Barbara’s rating: 3.3 out of 5 Stars
Series: Lady Anne Addison Mysteries #5
Publication Date: 6/11/24
Period: Georgian Bath
Number of Pages: 302

The earlier books in this series were published in 2009 under the author name, Donna Lea Simpson. I don’t know if this book was published earlier as well or if it is a new addition to the series. Whatever the case, I enjoyed this book. I have not read the earlier books in the series, but I will remedy that as soon as I get some room in my reading schedule. While the mystery in this book is standalone, I do wish I had read the earlier books to have first-hand knowledge of the development of the relationship between Lady Anne and the Marquess of Darkfell. There are other interesting characters and relationships that I wish to learn about in the earlier books as well. There is certainly enough ‘history’ and description in this book to make it a standalone – I am just longing for that better understanding that comes from reading the previous books.

Lady Anne Addison is staying with her grandmother in Bath while preparing for her wedding to the Marquess of Darkfell. Darkfell has also rented accommodations in Bath to prepare for their union at St. Swithin’s Church. Her father and brother are staying with Darkfell while her mother is staying with her and her grandmother.

Lady Anne has little tolerance for the plans and fripperies of the wedding, so she’s happy to be summoned to the local girl’s school to investigate a ‘ghostly’ incident. One of their students, Miss Faithful Collier, has had an incident with an otherworldly presence that demanded she commits suicide by jumping from the upper story window.. Miss Collier is surprisingly childlike even though she is seventeen. After doing a few interviews and making several assumptions, Lady Anne declares the ‘visitation’ to be shenanigans and trickery on the part of others in the household. She is happy to have solved the mystery and to have counseled the young lady that her visitation was not otherworldly and she should view any future events to be coming from this world rather than the next. Yay, Lady Anne. Except, the following day, Miss Collier is found – dead – directly beneath the windows from which the apparition had apparently cajoled her to jump. OOPS!

Was it suicide? Was it murder? Was it an accident? Oh! My! Goodness! It is, of course, murder. But who would hold such animosity toward a sweet, innocent, young girl? There were, of course, schoolgirl spats, but – enough to murder? Surely not! Then who – and how?

I had very mixed feelings about Lady Anne. Perhaps, had I read the previous books, I would have reacted differently. Lady Anne is presented as this brilliant investigator, but I didn’t see that. As she is investigating – every time she gets to a point where she might learn something important – there is a very convenient interruption. That truly annoys me! Also, most of the pertinent information is gathered by her friends and cohorts rather than Lady Anne. Yet – it is Lady Anne who is credited with solving the crime. Yes, she did, in the end, confront the villain and solve the crime. However, that did not happen without the TSTL moments that I absolutely detest. She is supposedly a very intelligent woman – an investigator – a solver of mysteries – yet, she doesn’t have enough sense to avoid an obvious ploy? Yes, she sent a note saying where she was going – but – good grief – how was she even sure the recipient would be in a place to receive the note and respond in time? Then, walking into a dark alley pursuing a cat? No, I was just done at that point.

I enjoyed the mystery, but the story wasn’t exactly what I was hoping for. I wanted to see a truly equal partnership between Lady Anne and the Marquess, but that isn’t what I got. It was Lady Anne’s investigation – totally and completely – and the Marquess could only perform those tasks asked/allowed of him. Still, the mystery was interesting and I enjoyed seeing the resolution. If there is another book in the series, I might read it to see if there is a more equal investigative partnership now that they are married, but if it is more of the same, I probably won’t continue. That is a shame because I’ve already purchased the first books in the series and the personal relationships make me wonder if I want to read them. We’ll see.

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

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