A Lady's Guide to Mischief and Murder

June 8, 2020
In Agatha Award–winner Freeman’s uneven third mystery set in late Victorian England (after 2019’s A Lady’s Guide to Gossip and Murder), George Hazelton, the secret fiancé of widowed Frances Wynn, the Countess of Harleigh, agrees to host a discreet wedding for Frances’s pregnant sister, Lily, at his family’s country estate, Risings, in an effort to avoid scandal. Trouble arises at Risings after a footman dies from what looks like accidental arsenic poisoning, a family friend is wounded by an arrow, and Lily’s fiancé, Leo Kendrick, takes a bullet in the shoulder. Guessing that Leo is the real target, Frances and George probe various suspects, including Leo’s brother-in-law, who resents not making partner in the Kendrick family business. Meanwhile, Frances copes with her combative social-climbing mother and a new fear: what if George too is also in danger? The introduction of a host of secondary characters slows the opening, and the footman’s is the only death. Once the investigation gets going, however, the action builds to a strong denouement. Hopefully, Freeman will return to form next time. Agent: Melissa Edwards, Stonesong Literary.

Narrator Karen Cass helps listeners connect with the social world of the aristocracy in Victorian England. Lily and Leo schedule their wedding at the family estate of George Hazleton, the man whom Lily's sister plans to marry. Immediately, strange accidents begin to happen to numerous people who are standing near George or Leo. Someone seems to be trying to kill either the groom or the host. Under the expert guidance of Cass, listeners shift from the bustle of London to the slower pace of aristocratic life in the country. Cass has some challenges creating upper-class American accents, but, overall, this audiobook is fun for listeners. V.M.G. � AudioFile 2020, Portland, Maine