Category: Mystery

A Wallflower’s Guide to Viscounts and Vice by Manda Collins

On By TracyIn Historical Mystery, Mystery, Part of a Series, Top Pick - Highly Recommended, Tracy's Reviews, Victorian Era (1837-1901)Leave a comment

A Wallflower’s Guide to Viscounts and Vice (A Wallflower’s Guide #1)A Wallflower’s Guide to Viscounts and Vice by Manda Collins

Tracy’s Rating: 4.5 of 5 stars

Series: A Wallflower’s Guide, #1

Release Date: April 22, 2025

After the murder of his father, William, Viscount Gilford left England to grieve and has stayed away for years, but his sojourn comes to a swift end when his friend, American Benjamin Woodward to give him a message from Gilford’s man of business, informing him that his estate steward embezzled his fortune, and he is needed back in England. Once home, he learns that the situation is worse than he thought, and he will have to marry an heiress immediately. He meets his sister’s friend Lucy Penhallow almost immediately and despite his need to find a bride, he finds himself drawn to Lucy. He knows that he should be looking elsewhere for a bride, but soon finds himself immersed in mystery, mayhem and murder and falling in love with the one woman he should not be pursuing.

Heiress Lucy Penhallow and her friends are wallflowers by choice and members of the Mischief and Mayhem book club (aka The Ems), when one of the members, Miss Vera Blackwell, an American heiress is abducted during a ball, Lucy and William are witnesses and join together to find her. But finding a missing heiress quickly turns into a dangerous endeavor, for both her heart and her life.

What a great read! This book was everything I had hoped it would be and more! Lucy and William are wonderful characters, both are easy to like and have an undeniable chemistry. Ms. Collins did a great job with both the mystery and the world building of this story, giving her readers an intriguing start to the new series. The book has betrayal, friendship, great secondary characters, danger, a little heartache, a lot of mystery, a dash of spice and finally a very hard-won HEA. This is the first book in a new series and a story I am happy to recommend to my fellow HR & Historical Mystery readers!

*I am voluntarily leaving a review for an eARC that I requested and was provided to me by the publisher/author. All opinions in this review are my own. *

Written in Stone: A Scottish Bookshop Mystery by Paige Shelton

On By BarbaraIn Barb's Reviews, Mystery, Part of a Series2 Comments

Written in Stone: A Scottish Bookshop Mystery

Barbara’s rating: 4 out of 5 Stars
Series: A Scottish Bookshop Mystery #10
Publication Date: 4/1/25
Period: Contemporary Edinburgh
Number of Pages: 296

American Delaney Nichols has fallen in love with all things Scottish – especially her adopted home of Edinburgh and her new, handsome, kilt-wearing husband, Tom. She’s enthralled with the new sights, smells, and tastes that have opened to her. Her decision to accept Edwin MacAlister’s offer of a job at his specialty bookstore – The Cracked Spine – is her best ever.

Delaney was thrilled when she won a special invitation to visit the artist Ryory Bennigan’s studio as part of the Hidden Door Festival. Ryory is a very nice but exceedingly reclusive man who is obsessed by the Picts. His art medium is recreating his own versions of Pict symbols in stone – and his body is a canvas of those symbols.

As Delaney and Tom arrive at Ryory’s home, they are introduced to a man, Dr. Pace, who is leaving – a man from Kansas where Delaney is from – a man who works for the university Delaney attended. That was a lovely surprise. But then, things head south when they discover Ryory’s assistant, Ani, on the floor in pain, and later, the body of Dr. Pace is discovered in his rented home.

It quickly became obvious that Dr. Pace was up to something – but what? Though the police are investigating, Delaney just can’t leave it alone. But then, people who know things keep turning up in her path, and since she is always ravenously curious about everything, she asks questions. Suspicions abound, but will they ever solve the case without hard proof?

As always, this author has presented us with a delightful mystery as well as a bit of Scotland’s history. I love that I always learn something new and interesting in these books as well as working through the resolution of an interesting mystery. I recommend this book and this series to anyone who enjoys an interesting, light mystery filled with entertaining characters and just enough red herrings to keep you guessing.

I voluntarily read an early copy of this book. All thoughts and opinions are my own.

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