Murder at Beechwood by Alyssa Maxwell (Gilded Newport Mysteries Book Three)

 

Publication Date:

May 26, 2015

Author: 

Alyssa Maxwell

Series:

GIlded Newport Mysteries #3

Length:

306 pages

Book Description: (goodreads):

For Newport, Rhode Island’s high society, the summer of 1896 brings lawn parties, sailboat races…and murder. Having turned down the proposal of Derrick Andrews, Emma Cross has no imminent plans for matrimony—let alone motherhood. But when she discovers an infant left on her doorstep, she naturally takes the child into her care. Using her influence as a cousin to the Vanderbilts and a society page reporter for the Newport Observer , Emma launches a discreet search for the baby’s mother.

One of her first stops is a lawn party at Mrs. Caroline Astor’s Beechwood estate. But an idyllic summer’s day is soon clouded by tragedy. During a sailboat race, textile magnate Virgil Monroe falls overboard. There are prompt accusations of foul play—and even Derrick Andrews falls under suspicion. Deepening the intrigue, a telltale slip of lace may link the abandoned child to the drowned man. But as Emma navigates dark undercurrents of scandalous indiscretions and violent passions, she’ll need to watch her step to ensure that no one lowers the boom on her…

My Thoughts:

I started at the beginning with this series and have enjoyed it. This story revolves around a baby, murder, and a scandalous affair. The main character, Emma is unaware that the baby, the murders, and the Astors and Monroes are all related to the mess. From the beginning it was impossible to piece it all together and so I thought Maxwell did a great job of keeping us guessing. Not just about the murderer but the reasons behind the why. 

The baby being left on Emma's doorstep at the beginning of the story seems to be unrelated to the drowning of one of the prominent members of a sailing race at a party she attends. But as Emma and Derrick begin to follow the lead of just how the man drowned they uncover rabbit trails that lead them back to the baby and a second murder. Who is the baby's mother? Why was the driver of the carriage that perhaps delivered the baby dead? And furthermore, who would benefit from silencing the mother? 

Death in the Garden by Isabella Bassett (Lady Caroline Mysteries Book Two)

 

Publication Date:

August 31, 2022

Author: 

Isabella Bassett

Series:

Lady Caroline Mysteries #2

Length:

267 pages

Book Description: (goodreads):

Lake Garda, Italy, 1925

Uncle Albert, in relentless pursuit of his hobby, is off to a secluded island on Lake Garda, Italy. Guided by ancestral duty, Lady Caroline, his reluctant secretary, follows in his wake. An exclusive party has gathered to celebrate the coming out of the Queen of the Night with a midnight soiree.

But as the guests prepare to witness the exotic plant’s once-a-year bloom, Uncle Albert is discovered in the villa’s conservatory with a dead body. Worse yet, with the Queen of the Night completely destroyed.

While Lady Caroline is determined to clear her aging relation’s good name, Uncle Albert seems to dig himself further into trouble. When a second body turns up in the manicured gardens, and Uncle Albert again is the most likely culprit, Lady Caroline decides it’s time to put her scavenger hunt skills–the same ones that got her into this “secretary” mess in the first place–to good use and follow the clues to the real killer.

With a closed circle of upper-crust suspects, an elegant historic location, and a puzzling murder mystery without the gore, it’s a golden age country house whodunnit transplanted to Italy.

My Thoughts:

The first book I read in this series was Book 3 The Secret of the Scarab.  It was set in Egypt and I really enjoyed it. Uncle Albert is my favorite character in the books. He is bumbling and appears not to notice what is going on around him but he's smarter than he seems. He is always trying to win and retain the coveted prize of the Golden Platypus. He is an avid member of the Royal Society for Natural History Appreciation, along with other Lords and royal nobility. They engage in competition to find rare plants and flowers and Lady Caroline travels along as his secretary and companion. This is unusual as she is a woman and the helpmates are almost always men. One of them, James is a love interest but they seem to be at odds often about how far the relationship goes.

Cut off from the mainland, the guests are reliant on each other and as two murders occur, suspicious as well. Caroline and James discover a grotto that seems to hold clues to the mystery of the island and possibly to why people are dying. As they work to unravel things, Uncle Albert is caught in the crossfire when he is accused of murder himself and Caroline does not believe for a second he is guilty. 

She and James along with other guests await help and rescue while trying not to become victims themselves. Lady Caroline begins to realize there may even be an historical element to the murders as hints of treasure abound. She discovers clues to a way to summon help through a bit of sleuthing and trusts no one except James and her Uncle. 

This was another fun cozy from Bassett and I will be reading book 4. Her characters and plots are endearing and fun to puzzle out. I want to read the current winter themed one but would rather go in order. A great series for taking your mind off your troubles!

