Bea and Kesgrave recapture some of their investigative sparkle in this latest outing. I enjoyed this one more than some of the previous titles, as the crime and the path of the investigation seem to give the reader a pretty fair shot at figuring out what happened, which I appreciate.
Bea's deeply hidden insecurities about her marriage and her identity have been the subject of (extensive) rumination for many, many books now, but I'm happy to report that even though they're still present, they're reined in a bit. And they're also made more relevant by the introduction of a new phase of life for her and Kesgrave. All in all, this volume picked up the pace and added a bit of needed freshness for the series.

Thanks to NetGalley and The Book Whisperer for this advance review copy! ( )

The Duchess comes through! With a little help from here friends!

A scintillating and baffling puzzle has Duchess Beatrice Hyde-Clare rather stumped and wondering just what’s happened. Roger Dunmore has been found dead on the floor of his bedroom. Seemingly he tripped and fell. His grandson, Viscount Ripley who aspires to social recognition figures if he can interest the Kesgraves in a possible murder, then this is the route to take. The stiir his murder would cause would mean Ripley might just have pulled off a social coup as he would then be mentioned by Mr. Twaddle-Thum.
Only it seems there’s more truth in his hazarded guess than first thought for Kesgrave has noticed a detail that had escaped Beatrice.
Meanwhile Beatrice is nursing a secret and is soulfully wondering if Kesgrave will curtail her investigations when she reveals it.
Flora is in high dudgeon over perceived slurs upon her capabilities as a certain Mr. Holcroft is the focus of her ire. Her determination to join the investigation is fully aroused.
Another fun read with our eccentric and unexpected Duchess.

A Book Whisperer ARC via NetGalley.
Many thanks to the author and publisher ( )

As usual, this author has provided us with an entertaining and well-crafted read. Our murderer is among an insanely dysfunctional family that will almost remind you of the old Keystone Cops movies. When you add Bea’s wild and wooly family into the mix, you have a recipe for total and utter chaos – along with some witty and humorous banter. As always, we have a lot of Bea’s internal dialogue to know what she is really thinking – and most of that internal dialogue centers around the fact that she is expecting a ‘cherub’ and is afraid she’s going to have to curtail her investigating. Oh! My! I sure do hope that isn’t the author actually thinking of ending the series.

Roger Dugmore, a man who is old and feeble, died when he was trying to get out of bed, fell, and hit his head on a table. Or is that what happened? You’ll know for sure after Bea and Kesgrave finish their investigation. Dugmore’s grandson, Viscount Ripley, asked for their help – mostly as a lark. You see, Ripley is very young, very naïve, very immature, and very determined to come to the notice of Mr. Twaddle Thum so he can be featured in his gossip column.

Bea is distracted by the news that she is 'with child' and initially misses an important clue. Thus, she believes this really is just a horrible accident – until Kesgrave shares what he has noticed. So, murder it is, and there are plenty of suspects with several grown grandchildren and a daughter all living in the home.

As the investigation progresses, they learn that grampa wasn’t the nicest of men. He ruled his family with an iron hand and had no compunction about blackmailing or otherwise coercing his own family into doing his bidding. With so many suspects and alibis floating around it seems almost impossible to find the solution. But, of course, they do.

While murder is a serious subject, the author always manages to slip in plenty of wit and humor along with side stories to make the darker topic more tolerable. As always, this story was rife with Americanisms – just in case you needed to know that. The characters are engaging and fun, and the side stories keep it really interesting. Again, as always, there is a lot of self-dialogue on Bea’s part – sometimes that causes me to skip some paragraphs – sometimes it doesn’t. At any rate, it is an enjoyable read and I hope you will enjoy it as much as I did.

I voluntarily read and reviewed an Advanced Reader Copy (ARC) of this book. All thoughts and opinions are my own. ( )

What a charming and delightful Regency period mystery this is. Although it is the eleventh installment in the Beatrice Hyde-Clare novels by gifted writer, Lynn Messina, I did not find myself asea trying to track the characters and the cumulative story. There was sufficient background provided, that one could leap into this book with both feet and not miss a step. There are a few enticing references to scenarios from previous installments which only make the desire stronger to go back to the beginning and get the full story and all its developments.

From page one, the story read like a Mozart comic opera - absolute shear farce! But after a few chapters, the gravity of the situation begins to take shape. It would appear that a murder has taken place after all, and the Duchess of Kesgrave will do whatever it takes to sort the clues and deliver her assessment as requested. Although many of of the character are far from perfect, their flaws reveal their humanity resulting in this reader's empathy for the characters and a touch of sorrow for the situations in which they find themselves. The moral messages threaded throughout the book give one cause to ponder.

Ms. Messina has done a terrific job of capturing the social mores of the aristocratic class of Regency England. She pokes a bit of fun at all the rules by which one must live one's life. She also brings to light the struggles which women particularly faced back in those days and the social constrictures placed upon them. Heaven forbid that they should step out of line. Any such action will only land them in the tattle sheets of the local newspaper - as well they do in this story.

Ms. Messina's writing is clear and concise. The mise-en-scène is spot on. The mystery proffers a number of red herrings with any number of the characters having a motive for the murder. This was certainly an enjoyable read and I look forward to reading more by this fine writer.

I am grateful to Ms. Messina and her publisher, Potatoworks Press, for having provided a complimentary advance reader copy (ARC) of this book. Their generosity, however, has not influenced this review - the words of which are mine alone. ( )