Earls Trip by Jenny Holiday

stars

This book comes out April 23, 2023

ARC kindly provided by Kensington Books and NetGalley

Opinions are my own

Death Comes to Bath by Catherine Lloyd

In the last book, Major Robert Kurland was having some problems with the same leg that has been giving him trouble since Waterloo. His doctor (and family friend) recommends a trip to Bath to attend the healing waters. 

While there (along with Lucy's sister Anna and Penelope Fletcher who insists on coming along), they meet Sir William Benson. He is an irascible old man who seems to like no one in his family but really strikes up a connection with Robert. Of course, he will be the one to die. Robert is one of the first to find him and recognizes that, though he has appeared to have drowned in one of the baths, the man was really murdered.

Then comes a complex mystery including the man's own sons (really only two of the three are focused on), his two stepsons, the wife who looks so much younger than him, and their personal doctor. It's another mystery for Robert and Lucy to solve and they are going to have to solve some number puzzles in order to do it.

Kurland St. Mary Mystery #6

Three stars

Follows Death Comes to the School

Followed by Death Comes to the Nursery

Borrowed as audiobook from Audible Plus Catalog

Opinions are my own

Death Comes to the School by Catherine Lloyd

Lucy and Major Kurland have been married for three years. Recently, Lucy has had some miscarriages and they are both a little tender and walking softly around each other. But that doesn't include the new school teacher. She was hired while Lucy was in her sick bed and she is... really not good. But is she connected to the poison pen letters that people have been receiving? Including one to Lucy herself?

When the teacher is killed in the classroom, no one is really upset but Lucy and Robert still want to know why it happened. Was she the author of the letters? Or was someone else trying to make trouble?

There were a few too many Big Misunderstandings at the end of this book (especially around Robert and a secondary character) but it was still enjoyable to listen to.

Kurland St. Mary Mystery, #5

Three stars

This book came out November 28, 2017

Follows Death Comes to the Fair

Followed by Death Comes to Bath

Borrowed as audiobook from Libby

Opinions are my own

Wait Until Midnight by Amanda Quick

Caroline Fordyce, the well-known widowed author of sensational novels, seems to be caught up in a real-life sensation of her own. She was just trying to do research for her next novel but, after the medium she was visiting is killed, Caroline comes under the focus of Adam Hardesty. Normally, she is not the sort of person he would focus on. At least in her opinion. They move in entirely different social circles. So why is he focusing on her now? Soon the two are caught up in a world of murder and blackmail. And, quite possibly, they are finding their way to true love.

A typical Quick book. Good for a light, fast read.

Three and a half stars

This book came out January 25, 2005

Borrowed as audiobook from Audible Plus catalog

Opinions are my own

Death Comes to the Fair by Catherine Lloyd

The fourth in a series, I did not feel like I was missing anything by not having read the first three. Miss Lucy Harrington, rector's daughter, is engaged to Major Robert Kurland. He is anxious to get married but her fancy-pants relatives are planning the wedding of the century and it's taking forever. Even the village fair is more irritating than he thought. Especially since he is the one who is supposed to judge the entries. To Lucy's dismay, he decides to buck the tradition of spreading the winners among various families and just assigns whoever he thought won. She knows that it will create resentments among the villagers, especially since Ezekiel Thurrock, the church verger, is the one to win most of the prizes. Major Kurland thinks that everyone needs to just suck it up, but when Mr. Thurrock is found dead, his head bashed in by a gargoyle, he wonders whether there are more tempers related to the fair than he thought.

There was a lot going on in this book which made it a little busy at times and the ending was... odd but overall a very readable book.

Kurland St. Mary Mystery #4

Three stars

This book came out November 29, 2016

Follows Death Comes to Kurland Hall

Followed by Death Comes to the School

Hard copy from library

Opinion are my own

Lie by Moonlight by Amanda Quick

Concordia Glade thought that she had landed the perfect job. She had just been fired from her last position and working as a teacher to four girls at an out of the way castle seemed like a dream come true. Except that the dream was more like a nightmare. The girls kept telling her that their last teacher disappeared mysteriously and Concordia is beginning to think that she's about to do the same. She and the girls concoct a plan to escape. Their pyrotechnics display annoys Ambrose Wells who has come to the castle in order to disrupt the plans of a master criminal. Ambrose uses his Vanza training to help right wrongs and this is a huge speed bump.

Concordia and Ambrose will have to work together to save the girls and maybe even fall in love along the way.

Vanza #4

Three stars

This book came out in 2005

Follows Wicked Widow

Audiobook from Audible Plus catalog

Opinions are my own

Death Comes To Kurland Hall by Catherine Lloyd

After the less-than-romantic proposal at the end of the last book, Lucy Harrington is ready to be home. Especially since her best friend is getting married to a man that is perfect for her. Too bad his best friend is Major Robert Kurland, a man Lucy would be perfectly happy to avoid. 

