Blood Flies Upwards (1976) by Elizabeth Ferrars

Today sees my 26th review for Elizabeth Ferrars, yet this is still only about a third of her output, so I won’t be running out of her books anytime soon. One thing I have noticed in certain corners of 1970s and 80s crime fiction is a preoccupation with mysteries centring on a character offering home help. This is a key part of today’s read, but it is also present in Trial by Fury (1989) by Ferrars and Celia Fremlin’s Appointment with Yesterday (1972). * This preoccupation invariably reveals the changing social landscape within middle class households, and I like how writers such as Ferrars and Fremlin use this plot point in different ways. For example, in Blood Flies Upwards one member of the household is using her position to infiltrate a family to uncover a secret. *I don’t think this theme began in the 1970s (as Agatha Christie’s Mrs McGinty’s Dead predates these titles) but I definitely think more mysteries included it as time went on and household help underwent significant…