Category: Victorian Era (1837-1901)

In the history of the United Kingdom, the Victorian era was the period of Queen Victoria’s reign, from 20 June 1837 until her death on 22 January 1901. The era followed the Georgian period and preceded the Edwardian period, and its later half overlaps with the first part of the Belle Époque era of continental Europe.
Preceded by: Regency era
Followed by: Edwardian era
Monarch: Victoria

Miss Morton And The Spirits Of The Underworld by Catherine Lloyd

On By BarbaraIn Barb's Reviews, Historical Mystery, Part of a Series, Victorian Era (1837-1901)Leave a comment

Miss Morton And The Spirits Of The Underworld (Miss Morton Mysteries #2)

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.

View all my reviews

The Detective Duke by Scarlett Scott

On By BarbaraIn Barb's Reviews, Part of a Series, Victorian Era (1837-1901)Leave a comment

The Detective Duke (Unexpected Lords #1)

Barbara’s rating: 4.3 out of 5 Stars
Series: Unexpected Lord’s #1
Publication Date: 11/18/21
Period: Victorian – 1886 – London and Buckinghamshire
Number of Pages: 318

I thoroughly enjoyed this first-in-series book by a new-to-me author. The title and premise sounded intriguing, so, of course, I was excited to read the book. We have Hudson Stone, a very successful Detective Chief Inspector at Scotland Yard who absolutely loves his profession – yet, out of the blue, he finds out he’s now the Duke of Wycombe. Bummer that! Then, we have Lady Elysande Collingwood, who was betrothed to the previous duke, not because it was a love match, but because her parents said she had to marry and he was as good as any other male. So, in her view – the new duke will do just fine as well.

I liked Elysande who was brilliant, independent, determined, and at the same time vulnerable and insecure. I really liked Hudson also – because the poor guy just had his whole world turned upside down when they tracked him down as the heir to a Duchy. He didn’t care for aristocrats – and suddenly he was one – and a penniless one to boot. Can he and Elysande make a go of it? You’ll just have to read it and see.

Making a go of it won’t be easy when Hudson takes off to London to help capture an escaped criminal – his last case. Then, he is accused of murder – and another – and … Elysand can just walk away and let it be – or she can believe in him and help prove his innocence. Which will it be? You’ll just have to read it and see.

This was fast-paced, well-written, very spicy, and romantic. I absolutely loved the supporting characters – especially Elysande’s family – and I believe several (maybe all) of them will be featured in future books in the series. I enjoyed the read so much that I purchased the second book as soon as I finished this one. Happy Reading!

View all my reviews