A Lady’s Guide to Mischief and Murder

A Lady’s Guide to Mischief and Murder (2020) Dianne Freeman (Countess of Harleigh Mystery)

Set in England in 1899.

Frances, Countess of Harleigh, was thinking she might be able to relax a bit, however her sister and her fiancee insist their wedding be moved up, so Frances is suddenly off to the country, to turn her betrothed’s shooting party into a wedding party.

And the first issue right out of the station is Leo’s sisters.

Though they had their differences, they had seemed well-mannered and got on as well as any two sisters might. I now suspected that amity was due to the presence of their parents.

As with the first two books, the story makes it clear that with the aristocracy, marriages were fiscal or political arrangements, and infidelity was often assumed–even sometimes expected. Which is one of the reasons Frances wanted her sister to take her time finding a husband and getting married. She didn’t want Lily caught in the same marital trap she herself was.

I definitely enjoy the banter between Frances and George.

“I confess I had no idea what you were trying to tell me. Fortunately, your sister did.”

“I shall have to brush up on my skills,” he said with a sigh. “Or we could devise signals.”

I widened my eyes. “Or we could just speak to each other?”

“Well, if you insist on taking the easy route.”

And as with the previous books, the mystery was well done as well. So I shall be per-ordering the next book in the series.

Publisher : Kensington Books
Rating: 8/10

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