Petteril’s Corpse by Mary Lancaster

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

Petteril's Corpse (Lord Petteril Mysteries Book 2)

Barbara’s rating: 4 of 5 Stars
Series: Lord Petteril Mysteries #2
Publication Date: 9/26/23
Period: Regency – 1812
Number of Pages: 183

In the first book of the series, we met (and loved) the eccentric Piers Withan who was ripped from his much-loved post as a don at Oxford and elevated to Viscount Petteril after the sudden loss of five of his closest male family members. To say he was unhappy about it all would be putting it mildly, but he was on better footing after solving a mystery that showed him and others that he could be a formidable foe if pushed. Also, in that first book we met Ape, a street urchin from the slums who saved Petteril and then basically became his shadow. We also discovered that Ape was actually a female who had been dressing and acting as a male (for protection) for so long that she had forgotten how to be female. I’m going into all of this because, if you haven’t read the first book (you really should), you’ll need some background for parts of this one to be clear. It is my suggestion that you read at least the first two books in the series for a proper understanding of the background, and the future books will probably be fine as standalone reads. BTW – Petteril has an affliction that keeps him from being able to recognize faces – especially those he doesn’t come into contact with on a regular basis.

Lord Petteril has convinced Ape to transition from her guise as a male and adopt her true identity as a female named April. To facilitate that change, Ape will travel with Petteril to his country estate, Haybury Court, as his assistant – and along the way, Ape will become April. Ape puts the transition off as long as possible, but when they are close to arriving at the state, she relents and makes the change.

The real adventure begins when they smell smoke in the woods as they are approaching Haybury, and decide to see what is burning. What do they find? A very naked body whose clothing is a pile of cinders in a nearby burn pile. Petteril immediately notifies the local magistrate who seems totally inept at handling the investigation because he wants to rule it anything other than murder. Did I mention the corpse had a knife sticking out of his chest?

It was so much fun watching Petteril outwit all of those folks who still equated him with the child they had known so many years ago. To them, he was still the strange, awkward, unusual child who, perhaps, wasn’t all there – so they ignored him, spoke down to him, insulted him – until they discovered he was so much more than they had believed. Oops!

Once they had finally identified the corpse, there were suspects aplenty – even a local highwayman known as Brandy Bill. April and Petteril sift through the evidence, investigate the suspects, and finally identify who, what and why. Believe me – you’ll be surprised. You may suspect some things, but – you won’t know.

This was a fun read with delightful characters, murder, mayhem, kindness, metamorphosis, suspense, and finally a satisfactory end. I recommend this book and I hope you will enjoy it as much as I did. Now, the wait begins for the third book in the series – Petteril’s Ladybird.

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Murder in Protocol by Anne Cleeland

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

Murder in Protocol

Barbara’s rating: 5 out of 5 Stars
Series: A Doyle & Acton Mystery #17
Publication Date: 9/24/23
Period: Contemporary – Dublin
Number of Pages: 218

I am totally bewitched by this quirky series with such flawed, yet endearing characters. The strait-laced, fey, Irish Roman Catholic, Doyle is tasked with keeping her brilliant, scorched-earth, vigilante husband, Acton, under control by tempering his edges and keeping him on the straight-and-narrow. You’ll never meet a more mismatched pair, yet they work perfectly together.

Acton, Doyle, the children, their security, and staff are all in Dublin for the groundbreaking ceremony of a science lab they are donating to the school Doyle attended when growing up – St. Brigid’s School for Girls. This was all Acton’s idea and Doyle knows he’s up to something – she just has to figure out what that is – and put a stop to it. Whatever it is surely won’t be good – donating the science lab is good, but the ulterior motive won’t be.

At first, Doyle is sure Acton’s plot must have something to do with Sir Stephen, Acton’s distant cousin. Acton knows Sir Stephen plotted the death of a priest in order to gain control of the man’s family money – but – Acton is steering well away from all of that and allowing justice to take its course properly. That is so unlike him! Yet, while she’s sure there is a plot, she absolutely cannot find any evidence of one. She even employs her fey powers of being able to tell when someone is lying – and he’s not lying. So – what can he be up to?

When they discover a body beneath a tree where Doyle is giving her speech during the groundbreaking ceremony, Doyle wonders if this relates to whatever Acton is up to. No, he’s as surprised as everyone else is – and the body turns out to have been in the ground for a really long time.

If not Sir Stephen, and not the dead body, then what is Acton up to? Perhaps he really isn’t up to anything at all other than trying to give back to a place that means a lot to his wife. Perhaps it relates to their last ill-fated trip to Dublin. Perhaps, perhaps, perhaps. You’ll just have to read this very entertaining fast-paced story to find out if Acton is up to something – and if he is, can Doyle put a wrench in the works?

I can recommend this book, this series, and this author, and I hope you’ll enjoy this book as much as I did should you choose to read it. Happy Reading!

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