Murder at King’s Crossing by Andrea Penrose

Sheffield and Cordelia are finally married. But the day is marred when news of a dead man carrying an invitation to their wedding arrives. At first, Cordelia fears it is her cousin. She is just as heartbroken to learn it is a man with whom she grew up. Her friend, Jasper, was the one who helped dress as a man to attend university. He was also an inventor and the prologue lets us know that he has just stumbled upon something incredibly important. Something big enough to be killed for.

At the same time, Peregrine has been sent home from Eton giving Wrexham and Charlotte a chance to get the third Weasel under their roof. 

Lots going on in this book. I don't know that it would be a good book to start the series with but is a good addition for those who have already reading.

Four stars

Wrexford & Sloane #8

This book came out September 24, 2024

Follows at Murder at Merton Library

Borrowed as ebook from Libby

Opinions are my own

Murder at the Merton Library by Andrea Penrose

Wrex receives a note from a friend of his brother's, asking him for help. But when Wrex arrives at the college, the friend is already dead. It will be up to our intrepid team to find out what happened to the man. 

As we get further into the books, the mysteries are fine but, for me, it's more about the characters. And there is some growth for them in this book. Sheffield and Cordelia get closer to marriage, the Weasels start to interact more with their newest member, and we get to learn more about Wrexham and his brother. 

Four stars

This book came out September 26, 2023

Wrexford & Sloan #7

Followed Murder at the Serpentine Bridge

Followed by Murder at King's Crossing

Borrowed as hard copy from library

Opinions are my own

Murder at the Serpentine Bridge by Andrea Penrose

Charlotte and Wrexford are married. She and the boys as well as the maid have moved into his house. But that doesn't keep them from finding another dead body. This time it's that of a Black man who is found floating in a lake. The man ends up being not only someone who has developed a way to make guns more efficient but is also the relative of Charlotte's brother's brother-in-law's nephew, a young lord. He is currently the ward of his uncle but Charlotte and Wrexford can tell he is not being treated well among his own family. Luckily, Peregrine (another bird!) makes friends with Raven and Hawk. 

The three boys will play an important part in helping the adults solve this murder.

Also, another story line is finally starting to get resolved with Cordelia and Kit.

Wrexford and Sloane #6

Four stars

Follows Murder at the Royal Botanic Gardens

Followed by Murder at the Merton Library

Borrowed as ebook from Libby

Opinions are my own

Murder at the Royal Botanic Gardens by Andrea Penrose

Charlotte and Wrexford are getting married. That means that they are incredibly busy with wedding plans and the social twirl of being a newly engaged couple. It is at one of the parties, one at the Royal Botanic Gardens, that Wrexford is summoned into another room. He has gained a reputation for solving murders and the murdered man's friend is convinced this is not a natural death. Yes, the man had heart problems but the white powder around his mouth points to a different reason for death. 
An old enemy comes back and a new comrade (a cousin of Thomas Jefferson, no less) is made. 
A nice book with a branching into the botanic realm of the time, stepping out of the technical one a little bit. 

Wrexford & Sloan #5

Four stars

This book came out September 28, 2021

Follows Murder at Queen's Landing

Followed by Murder at the Serpentine Bridge

Borrowed as hard copy from library

Opinions are my own

Murder at Queen's Landing by Andrea Penrose

At first, Charlotte and Wrexford do not appear to be involved in this murder at all. But then, a mysterious exchange Charlotte overheard at a ball and the sudden disappearance of a friend mean that they are pulled into another mystery. 

Some new characters in this book but a number of people we've seen in previous books as well. Charlotte and Wrexford are growing ever closer but so is his friend Sheffield and the Lady Cordelia. It will take the intelligence of all of them as well as the guile of the Weasels to figure out why a clerk from the East India company was killed and then left for dead. And what their friends may have had to do with it. A convoluted set of intertwining mysteries (could have been a little less convoluted) but Penrose puts them together well.

Wrexford & Sloane #4

Four stars

This book came out September 29, 2020

Follows Murder at Kensington Palace

Followed by Murder at the Royal Botanic Gardens

Borrowed as ebook from Libby

Opinions are my own

Murder at Kensington Palace by Andrea Penrose

Charlotte Sloane is coming up against the secret of her former life in a big way in this novel. In the last book of the series, she admitted her past to the Earl of Wrexford. But a young gentleman's death, presumably by his three-minutes-younger brother, will pull her into the spotlight.

Both of the young men in question were deeply involved in the scientific community but the twin who was killed was working on some particularly gruesome experiments that may also have led to his death. Of course, it might also be related to gambling debts. But whatever it is, Charlotte is determined to solve the murder, even if it means returning to a world she thought she had completely turned her back on.

I really liked this mystery and the fact that it moved Charlotte's character forward. We are getting to see both Raven and Hawk grow into their own. Wrexford may not have had as much to do in this book but his relationship with Charlotte is growing at a nice speed.

Wrexford & Sloane #3

Four stars

This book came out September 24, 2019

Follows Murder at Half Moon Gate

Followed by Murder at Queen's Landing

Borrowed as ebook from Libby

Opinions are my own

Murder at Half Moon Gate by Andrea Penrose

An inventor, Elihu Ashton, has been murdered and his body is stumbled over by Lord Wrexford and Sheffield. The inventors widow comes to Wrexford to ask for help. It seems Ashton has just come up with a new invention and she is anxious to find out why he has been killed before the goose laid it's golden egg. She has some suspects but Wrexford isn't sure. 

While standing over the body, Wrexford sights the two young boys he calls "the Weasels," Raven and Hawk. The two are still living with Charlotte Sloane though she is about to move houses and is very anxious as she is not sure what that will mean for either her, leaving behind the home she shared with her late husband, or the two boys who only barely seem to want to stay with her. 

While Charlotte and Wrexford are working together, they also grow closer. I was a bit startled at how fast the two got closer but that might be the product of being older, knowing yourself, and having been in some danger. I also thought the initial theories as to why Ashton was killed could have been drawn out but this was a good story over all and I'm looking forward to the next.

Wrexford & Sloane #2

Three stars

Follows Murder on Black Swan Lane

Followed by Murder at Kensington Palace

Borrowed as ebook from Libby

Opinions are my own

Murder on Black Swan Lane by Andrea Penrose

A. J. Quill is well-known for the cartoons that lambaste various people in high places. The Earl of Wrexford wants to know how Quill knows so much about his life. Especially when Wrexford is implicated in the death of the Reverend Josiah Holworthy.

Charlotte Sloane has any number of secrets to hide (not all of which are revealed in this story). And there are two young boys she is trying to protect. Wrexford, and his search for Quill threatens to upend all of that. But the two will have to work together in order to figure out why Holworthy was killed and why that connection leads back to Charlotte.

I am pretty sure I started and abandoned this book once before. It is a little overwrought in places but ended up being an interesting story.

Wrexford & Sloane #1

Three stars

This book came out June 27, 2017

Followed by Murder at Half Moon Gate

Borrowed as ebook from Libby

Opinions are my own