A Study in Murder
A Victorian Book Club Mystery
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4.0 • 1 Rating
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- £10.99
Publisher Description
USA Today bestselling author
A mystery author is charged with murder—and the plot thickens faster than anyone can turn the pages—in this new series debut, perfect for fans of Rhys Bowen and Ellery Adams
Bath, England, 1890. Mystery author Lady Amy Lovell receives an anonymous letter containing shocking news: her fiancé, Mr. Ronald St. Vincent, has been dabbling in something illegal, which causes her to promptly break their engagement.
Two evenings later, as Lady Amy awaits a visit from Lord William Wethington, fellow member of the Bath Mystery Book Club, her former fiancé makes an unexpected and most unwelcome appearance at her house. She promptly sends him to the library to cool his heels but later discovers the room seemingly empty—until she stumbles upon a dead Mr. St. Vincent with a knife in his chest.
Lord Wethington arrives to find Lady Amy screaming and sends for the police, but the Bobbies immediately assume that she is the killer. Desperate to clear her name, Lady Amy and Lord Wethington launch their own investigation—and stir up a hornet's nest of suspects, from the gardener who served time in prison for murder to a vengeful woman who was spurned by St. Vincent before he proposed to Lady Amy.
Can they close the book on the case before the real killer gets away with murder?
PUBLISHERS WEEKLY
Romance author Hutton (Heirlooms of the Heart) makes her mystery debut with this disappointing series launch. Lady Amy Lovell, who writes mysteries under a pseudonym and is a member of a mystery book club in 1890s Bath, England, finds herself in a real-life mystery when her former fianc , Ronald St. Vincent, is killed in her home. As the police seem ready to cast the murder as the outcome of a lovers' quarrel, she and her friend William, Viscount Wethington, take up sleuthing. They follow up an anonymous note that indicates St. Vincent was involved in the drug trade. They also examine St. Vincent's shipping business and pursue suspects such as his rejected girlfriend and his scheming nephew and heir. The engagement of a private investigator by Lady Amy's father and an attempt on the lives of Lady Amy and Lord William add predictable complications. Anachronisms, implausibilities, and uneven plotting fail to convince. Fans of Hutton's romances may appreciate this.
Customer Reviews
A cosy mystery
An engaging murder mystery set in 1890 with a hint of romance. Whilst it is obvious that the author plans to make this a series, I could have wished that the romance element had moved along a bit faster. I see no reason why their future partnership could not be that of an engaged or married couple.
Lady Amy Lovell is a published author, under a pseudonym, of murder mysteries and so when she finds herself the chief suspect after the murder of her ex-fiancé and the police only seem to be looking at her as the culprit, she has no qualms about beginning an investigation of her own. In this she is helped by her long term acquaintance and fellow mystery enthusiast, Viscount Wethington.
I voluntarily read and reviewed an advanced copy of this book from NetGalley. All thoughts and opinions are my own.