Lady Avely's Guide to Lies and Charms by Rosalie Oaks

It has been nine years since Dacian killed Lord Charles Garvey and it is time for him to determine what actually happened that night. While he has always believed what he saw, he now wonders if there may not have been some Musing (magic) involved in the story. He and Judith head out with Judith’s husband’s son, Robert, to see what they can uncover.

All is not well at Garvey House  however. Lady Garvey refuses visitors and her granddaughter, Georgina seems to be a prisoner. The current Lord Gavey, Charles’ brother Kenneth, won’t come to the house at all, preferring to stay in the village. 

The story took a LONG time for me to get into and I had to power my way from about a quarter in to the two-thirds mark where it picked up again. There was a leap into the story that happened seven years ago that didn't make sense to me and then a lot of side characters that may be building to the overall arc of the story but didn't provide much other than very temporary red herrings for the end of the story. 

Three stars

Matronly Misadventures #2

This book came out November 13, 2024

Follows Lady Avely's Guide to Truth and Magic

Followed by Lady Avely's Guide to Guile and Peril

ARC kindly provided by Parkerville Press and NetGalley

Opinions are my own