An Infamous Betrayal by Lynn Messina

Two murders. Unassuming spinster Beatrice Hyde-Clare has now solved two murders. Both brought her into proximity with the Duke of Kesgreave for whom she is starting to develop a tendre. Which is ridiculous. He is in the upper echelon of peers and she is an orphan with a family that is acceptable at best. So when a person familiar with her problem solving on her first murder comes to her and asks for help with a second, Beatrice jumps at the chance. 

It seems the mother of the man's fiancee had a lover. That came out during the course of the first investigation. Now the man is dead, having expired in the mother's bed. Unfortunately, the duke seems determined to help her solve the mystery, even going with her when she once again dresses like a man. 

The mystery is definitely unfairly clued but the overarching storyline of the series moves quite nicely in this book and there are plotlines for subsequent books that are seeded here. 

Three Stars

Follows A Scandalous Deception 

Followed by A Nefarious Engagement

This book came out August 12th, 2018

Borrowed as ebook from Kindle Unlimited

Opinions are my own

A Scandalous Deception by Lynn Messina

Lies can come back to bite you in the butt. Beatrice Hyde-Clare is learning that first hand. In the first book of this series, she made up a love interest in order to make a girl feel empathy and talk to her. It backfired when the girl immediately told Beatrice's family about the man. Now they are obsessed with finding him. What else can Beatrice do but put a notice of his death in the paper?

Too bad a man falls dead right in front of her as she is exiting the building, stabbed with a very ostentatious knife. She's already solved one murder, does this one need to be solved by her too? Probably not. But she recognized that knife... and looking for it does set her right back in the path of the Duke of Kesgreave. 

The joy of these stories really is in reading the whole series. The mystery is a little thin and so is the romance but the growing story is overall fun.

Three Stars

Follows A Brazen Curiosity

Followed by An Infamous Betrayal

This book came out August 9th, 2018

Borrowed as ebook from Kindle Unlimited

Opinions are my own

Death in Ecstasy by Ngaio Marsh

Roderick-Alleyn-regular Nigel Bathgate is bored one rainy night. His boredom and a neon sign lead him to the House of the Sacred Flame. There are guards at the door to the temple which Nigel does eventually sneak manage to sneak into. Unfortunately, one of the parishioners dies. But Nigel has a Detective Inspector of Homicides' number memorized and Roderick Alleyn is brought into the mystery.

The woman who died was incredibly wealthy and fairly young (in her thirties). She recently changed her will to leave her money to the House of the Sacred Flame. But is that a good enough motive? Or could their be others.

I actually made it through this book faster than some in this series. It was tightly written and engaging. You can start to see some of the drug mania of the time that Marsh will start to infuse her books with.

Three stars

Follows The Nursing Home Murder

Followed by Vintage Murder

This book came out in 1936

Hard copy I didn't keep

Opinions are my own

The Love Talker by Elizabeth Peters

Definitely not one of Ms. Peters' best books. It has the usual mysterious atmosphere and a heroine in danger, but the "romance" aspects of the book were just a little too ooky for me. Somehow, thought it was published in 1980, it felt more dated than many of her previous books.
Laurie Carlson is working on her dissertation in the bleak winter of Chicago when she gets a letter special delivery from her usually parsimonious aunt telling her she needs to come back to Pennsylvania. Her brother who she hasn't seen in a number of years calls and the two decide it is past time to go back and visit their family. There are three siblings left from their mother's mother, their aunts Lizzy and Ida and their brother Ned, now all in their 70 living together in the family mansion holding to their Spencerian ideals.  Aunt Lizzy is a fabulous cook and up-to-date with fashions but she has followed every out-there idea there is. The latest seems to be fairies and it has Aunt Ida, frankly quite worried. Uncle Ned is not very worried but, then, he is incredibly laid back and just takes the world as it comes. 
Unfortunately, it seems that someone is working very hard to make Aunt Lizzy believe that fairies are real, but for what purpose? And why does it seem so sinister?

Two stars

This book came out in 1980

Audiobook borrowed from Audible Premium Plus

Opinions are my own

His Wicked Charm by Candace Camp

Constantine "Con" Moreland is a little sad. His twin is getting married. Of course, he is happy for Alex but he wants the same kind of bond. All he has is a slightly antagonistic relationship with his twin's new wife's best friend, Lilah Holcutt. 

Lilah is also sad. She has been raised by an aunt who is sort of old-fashioned and she really has enjoyed the connection to the Morelands she had through her friend Sabrina. But with Sabrina on her honeymoon, she has no reason to see the family. Racking her brain, she remembers that she promised to drop off a book for one of the sisters-in-law, Olivia. While there, sister Anna has a vision that the rest of the family have been kidnapped. This sets off a series of events that lead Con and Lilah heading to her ancestral home where strange doings are happening.

A little bit better than the previous book but not much (both were good). I definitely connected more with Lilah who was smart and sharp and, generally, knew her own mind. Con was a little irreverent but generally about himself and his teasing Lilah never crossed into mean or creepy.

Three stars

Follows His Sinful Touch

Followed by His Improper Lady

This book came out March 27th, 2018 

Hard copy I didn't keep

Opinions are my own

His Sinful Touch by Candace Camp

Alexander "Alex" Moreland is wondering whether his life is too staid (especially when compared to his investigator brother's) when a strange-looking gentleman arrives on the doorstep of his brother's offices. Except it's not a gentleman, she's a lady. But she can't tell him anything because she's completely lost her memory. She has a few things in her pockets which help because one has the name "Sabrina" (apparently her name) and Alex is actually psychometric, he can tell the history of inanimate object just by his touch.

Alex can tell that she is a lady and he immediately takes her home to his parents. Their family is known as the "Mad Morelands" and one more person who is not quite normal isn't going to make a difference.  He also feels drawn to this woman, not unlike the "twin feeling" that he has with his brother.

Sabrina is bewildered that this man is so willing to take her in. Even without her memory she's pretty sure this is not what she's used to. But Alex's family is warm and welcoming and their open-arms are a reason that I'm enjoying the series so much. I didn't love the insta-bond between Sabrina and Alex but it was still an okay story.

Three stars

Follows An Unexpected Pleasure

Followed by His Wicked Charm

This book came out January 20th, 2018

Hard copy I didn't keep

Opinions are my own

Weekend Wife by Erin McCarthy

Grant Caldwell has been coming to the same diner for waffles (which he hates) for weeks just because he has a crush on one of the servers. But that time is coming to an end. He can't continue to torture himself so he leaves a large tip and prepares to exit her life.
Leah has been flirting with Grant since he started coming into the restaurant where she works as a singing server. When she finds a hundred dollar bill under his plate, she thinks he made a mistake and rushes after him. That turns out to be a mistake when she is injured. But that does get Grant up into her house for one delicious afternoon. And that's all it's going to be. Until Grant shows up again asking her to play his fake fiancee so that his father will turn over the reins of the family company. 
A little thin in places, the sex is pretty hot and the story is pretty decent for a free book.  

Three stars

Followed by Five First Dates

This book came out February 3rd, 2020

Ebook from Kindle

Opinions are my own