When a rich, eligible young man comes to town, Beatrice Steele, a Regency-era miss with an unseemly interest in crime, is determined that her younger sister Louisa will be his bride. But when he is poisoned in front of the whole ball, she must solve his murder instead with the assistance of the prickly detective Drake.
This book is a humorous pastiche of Jane Austen and Agatha Christie with plenty of intrigue and funny characters, but its inspiration is while in some ways its greatest strength, it is also its greatest weakness.
This is an amusing romp of a cozy mystery. While a reader who prefers more down-to-earth worldbuilding might find themselves taken aback by the fictional setting of Swampshire, I thought it was hilarious, and especially enjoyed the asides in the footnotes hinting at youngest sister Mary’s furry little problem. Though Beatrice is definitely misled by her preconceived notions many a time, I appreciated that she overcomes this throughout her investigation, and how well she and Vivek Drake bounce off of each other and work together (and definitely have some romance blooming in their future).
However, I did think Seales drew a little too heavily on Austen in constructing the framework of the story, especially in regards to the Steele family situation and personalities – while the nods to Pride and Prejudice are amusing, they often get a bit too on the nose to really be enjoyable. Similarly, the supporting characters are, unusually, not really one note but still more caricatures than believable personalities. I enjoy farce, but not when it gets completely in the way of the plot.
Disclaimer: I received a copy of this book from NetGalley. This is my honest and voluntary review.