Noteworthy News #6: Hourly History

I am always looking for ways to learn more history but just don't have the time or will  right now to read dense books. This week I discovered Hourly History and I'm excited to share with other history lovers! It's a series of books that are designed to be read in one hour (hence the name) about all kinds of historical topics. Everything from Ancient Rome to the Norman Conquest to present day biographies of the Presidents and Princess Diana. There is something for everyone and it gives a great, no nonsense overview of the topic while giving enough detail that you come away feeling like you know the basics. 

They also have a great blog with lots of resources at hourlyhistory.com You can sign up to receive free books and even if you buy them they are on average $2.99 each. Kindle Unlimited has most of them to read for free. It's just a wonderful way to become more knowledgeable about so many topics. 

My problem now is to zero in on the ones I really like and read them first. It is hard to choose once you start looking through them. If you love history you will be hooked! Happy Reading this week :) 

Why I Now Love Audiobooks and Can't Live Without Them

I haven't done much in the world of opinion posts the last two years. I think I focused more on challenges and reviews. I went back recently and re-read some of my opinion posts though and decided to write a new one about audiobooks. In 2022 I wrote one on Why I Dislike Audiobooks. Boy has life changed! Now I absolutely LOVE them! I still stand by my belief that reading is a harder skill than listening but have really changed my tune about audiobooks being worth my time. So here is my follow up opinion post listing five reasons I have grown to love them.

1. Time Savers- Life can get pretty crazy. I am a stickler for cleaning my house often and I'd love to be able to do that and also sit down and read every day. But there just isn't enough time to always do that. I have found audiobooks let me do both and that makes me happy. I get so much accomplished while listening to a great story. I absolutely love podcasts but sometimes I want to get into a book too.

2. Easier to find- I have found many audiobooks that I can't get in written form. Sometimes this is especially true with books from the UK. On Libby and Hoopla it seems like I find more audiobooks (Agatha Christie is one author) and so I go with them because I just don't want to wait or pay for the actual Kindle book. I end up enjoying it either way!

3. Interesting narration- I used to feel completely the opposite for this one. I have come to tolerate and now even enjoy the narration in audiobooks. It took awhile to get there as I found it kind of cheesy in the beginning. But now I appreciate the inflection in the narrator's voice and changes in the pacing. It makes the story fun if you just go with it.

4. Car Rides-  I never considered how much time I'd spend in the car as my teens became little mini adults with their crazy schedules of activities. Thank goodness  both of my boys drive as of this year but these last two years got me into audiobooks because I was in the car driving more than ever before. 

5. Escapism- This sounds worse than I mean it but.....sometimes it's nice to just put in my Air Pods and be left alone to immerse myself in a good story. My husband and boys are great readers...they just don't read. Ugh, drives me crazy! But they often don't appreciate how I can be reading and into a story and don't want to be interrupted. You know how this is fellow book lovers.

People think because you aren't talking you aren't doing anything. When I'm listening to a book they are more likely to leave me in peace. 

So that is why I've changed my mind about audiobooks. I can admit when I'm wrong and grow....lol.....do you love audiobooks? Or do you prefer to read only? 

Can't Wait Wednesday: A Midwinter Murder by Verity Bright (A Lady Eleanor Swift Mystery Book 20)

 

For this week's Can't Wait Wednesday, hosted by Tressa at Wishful Endings, I'm featuring, A Midwinter Murder, by Verity Bright. I am so behind in this series. I love it and this is already book 20. I want to continue reading them in order so even though I'd love to dive into this one now for the season, I'll wait. But I'm happy to promote it. Happy Reading this week. I hope you've found something you can't wait for!

Historical Cozy Mysteries

December 4, 2024

Description courtesy of GoodReads:

Winter 1924. When Lady Eleanor Swift unexpectedly finds herself a guest of the reclusive Duke of Auldwyke, she’s determined to enjoy Christmas with all the trimmings at his sprawling manor house. And that includes kisses under the mistletoe and cozying up by the fire with her fiancé, dashing detective Hugh Seldon.

Instead, the season of goodwill turns frosty as she finds the Duke’s studious secretary, Mr Porritt, dead in the storeroom. Clasped in his chilly hand is a golden pendant in the shape of a rose. The Duke denies ever having seen the necklace before. But Eleanor can see the lies in his eyes… Did it belong to his mysteriously absent wife?

Hugh and Eleanor must ditch relaxing with hot cocoa in favour of interviewing the Duke’s holiday guests. Every suspect has a secret they’d kill to keep: the socialite with the false name, the Sir with a questionable inheritance and the husband hiding a crack in his marriage.

As the blizzard outside rages, Auldwyke Hall becomes cut off. Trapped by the snow, Eleanor and Hugh must skate around the increasingly secretive Duke to unwrap the identity of the killer. But does the answer to the secretary’s murder lie with a ghost of Christmas past? And when an attempt is made on the Duke’s life too, they realise the killer is closer than they think…