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An ARC copy of this book was provided to me in exchange for my honest review. All thoughts are my own.
MY REVIEW:
Genre: Historical Fiction, Murder Mystery
Rating: 5 out of 5⭐
For all the historical cozy mystery fans out there, this is one to devour!
Visit the Victorian era version of CLUE where a group of individuals are invited together for a weekend at Mistlethwaite Manor for the most illustrious Christmas party of the year. It’s a party that everyone has heard about and everyone wants to be invited. Especially because there’s a $10,000 prize for the winner of the party – and remember this is 1895 – so $10,000 is a lot of money!
But little do they know that to be invited, means something different than what they may have been hoping. Someone knows all the invitees deepest secrets and exposes them all in a way that requires the guests to solve the riddle and determine who is who. Not to mention.. there’s a murderer among them as well.
Emma Grace is a wonderful leading lady in this cozy mystery. She’s intelligent, cunning and has her heart stuck between two of the men in attendance. Her former fiancé who lost his family’s money, but still holds Emma’s heart and her current beau who she is pretty sure is about to propose. The love triangle between these three was hilarious throughout the story.
“He hadn’t strayed far from my side but gave the illusion of space to pacify Percy. While I appreciated his gesture, I was still caught in a tug of war between the two. My old love and my new almost-betrothed. Even if that was ridiculous. Or so my brain told me. My heart was having a different conversation.”
What I loved most in this book was how Skelly dove right into the murder mystery aspect and threw the characters into immediate chaos. Keep in mind, there are A LOT of characters in this one and she does an astounding job of keeping their personalities represented in the midst of the chaos.
The main characters, in my opinion, were those involved in the love triangle though and they are the ones you get to see the most from throughout the story. Emma Grace, her former fiancé Andrew Harrigan, and her current soon-to-be-betrothed Percy Crofton. Emma’s character is brave throughout this as well – not letting the overwhelming fear take control, but allowing herself time to contemplate and solve the mystery.
A great read for those that like a fun cozy murder mystery and a historical setting for all of it! There are depictions of some of the character deaths, but nothing overly graphic in my opinion, and it does contain some kissing on contact between some of the characters.
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Agatha Christie’s And Then There Were None meets The Gilded Age in this delicious, suspenseful murder mystery.
When Lady Emma Grace Hastings receives a much-coveted invitation to the most auspicious Christmas party of the season—one that comes with a 10,000 pound prize for the winner of a mysterious game—she cannot believe her good fortune.
But as the guests are assembled at Mistlethwaite Manor, the chilling intent of the game is revealed. Each guest has cause for alarm, because all of them have secrets, and to win the prize money, those secrets must be exposed.
Things take a sinister turn when Emma Grace finds herself caught between her old love and her soon-to-be betrothed. Suspicions abound, and old wounds are opened. The dead body in the study does not help. Nor does the raging winter storm that prevents escape from the manor. Emma Grace must battle her heart, use her wits, and put her sleuthing skills to the test to survive the weekend alive.
Because there is a murderer among them.
And no one with secrets is safe.
ABOUT THE AUTHOR
A.J. Skelly
AJ Skelly is an author, reader, and lover of all things fantasy, medieval, and fairy-tale-romance. And werewolves. She has a serious soft spot for them. As an avid life-long reader and a former high school English teacher, she’s always been fascinated with the written word. She lives with her husband, children, and many imaginary friends who often find their way into her stories. They all drink copious amounts of tea together and stay up reading far later than they should.
You can read more of her short stories at http://www.ajskelly.com.
Looking for book recs…
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