Barbara’s rating: 4 out of 5 Stars
Series: Countess of Harleigh Mystery #7
Publication Date: 6/25/24
Period: Victorian – (Paris)
Number of Pages: 300

This was yet another fun, entertaining, and exciting mystery from this author. This time, we got to visit Paris during the Exposition and it was so much fun to picture all of the excitement of the time and the marvelous things that were displayed. Oh – and while we were there, we got to solve a couple of murders.

Frances was just mentioning to George that their lives were getting a bit ho-hum when they received a missive from George’s Aunt Julia requesting him to come to Paris and investigate the death of Paul Ducasse – a renowned French artist. Though she is very secretive about her reasons, they want to help if they can – and – well – Paris.

If they thought there was little information in the missive they received, that was nothing compared to the tight-lipped Aunt Julia they met when they arrived. Julia had totally changed her mind and wanted them to leave it alone, yet she seemed nervous and out of sorts. Had she seen, heard, or learned something that made her fearful?

Almost as soon as they arrived, Aunt Julia was murdered. Surely the two murders were connected, but how and why? It seems anyone who might be a suspect had an alibi for one murder or the other. Should they back away and let Inspector Cadieux of the Sûreté investigate? Surely, they could help from the background!

Lady Julia Hazelton had been estranged from her family in England for many years. It wasn’t that there had been a disagreement, it was that Julia had secrets – deep secrets – that she wanted to keep from them. Only a couple of her relatives knew her secrets and they had kept them for her. Was her murder because of some of her secrets? There are many suspects, but none of them fit both murders. What connects them?

Oh! What tangled webs we weave when we practice to deceive. This was a delightful, entertaining mystery with more suspects than you could imagine – but not so many motives. I thoroughly enjoyed watching Frances and George flit all over Paris looking for suspects and motives while unraveling clues and getting in the way of Inspector Cadieux.

If you enjoy a light and entertaining mystery with lovely characters that invite you into their lives and make you love them, then you’ll enjoy this book. I surely did! However, Aunt Julia’s death made me really sad because of the daughter she left behind and I wish there had been another way to accomplish the same plot line.

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

Barbara’s rating: 4 of 5 Stars
Series: Countess of Harleigh Mystery #6
Publication Date: 6/27/23
Period: Victorian – 1900 London
Number of Pages: 304

Missing jewels, a missing diary, a dead Viscount, a drugged Viscountess, a dead nurse, and a debutante with secrets will keep you on the edge of your seat in this excellently written and delightfully entertaining story. George Hazelton and his new wife, Frances, the former Countess of Harleigh, have their work cut out for them this time. Not that they exactly knew it was a case in the beginning. George was asked by the British Museum to find a diary that had been left to them by the late Viscount Winstead. They must have the diary to provide the provenance of the artifacts also left to them by the late Viscount, yet it wasn’t turned over to them along with the artifacts. The missing diary makes the artifacts practically worthless. At the same time, Frances has been asked by the dowager Viscountess Winstead to help introduce her niece into society. It is a happy little accident that both of their tasks coincide because Frances has access to the home of the Winsteads and George does not.

The Winsteads win the prize for dysfunctional families. When Frances walks into their home she finds a nearly comatose Viscountess whose illness no one can explain, a new Viscount with no love for his stepmother, and various other family members living off the Viscount. They are venal, disrespectful, and have no thought for anyone other than themselves. However, being dysfunctional, venal, disrespectful, or hateful doesn’t make you a murderer – does it?

With Frances ensconced within the Winstead household, George has plenty to be concerned about. Without him there, there is no one to protect Frances from the murderer who is surely roaming the halls of that house. Frances could easily fall prey to someone clever enough to keep the Viscountess drugged, has committed at least one murder and maybe two, and has stolen some of the Viscountess’s jewels. Who can it be? Is it a member of the family? Is it more than one person? Is it the nurse? Is it the viscountess herself perpetrating a hoax? I’ll not tell – you’ll just have to read the book.

I definitely recommend this book and this series. The writing is excellent, the pacing nearly perfect, and the character development will make you want to meet them in person. Well, you’ll want to meet the good ones anyway. It is a fun, entertaining read with a lovely mystery and lots of shenanigans among some of the characters.

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

View all my reviews