Death Comes to the Village

Starred review from October 14, 2013
Two unlikely allies—Maj. Robert Kurland, who suffered a serious leg injury at the Battle of Waterloo, and his childhood friend and de facto housekeeper, Miss Lucy Harrington—join forces in Lloyd’s delightful debut, the first in a Regency series set in the English village of Kurland St. Mary. When Robert spots a person carrying a heavy load near the church one night, he suggests Lucy, the rector’s oldest daughter, make some discreet inquiries regarding a spate of recent pilfering. The disappearance of a maidservant is also cause for concern. When Lucy, who resents being constrained because she’s a woman, bridles at being denied a more active role in the investigation, Robert’s valet and butler try to rein her in. Lucy also must deal with her father’s selfishness, her rambunctious twin brothers, the curate’s unwelcome admiration, and a beautiful sister whose prospects exceed her own. Readers will hope that death returns soon to Kurland St. Mary. Agent: Deidre Knight, Knight Agency.

November 15, 2013
Burglary and a missing person report disrupt the quiet of Kurland St. Mary in 1816. Maj. Robert Kurland may be a hero of the Battle of Waterloo, but his broken leg leaves him helpless as a baby. On a sleepless night, he thinks he sees a dark shadow carrying something to the church. His overly solicitous valet, who saved his life in battle, thinks Kurland was seeing something that wasn't there, thanks to the laudanum that's been easing his pain. Only Lucy Harrington, the rector's oldest daughter, takes Kurland seriously. As a substitute mother for her siblings and a general caregiver to the community, she's already worried since one of her servants has disappeared. Although Lucy doesn't shrink from the less savory aspects of life, her suspicion that one of her brothers might be involved in a series of burglaries is hard to face. She and Kurland collaborate to find out how a snuffbox, an opened grave, an impoverished curate and a jilted lover are linked to what Kurland saw in this slow-paced Jane Austen imitation that doesn't omit a single cliche of the genre, including the sprinkling of freckles across the bridge of Lucy's nose. A Regency Rear Window whose chair-bound hero and the woman who civilizes him generate a few sparks worthy of Darcy and Elizabeth. But even the harder-edged elements of gambling, drug use and suicidal obsession can't set this period debut on fire.

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December 1, 2013
Miss Lucy Harrington runs the busy house of her rector father and many siblings while still finding time to solve a crime in this delightful Regency mystery. She visits with Major Robert Kurland, wounded at Waterloo and confined to his home, who believes he saw someone carrying something heavy outside one night. Then a maid goes missing at the rectory, several households and shops experience thefts, and Lucy and the major begin to connect the dots. Both are busy with personal issues in their homes, but they talk to enough staff and gentry to see a pattern of criminal activity in the neighborhood. Although one of the sleuths is barely mobile and the other is constrained by her gender, the unlikely pair persevere, forming an engaging partnership and promising much for the series. Lloyd combines a satisfying mystery with plenty of wit and character development.(Reprinted with permission of Booklist, copyright 2013, American Library Association.)