Barbara’s rating: 4.4 out of 5 Stars
Series: A Miss Morton Mystery #2
Publication Date: 8/22/23
Period: Victorian – 1838 London
Number of Pages: 304

It is 1838 and Miss Caroline Morton along with her employer Mrs. Frogerton and Mrs. Frogerton’s daughter Dorothy have settled into their rented London home to attend Dorothy’s first season. Dealing with the ton will be a cakewalk compared to the harrowing times they lived through in Miss Morton and the English Houseparty Murder, the first book in the series.

Dorothy is busy setting the ton on its ear with her forthright, headstrong, and very engaging manner. Yes, they sit up and take notice even though her wealth comes from – gulp – gasp – trade. Meanwhile, Mrs. Frogerton has taken an interest in spiritualism and has attended a few sessions with Madam Lavinia. She even takes Caroline with her to a session to see what she thinks about it. Very doubtful and very skeptical, Caroline wants to bring Dr. Harris to one of the sessions for his opinion. Why? Well, Madam Lavinia passed along something that no one else could have known – and she did the same with Dr. Harris. Could she genuinely have a gift? We’ll never know because Caroline and Dr. Harris found her body – and Dr. Harris was soon charged with murder.

It was so much fun watching Caroline and Mrs. Frogerton set Scotland Yard on its ear with their staunch belief in Dr. Harris and their flat-out refusal to let him be railroaded. Since Sergeant Dawson wasn’t really interested in finding the real murderer – he only wanted to close the case as quickly as possible – Caroline and Mrs. Frogerton decided they’d solve it to save their friend.

I think you’ll be genuinely surprised by the identity of the villain. You will probably wonder – what if – but you won’t be sure. There are plenty of red herrings to keep you and our erstwhile sleuths off on tangents and plenty of wit to keep you smiling and shaking your head.

I thoroughly enjoyed this book and can recommend it. The characters are delightful – especially Mrs. Frogerton, because, for me, she steals the show. So far, there isn’t a romance of any sort – and I really need one of those to totally enjoy the series. There is, of course, Dr. Harris from the last book. I never warmed to him in that book and the same was true of this one. Then, there is a new character, Mr. DeBloom, who is a bit intriguing. Not only could he be an excellent romantic interest, but there are some other hints of things to come for Caroline’s future as well. Cool – mystery within a mystery.

So, if you decide to read this book – I hope you love it as much as I did! Happy Reading!

I voluntarily read and reviewed an Advanced Reader Copy (ARC) of this book. All thoughts and opinions are my own.

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