I chose this book to read right before going to sleep at night because it's a Regency historical cozy and would be a more calming read than, say, a thriller or a paranormal ghost story.

This was also dumb, because I enjoyed the story enough that I didn't want to close the book and I ended up staying up too late three nights in a row.

Ms. Lloyd created excellent characters: likeable and flawed. The clincher for me is not that they are flawed, but that there isn't any spotlight on the flaws; they weren't created to give the characters something to overcome, they just are what they are. Lucy is too headstrong and independent for most of the eligible men of London, and maybe a bit too old. Oh well, she is what she is and she's fine with it. Robert is a grumpy ass in a lot of pain (war wound). He's a good person, just really not subtle and he's short-tempered. He apologises when he offends, but well, it's the way he is. Anna comes closest to a trope: beautiful, naive, sweet-natured, but she shows not only the expected flashes of temper but also appealing moments of rational thinking and decisive action.

The mystery concerns the death of a dowager countess during a ball at Almack's - she was universally loathed so the suspects are thick on the ground. The plotting is complex, well-thought out and until the very end there are just too many people who could have done the terrible deeds that begin with that old woman's death.

There's a romantic element between Lucy and Robert but it's ethereal at best; I would have liked a little more forward momentum and less of Lucy jumping to unwarranted conclusions. (The end was what griped me the most - the rest was fine.)

A great read and it looks to be a great series - I'll be waiting for book 3. ( )

Who knew that I'd enjoy heterosexual historical fiction so much?! ( )

A year later in March 1817 Lucy Harrington and her sister Anna leave Kurland St. Mary to have a season in town. Both looking for husbands.
Not long after Major Robert Kurland is summoned to London to accept a baronetcy for his war deeds.
When the grandmother of a Major's friend - the dowager Countess of Broughton - dies, Lucy and the Major begin their own investigation, but can they prevent more deaths.
Really liking the characters and enjoyed re-reading this second in the series and look forward to the next. ( )

Major Robert Kurland goes to London where he will receive a noble title for his war valor. Lucy and Anna Harrington, daughters of Kurland St. Mary's rector, travel to London for the season, hoping to find a husband. Robert runs into an old army acquaintance. When the acquaintance's relative, the Dowager Countess of Broughton, dies under suspicious circumstances, the amateur sleuths (Robert and Lucy) use the developing scientific field of poison identification to determine how she met her death and who might be responsible. I found the book enjoyable although the mystery takes a back seat to some of the other less enjoyable plot elements, such as the pursuit of marriage. ( )

In the continuing sleuthing saga of Lucy and Robert, they remain in touch even though both have reasons to be in London. The rector, Lucy's father sets my teeth on edge with his presumptuous attitude to women, but the story mostly unfolds away from the village of Kurland St. Mary.

I romped through the tale quickly but with somewhat less enjoyment due to improbable developments along the lines of the still room and entangled family and friend associations. My biggest niggle was the clumsy development of the obvious character really causing the grief. It could have been more smoothly drawn with less contrived scenarios. However, I did have a few snorts of laughter over the behaviour of some of the side-characters. ( )