This book was ok. I felt like it simply took the author too long to tie up the two seemingly separate story lines. Once she intersected the stories, it then felt rushed. I enjoyed the main characters, but not enough to hope that the book would turn into a series (which I understand it did not). ( )

Clever, entertaining historical murder mystery featuring dramatist Aphra Behn as a likeable, put-upon heroine. With a new play in the offing and drastically low on funds, she has also been saddled with an appalling actress as the result of a bet between two Lords. A chance encounter with a beggar dredges up painful memories of the past, and two brothers who showed her a kindness. Shortly after, the two brothers are dead and she is in the unenviable position of paying for their funerals. Spies, lords, and street thieves all show a dangerous interest in the brothers' doings, and Aphra finds herself caught up in a conspiracy that could shake the throne and plunge the country into civil war. ( )

Funny, funny, funny. I always wish the author had a made a series with this Restoration era playwright/sleuth. But since she did not, I simply reread this book from time to time.

I had a hard time really getting lost in this book for a couple of reasons. First, I'm just not that familiar with Restoration history and there were enough bits that it made difficult reading sometimes. Second, it was part of a series, but since it was the first one I read, I kept feeling like there was backstory that I just didn't "get" because I didn't know the character well enough.
In any case, it didn't intrigue me enough to get to know the MC any better, so I'll be giving the rest of these mysteries a miss. ( )

Blah. This did not hold my interest. I read over half but never finished it. ( )