Tag: Mary Lancaster

Petteril’s Ladybird by Mary Lancaster

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

Petteril's Ladybird (Lord Petteril Mysteries #3)

Barbara’s rating: 4 out of 5 Stars
Series: Lord Petteril Mysteries #3
Publication Date: 10/3123
Period: Regency
Number of Pages: 157

Piers Withan, the newly minted fifth Viscount Petteril, has been at his country estate getting the lay of the land – and solving a murder – when he (and his assistant April) is urgently called back to London by his good friend, Sir Peter Haggard. It seems their mutual friend, Percy Austen, who is a very non-violent and amiable man, is about to be arrested for murder. Austen is the former protector of the victim’s mistress, and Percy’s gun was found beside the body.

Piers needs to quickly find the real murderer to spare Austen’s family the scandal of his arrest. Who would want to frame sweet, gentle Percy Austen? Or, was it someone else the murderer wanted to frame? The investigation takes them everywhere – from Seven Dials to Mayfair and everywhere in between. Could it be the mistress who did it? Maybe it was the victim’s brother. Is it someone from Austen’s past? Is it someone from the victim’s past? Is it someone from the mistress’s past? Is it the victim’s spouse? Possibilities abound, and time is of the essence!

I have enjoyed this series with the quirky, highly intelligent, bookish Viscount, and Ape the street urchin who turns out to be a girl named April. April’s growth and transformation have been a joy to watch, but her insecurities about showing herself as a female have been touching. This story features a fair amount of April because the victim’s mistress is someone we’ve heard April mention before. There are also some interesting developments in the relationship between April and Piers and I have to wonder where that will go.

If you enjoy a fast-paced, interesting mystery with quirky, endearing characters, then this is the series/book for you. From a mystery standpoint, this book can be read as a standalone – however, to understand the characters and their relationships, I suggest you read the books in order.

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Ghostly Lover by Mary Lancaster

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

Ghostly Lover (Crime & Passion)Barbara’s rating: 4/5 Stars
Series: Crime and Passion #3.5?
Publication Date: 10/14/23
Period: Regency
Number of Pages: 76 (Novella)

I love this series, but I’m unsure which number in the series this one is. It was initially published as a part of the Dragonblade Publishing Anthology, A Midnight Requiem, in October 2022, and is now being published as a standalone novella. I hate that authors/publishers seem to be avoiding listing the series and the number within the series on their books. It makes it downright difficult for readers to find the next book in a series.

Ghosties, goblins, and things that go bump in the night! Oh! My! Pragmatic and level-headed Lady Grizelda Tizsa does not believe in ghosts, but there is something very strange at the castle ruins on the Cathlinn House estate. Everyone claims the ghost of Aileen Cathlinn, who died a hundred years ago, haunts the ruins. Does she? Is she malevolent? Did she lure April Weir to the ruins where she would die? April was the betrothed of Richard Cathlinn and died at the ruins under mysterious circumstances. Yet, everyone seems to want to claim it was natural causes.

Lady Grizelda and her husband Dragan Tizsa were attending a family reunion at Grizelda’s father’s country estate when Dragan received a request from a close acquaintance asking him to come to Cathlinn House to investigate the death of his betrothed, April. Lady Grizelda refused to go because of the fretful baby, but Dragan went anyway. That didn’t go over very well. However, when Dragan wrote asking her to come help, she relented.

Grizelda sees what she believes to be a person at the ruins – after all, she doesn’t believe in ghosts. Yet, when she tries to show the person to others, there is no one there. Even on her arrival at Cathlinn House, Grizelda sees someone – and that someone is embracing her husband!

With an autopsy proving the death was neither natural nor otherworldly, can Dragan and Lady Grizelda identify the murderer before he/she strikes again? There are more suspects than you can count between the residents and servants who live in the house. Will they be able to lure the murderer out without being harmed themselves? You’ll have to read this delightfully ghoulish, ghostie, goblin-infested tome to see!

One additional thing delighted me about the book – I discovered the author can’t keep the spelling of Tizsa’s name straight either. 🙂 It was only a couple of times, but she did what I frequently do – she spelled it Tisza. 🙂 I loved it – I am not alone.

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