A Shot in the Dark by Matthew Costello

Barbara’s rating: 4 of 5 stars

Series: Mydworth Mysteries #1
Publication Date: 7/31/19

What a delightful introduction to a new series this book was! I love historical mysteries and this will be a new favorite series for me. I love that it features an American and a Brit and that the writers are also – one American and one Brit. That means that we get the correct lingo, etc. from both sides. Love it!

Kat Reilly and Sir Harry Mortimer are, on the surface, an unlikely match. He is an English aristocrat and she is the daughter of an American pub owner. Yet, each has served in the war and then served their countries in other capacities. Now, they have found each other and love.

Kat and Sir Harry are on their way to Mydworth Manor to begin their new life together. As their car and baggage are being unloaded from the steamer ship, a messenger shows up with an urgent summons for Harry to make an appearance at the Home Office. So, Kat heads to Mydworth on her own – driving Harry’s prized Alvis motorcar. She had a lovely adventure with learning the rules of the English road.

When she arrives at the dower house they plan to live in, it is dark and boarded up. Didn’t their housekeeper get the cable advising of their arrival? Kat heads off, on foot, across the field to the manor house where Harry’s aunt lives hoping for a place to spend the night and await Harry’s arrival. She arrives to find a man climbing out a window – only to be shot – and then more bullets are flying all around – several flying very close to Kat. What a welcome to her new home!

Since Mydworth is a very small community, Harry’s aunt asks him and Kat to investigate. When the dead man is identified, they worry that the murderer might be close to home. With the house full of guests and servants galore, there are plenty of suspects to go around. Time is of the essence since the guests are all planning to leave.

With suspects aplenty, Kit and Harry have to work quickly to identify the guilty party. Who murdered the man who just happened to be a jewel thief? The solution is hard-won, the villain unexpected and the punishment sad.

I loved the romance and the mystery was interesting – but I never did understand why the dower house was unprepared for their arrival. Just something that was left undone and unexplained, yet it was an integral part of the plot

I am really looking forward to the next books in the series.