She'd also love to avoid Robert's former fiancee, Miss Penelope Chingford, and her family. Too bad the three women have not only been invited to the wedding, they're staying at the vicarage with Lucy and her father. And, unfortunately, Mrs. Chingford hasn't gotten any more pleasant, still spreading venom hidden behind sugared words.

It's even more unfortunate that Mrs. Chingford gets engaged to Lucy's father. And then ends up dead. Was her fall down the stairs an accident? Or murder? It's up to Lucy and Robert (only recently reconciled to each other) to figure out exactly what is going on.

I fell in love with the first book and enjoyed this one as well, though not quite as much. The patter between Lucy and Robert wasn't as fresh. Though I did enjoy seeing Penelope Chingford become almost likable.

Kurland St. Mary Mystery #3

Three and a half stars

This book came out November 24, 2015

Follows Death Comes to London

Followed by Death Comes to the Fair

Hard copy from library

Opinion are my own

Secrets of a Scottish Isle by Erica Ruth Neubauer

Jane Wunderly has infiltrated a secret cult. She's mainly on her own though her fiance, Redvers, is also on the island. This is the Golden Dawn, based on a cult that actually existed. And involved in that cult? W. B. Yeats who makes an appearance in this book. Not sure if it's actually successful though. 

 The mystery deepens when one of the initiates is killed but nobody's really sure how it was done. Add in a rival cult made up of former members and the suspect pool deepens.  

Three stars

This book comes out March 26, 2023

Follows Intrigue in Istanbul

ARC kindly provided by Kensington Books and NetGalley

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

Death Comes to London by Catherine Lloyd

What a perfectly lovely story. It's a romance with a slow burn. We actually get to see Major Kurland and Miss Harrington interact even as they're solving a mystery. I didn't read the first book but didn't feel like I missed much. There was no major info dump; instead, we learned about their past slowly. 

Lucy Harrington is going to London to accompany her younger (lovelier?) sister to attend the Season. Major Kurland is about to be given a baronetcy for bravery on the field so he also goes to town. There, they meet the Broughton family. The elder son, a lieutenant, served with Major Kurland. He is also a scientist. His younger brother is something of a loose canon as is his grandmother. The grandmother who falls dead in the middle of Almack's while she's ranting. But it's not her heart, they soon discover, it was poison. 

I can't wait to get the next book in the series.

Kurland St. Mary Mystery #2

Four stars

This book came out November 25, 2014

Follows Death comes to the Village

Followed by Death comes to Kurland Hall

Borrowed as ebook from Kindle Unlimited

Opinions are my own

Mrs. Brodie's Academy for Exceptional Young Ladies by Shana Galen, Theresa Romain

I can't remember why I put this on my wishlist in 2018 but I finally got this book this year. It was... fine. Not worth the wait though.

In the first story, Jack and Marianne were childhood sweethearts. He married someone else and now he's hunted her down for... reasons? Closure? She's a cook at the school and he's there to sweep her away from a life that she basically enjoys. He's an ass and she's not much better. 

In the second story, Bridget and Caleb were sweethearts (a theme) but he left her to pursue his career as a spy. He's not even really back right now but, when he finds out they had a son, he's ready to help her find their boy and head for a new life in Canada.

I can see how this would have been an amazing series but was woefully underdeveloped in two short stories by authors I normally enjoy.

Two stars

This book came out September 14, 2018

Hard copy I didn't keep

Opinions are my own

Miss Prim and the Duke of Wylde by Stephanie Laurens

Drago Helmsford, the Duke of Wyld, has decided to take a wife. His aunt has the perfect candidate. But a drunken night of revelry leads to a misunderstanding and he ends up engaged to Meg Cynster. Though she is in her tenth season, it is more by choice than anything else. When they realize that they are probably going to have to bite the bullet and stay engaged for awhile, Meg and Drago do something unusual in a romance novel, they actually talk to each other and come up with a plan. As they are pretending to be engaged, they learn that they might actually like each other well enough to actually get married. It is then that the accidents start to happen... who is trying to kill them? And which one of them is the true target?

If you've read Laurens before, you'll know who and can probably figure out why but that didn't lessen my enjoyment of the book. 

Cynsters Next Generation #13

Three and a half stars

This book came out August 17, 2023

Follows Miss Flibbertigibbet and the Barbarian

Followed by A Family of His Own

Borrowed as audiobook from Hoopla

Opinions are my own

A Grave Robbery by Deanna Raybourn

It's time for another adventure with Veronica and Stoker. They start out with a tamarin monkey (which is quickly pawned off on Lord Rosemorran's youngest daughter) and end up with a Beauty. Supposedly an anatomical model that doctors could use to study the human body since dissection during this time period was so reviled. However, this beauty was obviously a young woman who was once a living person, not a wax work. But who could have done something so heinous?

