Author: Barbara

Avid reader/reviewer of historical romance and historical mysteries.

Murder in Reproach by Anne Cleeland

On By BarbaraIn Barb's Reviews, Contemporary, Mystery, Part of a SeriesLeave a comment

Murder in ReproachBarbara’s rating: 5 out of 5 stars
Series: A Doyle & Acton Mystery #19 (I think)
Publication Date: 2/21/24
Period: Contemporary London
Number of Pages: 220

I have come to realize that I really like reading books with quirky characters – even when those quirks might not be ‘lovable’ quirks. Go figure. This series is filled with quirky characters – some lovable quirks – some not. If you like quirky adventures, this book and this series might be for you.

Doyle and the newly promoted Munoz have been called to the scene of what would appear to be a cut-and-dried suicide. Except, there is a strange item at the scene and the housekeeper insists the victim would never, ever take her own life. So, is there more to it than meets the eye? Hmmm. They decide to leave it open for the moment and will try to gather a bit more information before they close the case.

With further investigation, they discover another suicide with the same item left at the scene – and that victim had a tie-in with a highly publicized public-servant scandal. Could this new case also have a tie-in? Are there more public-servants left who were involved in the scandal, but didn’t get rooted out? Could it be revenge someone is after?

The tension steps up when there is yet another murder and then more when Doyle, her family, and several friends, including children, are all put in harm’s way. How can they all escape – or can they? You’ll just have to read this fun, entertaining book to see what everyone is up to this time.

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Petteril’s Portrait by Mary Lancaster

On By BarbaraIn Barb's Reviews, Historical Mystery, Part of a Series, Regency Era (1811-1820)Leave a comment

Petteril's Portrait (Lord Petteril Mysteries Book 4)

Barbara’s rating: 4 out of 5 stars
Series: Lord Petteril Mysteries #4
Publication Date: 2/22/24
Period: Regency
Number of Pages: 167

I loved this latest addition to the Lord Petteril Mysteries series. The characters are very likable and quirky and the mysteries (yes, more than one) are interesting and the resolution is surprising. I will mention that I believe you should read the books in this series in the order they are published rather than starting in the middle. There are character developments you need to follow as they happen to fully understand the characters.

Piers Withan, newly elevated Viscount Petteril, has spent the first few months in his new title dealing with family issues and visiting the various properties – and solving mysteries along the way. He and his assistant April are on their way to one of those properties, Sillitrees, but first, they will stop by the home of his good friend Sir Peter Haggard (Haggs) because there is a small mystery to solve.

A portrait of Haggs’s father has been defaced and Haggs has asked Lord Peteril to discover who did it. Luckily, the artist who painted the portrait, a Frenchman named Claude St. Etienne, is also there to paint a portrait of Haggs. The artist can repair the picture, but why would anyone deface and damage the portrait in the first place since Haggs’s father was beloved by all who were in attendance?

Solving the mystery of the portrait doesn’t take long at all – but then there is a murder. Oops! Did the person who defaced the portrait also commit the murder? Surely not! If not, who else might it have been and were the two things related?

This was a fun, entertaining read with two lovely mysteries and equally lovely characters. I would have liked to see more progress in April’s language skills after several months, but there doesn’t seem to be a lot happening there nor in her ladylike behavior. So, it will be interesting to see what happens in the next book, Petteril’s Wife, which will be released later this spring.

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