Of Manners and Murder

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Of Manners and Murder
(A Dear Miss Hermione Mystery, 1)

by Anastasia Hastings
Published by: Minotaur
Publish Date: February 2023
Genre(s): Mystery, Historical Fiction
HB&W Rating: 4
View on Goodreads
Buy on Amazon, Barnes & Noble, Book Depository

Synopsis

1885: London, England. When Violet’s Aunt Adelia decides to abscond with her newest paramour, she leaves behind her role as the most popular Agony Aunt in London, “Miss Hermione,” in Violet’s hands.

And of course, the first letter Violet receives is full, not of prissy pondering, but of portent. Ivy Armstrong is in need of help and fears for her life. But when Violet visits the village where the letters were posted, she finds that Ivy is already dead.

She’ll quickly discover that when you represent the best-loved Agony Aunt in Britain, both marauding husbands and murder are par for the course.

Synopsis source: Goodreads

Review

Thank you to Minotaur Books and Netgalley for providing me with a copy of this eARC in exchange for my honest review.

Well, now, that was just delightful! I thoroughly enjoyed this book! It was a tad predictable, I mean, I figured out who did it right away, but the predictability did nothing to diminish the pleasure of watching everything fall into place. And even so, it still managed to surprise me once or twice.

I just loved the agony aunt angle. I would very much like to have seen more of the letters sprinkled throughout, one for every new chapter, maybe. And while Sephora is criticized for her insipidness, I feel that 1) it’s clear that’s how her mother raised her and 2) I think her experience in this book will give her character the kick it needs to grow in future books.

This is what I call a brain-candy read, a book that doesn’t require much thinking on the part of the reader, pure entertainment and as such a quick read. It’s like a murder in Bridgerton being solved by Enola Holmes…fancy dinners, beautiful people, and murder. This is a series I very much look forward to reading more of!

Of Manners and Murder releases on February 7, 2023.

Until next time,

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