The trail leads them to a pair of twins whose scientific inquiries were supported by the second son of a lord. A fire supposedly killed the male twin and his laboratory but did he really die?

Stoker and Veronica pick up some new friends in this book including Plutree, a mortician who has an overbearing mother and is interested in profiling. The other is Spyridon, a man who Stoker knew in Greece but who traveled back to England with Lady Wellie who seems to be getting more frail.

Four stars

This book comes out March 12, 2024

Follows A Sinister Revenge

ARC kindly provided by Berkley Publishing Group and NetGalley
Opinions are my own

Murder at the Village Fete by Catherine Coles

This book picks up close to when the last book left off, with Tommy Christie, former policeman, trying to pick up after having unexpectedly been made the newest Lord of Northmoor after the last two were murdered in the first book of the series. There is a village fete, the first in a long time, and everyone is happy. Well, almost everyone. Someone is certainly unhappy as there is another murder. And it has something to do with a story that happened during the war, accusations of cutting corners to make money, and Evelyn's father is one of the accused. 

For a mystery, this series has tended to be fairly light. It will be interesting to see if all of the stories stay this close together in timeline.

Tommy and Evelyn #2

Three stars

Follows Murder at the Manor

Followed by Murder in the Churchyard

Ebook of mine on Kindle
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

Death Comes to the Village by Catherine Lloyd

Lucy Harrington is the oldest daughter of the village rector. She has taken over many of the duties that are usually given to the rector's wife after her mother died. One of those duties includes caring for the invalids in her father's parish. That includes Major Robert Kurland who has recently returned from Waterloo.

Many of Major Kurland's memories from his time after returning home involve the managing voice of Miss Lucy Harrington telling him what to do and what not to do after she replace his original nurse who was a bit of a drunk. Though she is a plain woman, he appreciates her attitude. It is forthright and she is one of the few people who doesn't treat him as though his mind is as damaged as his leg. 

One night, the major looks out his window and sees someone carrying a heavy load. How does that tie in to the disappearance of two girls from the village? And what about the small thefts from various stores and houses?

The mysteries all tied together neatly. We get to see how Lucy and Robert interact. Though childhood friends, the two are definitely not in love (at this point) but they are making each other better and supporting each other when no one else will. 

Kurland St. Mary Mystery #1

Four stars

This book came out November 26, 2013

Followed by Death comes to London

Borrowed as audiobook from Audible Plus catalog

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

The Hurtwood Village Murders by Benedict Brown

His second book now safely published, Marius Quin is going for a celebratory lunch with his Lady Isabella Montague. Too bad her beau, Gilbert Gaines, joins them. It seems the two have an idea for a new business as private investigators. Their first case can be why people are sending poison pen letters to people in the village they grew up in. Specifically, why Lucinda Heaton, who is revered by most of the town, is getting these letters. 

Isabella and Marius travel back and get to know some of the people in town, none of whom have changed very much though Marius describes trying to overlay the people from his memories with the people in front of him. Then, someone is murdered. Inspector Lovelace is pressed into service once again (though neither Bella nor Marius know his first name...

This was a nice addition to the series. I didn't love the wrap up to the mystery but it left us with an open ended question for the next book in the series.

Marius Quin #2

Four stars

This book comes out February 20, 2024

Follows Murder at Everham Hall

ARC kindly provided by Storm Publishing and NetGalley

Opinions are my own

Lady Avely's Guide to Truth and Magic by Rosalie Oaks

This is a really cute book and I am going to figure out how to read the other series that Oaks has. I was a little annoyed at some of the capitalization in this book and can't figure out why because I haven't minded it in other books. I am also not a fan of time skips but that only happened in the first half of this book and I was very relieved. 

Judith Avely has only recently been given the rank of marchioness for her husband's service to the crown. Unfortunately, after his death, she also discovered something else about him and she is returning to Sargenet, the estate of the Duke of Sargen, to try to heal that secret. Being able to use her new title will work to her advantage as she doesn't want anyone to know who she is. 

The first night at the inn, she not only encounters a vampiri, she also sees, and is seen by, the Duke. It seems that he is recently returned after nine years abroad to deal with the rumors of a haunting on his estate and the death of a footman. He could use her Gift of Discernment (being able to hear a lie) to help ferret out the truth of what has been going on while he is gone. 

I loved the lay out of the main characters but thought we could have learned more about some of the side characters, especially the ones that come into play at the end of the book. It is hard to do when there are so many characters that we will probably see in future books so Oaks was trying to paint them all equally. 

Matronly Misadventures #1

Four stars

This book came out February 16, 2024

Followed by Lady Avely's Guide to Lies and Charms

ARC kindly provided by Parkerville Press and NetGalley

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