Author: Barbara

Avid reader/reviewer of historical romance and historical mysteries.

Fatal By Design by Cara Devlin

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

Fatal by Design (Bow Street Duchess Mystery #5)

Barbara’s rating: 5 of 5 Stars
Series: Bow Street Duchess Mystery #5
Publication Date: 10/21/23
Period: Regency

Talk about an exciting read! We have another great mystery that will keep you guessing from page to page – perhaps not guessing about the who, but certainly the why. Then, there is Audrey and Hugh’s romance – there is lovely movement there, but I’m still apprehensive that Phillip will mess things up. That man just needs to REALLY die because pretending just doesn’t solve the moral issues for me.

This story picks up about four months after the last book ended. They received word about three months prior that Phillip had died after being lost in the sea after a storm. Audrey has spent the months since with Phillip’s brother and his wife – the new Duke and Duchess. Phillip’s family is mourning him deeply and, as usual, Phillip has left Audrey to clean up the mess and feel the guilt of not telling his family the truth.

The new Duke and Duchess are having a house party as the first entertainment since they were elevated, so Audrey is leaving their estate and heading back to Fournier. Not long after she leaves the estate, her driver discovers an abandoned coach on the side of the road – not only abandoned, but the driver is dead – shot. The passengers are missing, so Audrey decides to use her ‘gift’ to see if she can determine to whom the coach belongs and perhaps what happened. Shocker! The coach belongs to her estranged older sister, Millie, Viscountess Redding, and she’s been abducted – and . . .

Luckily, Hugh is attending the house party. Even though he is now a Viscount, he still has his sharp investigative talents – and besides – he misses it. Despite what is deemed appropriate and proper for a grieving spouse, Hugh and Audrey work together to find and hopefully rescue Millie from whoever has abducted her. They fear the worst when there is no ransom note and Millie’s maid is found floating in a nearby river.

Why would someone kidnap Millie? Why is there no ransom note? What does a ring with a very rare and valuable diamond have to do with it? Will they find Millie? Will she be alive if they do? Oh! My! Goodness! You’ll just have to read the book to find the answers to all of those questions – and more.

I can definitely recommend this book and this series. I will say that this probably wouldn’t be best read as a standalone book as you would be missing some very pertinent facts. I loved that we had more page time with some of the recurring characters and it was great to spend time and get to know them a bit more. Should you choose to read the book, I hope you will enjoy 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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No Strangers Here by Carlene O’Connor

On By BarbaraIn Barb's Reviews, Contemporary, Mystery, Part of a Series1 Comment

No Strangers Here (County Kerry Mystery, #1)

Barbara’s rating: 4 of 5 Stars
Series: County Kerry Mystery #1
Publication Date: 10/25/22
Period: Contemporary – County Kerry, Ireland
Number of Pages: 320

Dr. Dimpna Wilde, a Veterinarian, has just lived through a horrendous year with the criminal charges against her husband and then his suicide. Now, it seems the horror is only going to continue because a murder has been committed in her small hometown of Dingle and her parents and brother are under serious suspicion. With nothing to hold her in Dublin, she sets out for Dingle to help put things right – if she can.

This is a complex, convoluted tale filled with twists and turns and more red herrings than you can shake a stick at. Detective Inspector Cormac O’Brien has been sent from the Killarney station to handle this very high-profile murder in Dingle. The victim, Johnny O’Reilly, age sixty-nine, is a very rich and powerful racehorse owner who was found sitting propped up against a rock on the beach. He was wearing a designer suit and had a taro card showing the devil in his breast pocket – and nearby, on the ground, were sixty-nine shiny black stones spelling out Last Dance.

Cormac learns there is a long-running, complex enmity between the Wildes and the O’Reillys, and the evidence definitely points to the Wildes as the guilty party. However, something seems a bit ‘off’, just too perfect, for Cormac and though there is plenty of pressure from above, he doesn’t want to arrest someone he isn’t truly convinced is guilty. The more he learns of the two families, he wonders if perhaps he isn’t wrong – maybe one or more of the Wildes are guilty. Still, the daughter, Dempna, seems very straightforward, insightful, and honest. She’s sure it wasn’t her parents. If not them, who?

As Cormac tugs on thread after thread, some pull free and add nothing, while others lead him to new knowledge and more threads. How many threads will he be able to pull before he finds the guilty party – or the higher-ups take him off the case and declare their preferred guilty party?

I thoroughly enjoyed this book and recommend it. You’ll enjoy the characters of Dempna and Cormac and a few others, but you’ll be scratching your head and wondering how others are still allowed to live and breathe. It will be interesting to see, in future books, how Dempna and Cormac each manage to deal with an aging, infirm parent and perhaps form a romantic relationship. I’m looking forward to the next book in the series, Some of Us Are Looking, releasing October 24, 2023. Also, as a sadly inept American, I must confess that I am sure I butchered the pronunciation of what I am sure are beautiful names – such as Saiorse. I most humbly apologize to anyone with that beautiful name and hope you’ll forgive me – even though the pronunciations were said only in my head.

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