laurenjodi's review against another edition
4.0
A Lady's Guide to Gossip and Murder
4 Stars
When a murdered acquaintance is found in possession of notes indicating that she has been blackmailing members of the ton, Lady Frances Wynn, Countess of Harleigh, finds herself recruited to help in the investigation. Frances is eager to assist, especially as her cousin Charles, who was courting the victim, is the prime suspect.
Despite the rather anachronistic style and characterization, this is nevertheless an entertaining cozy historical mystery series. Unlike many cozy heroines, Frances is very likable and manages to become involved in the cases without being excessively nosy. Moreover, she also avoids the often ubiquitous TSTL moments that plague these heroines.
The mystery surrounding Mary Archer's murder is satisfying although it is easy to guess the reason for the notes in her possession and the motive for the crime (even though it takes Frannie and company much longer to realize the truth). The culprit is also rather obvious but the climax and resolution are exciting nonetheless.
The romance between Frannie and her sexy neighbor, George Hazelton, is progressing nicely and it is clear that they will ultimately marry. The question is how long it will take George to convince her to take a chance on love after her disastrous first marriage.
One final note regarding the audiobook - it is interesting to note that there are two separate versions of the series, one narrated by Sarah Zimmerman, an American, and the other by Karen Cass, a Brit. Both do an admirable job, but as I began with Zimmerman, I decided to continue on with her as well.
In sum, this is a fun series and I look forward to more of Frannie's investigations.
4 Stars
When a murdered acquaintance is found in possession of notes indicating that she has been blackmailing members of the ton, Lady Frances Wynn, Countess of Harleigh, finds herself recruited to help in the investigation. Frances is eager to assist, especially as her cousin Charles, who was courting the victim, is the prime suspect.
Despite the rather anachronistic style and characterization, this is nevertheless an entertaining cozy historical mystery series. Unlike many cozy heroines, Frances is very likable and manages to become involved in the cases without being excessively nosy. Moreover, she also avoids the often ubiquitous TSTL moments that plague these heroines.
The mystery surrounding Mary Archer's murder is satisfying although it is easy to guess the reason for the notes in her possession and the motive for the crime (even though it takes Frannie and company much longer to realize the truth). The culprit is also rather obvious but the climax and resolution are exciting nonetheless.
The romance between Frannie and her sexy neighbor, George Hazelton, is progressing nicely and it is clear that they will ultimately marry. The question is how long it will take George to convince her to take a chance on love after her disastrous first marriage.
One final note regarding the audiobook - it is interesting to note that there are two separate versions of the series, one narrated by Sarah Zimmerman, an American, and the other by Karen Cass, a Brit. Both do an admirable job, but as I began with Zimmerman, I decided to continue on with her as well.
In sum, this is a fun series and I look forward to more of Frannie's investigations.
keeri's review against another edition
adventurous
lighthearted
mysterious
medium-paced
- Plot- or character-driven? Plot
- Loveable characters? Yes
4.5
elephantshoes4's review against another edition
adventurous
lighthearted
mysterious
medium-paced
- Plot- or character-driven? A mix
- Strong character development? Yes
- Loveable characters? Yes
- Diverse cast of characters? No
- Flaws of characters a main focus? No
3.5
ccbowman4284's review against another edition
lighthearted
mysterious
slow-paced
- Plot- or character-driven? Character
- Strong character development? No
- Loveable characters? It's complicated
- Diverse cast of characters? No
- Flaws of characters a main focus? Yes
3.0
kittykornerlibrarian's review against another edition
3.0
I did not enjoy this one as much as the first in the series... I think this time I had a harder time keeping the characters straight. I think there may have been too many Archers for me! And also the Lily/Lottie situation; I guess I prefer it when two similar characters have dissimilar names. I still enjoy Frances' voice as the narrator of the story, and it was a pleasure to meet George Hazelton and the Inspector again. Mary Archer, newly deceased, was collecting gossip items. For what purpose? Were they a reason for murder?
foxon's review against another edition
2.0
Update: Well that was my most disappointing book of the year. I was so bored the whole time. Frances is a extremely frustrating character. She is very sensible and walks the line between finding things out while not putting herself in damsel-in-distress situations, but watching her and George's relationship 'unfold' is tedious. This dude asks her to marry him and all she does is wonder if he likes her. Please, you are an adult woman, you can tell he does, because he says so! Maybe I wouldn't be so upset by it except she spends a lot of time thinking of him and then not actually making a any decisions about her own feelings, with is irritating. Then we have the actual mystery part. Zero action at all in this AND it takes the main characters half the bloody book to realize the victim was a which was so obvious I had to walk away in exasperation when they finally figure it out. I had really high hopes that even though the first one wasn't fantastic there was enough potential for this series to be great, but Im giving up. Reading this was a waste of time.
Original:
My excitement over this is rather ridiculous. Love the cover!
Spoiler
gossip columnistOriginal:
My excitement over this is rather ridiculous. Love the cover!
pinkfloydian's review against another edition
lighthearted
mysterious
fast-paced
- Plot- or character-driven? A mix
- Strong character development? No
- Loveable characters? Yes
- Diverse cast of characters? No
- Flaws of characters a main focus? No
4.25
onceupon_longago's review against another edition
adventurous
funny
lighthearted
mysterious
medium-paced
- Plot- or character-driven? Plot
- Strong character development? No
- Loveable characters? Yes
- Diverse cast of characters? No
- Flaws of characters a main focus? No
5.0