
Show all 6 publisher categories
  • Amateur Sleuths
  • Dark Humor
Authors
Ross Montgomery
Publisher
HarperCollins
Published
January 6, 2026
Format
Print & ebook
Reading lane
Mystery