Death at the Manor

Death at the Manor (2022) Katharine Schellman (Lily Adler)

Set in England in 1815.

Jack’s ship is repaired and ready to return to see, and Lily is headed to the country to visit her aunt.

“Will you write me?”

“Of course. I shall tell you how revered I am aboard ship and how no one ever dares tell me I am wrong about anything. Perhaps it will influence you and Lady Carroway to treat me with more respect when I return.”

Lily’s aunts were, interestingly, what I was expecting.

“The cottage comes to me, with the provision in her will that Miss Clarke is to be allowed to reside there as long as she wishes. But her income passes to Miss Clarke before coming to me—I believe they have both arranged things similarly so that the other might continue to live independently.”

What I wasn’t expecting was Lily’s reaction to figuring things out.

Did she really think she could be the one to untangle it? When she had taken so long to realize what was right in front of her nose—when she had not, in fact, realized, until it had been plainly spelled out for her? She was glad no one was there to see her embarrassment.

In addition to murder, Hampshire contains Mr Spenser. Lily and Matthew has been dancing uneasily around their attraction to each other, and now they will be spending more time together.

I found myself (once again) siding with Ofelia.

“I do not care what the captain would say,” she said, lifting her chin defiantly. “He cannot ask me to stay loyal to Mr. Adler forever, however much we both loved him.”

“Oh.” Ofelia felt her eyes grow wide. She had always thought Mrs. Adler exceptionally intelligent—but apparently even the cleverest of women could have unfortunate blind spots. Either that or Mrs. Adler was protesting a little too much because she knew, even if she had not yet admitted it to herself, what the captain’s objection might be.

The mystery was interesting, and I pretty much guessed wrong. Repeatedly.

But it was a fun story, and I very much enjoyed it.

Publisher: Crooked Lane Books

Rating: 8/10

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