Book Review: A Lady’s Guide to Etiquette and Murder by Dianne Freeman (Countess of Harleigh #1)

Stars: 3 out of 5

Pros: Great cast of characters, fun setting

Cons: Weak plot

The Bottom Line:

Upper class murder

This fun cast and setting are

Let down by weak plot

The Countess of Harleigh Must Solve the Murder of the Season

When I first heard about A Lady’s Guide to Etiquette and Murder, it sounded like it could be a fun debut.  While I didn’t have time to read it when it came out, I continued to hear good things about it, so I decided to get it from the library.  While I certainly had fun reading it, I did have issues with it.

It is 1899, and the Countess of Harleigh, born as Frances Wynn in America, has just completed her year of mourning after the death of her husband.  Reggie’s death was no great loss since he spent more time with other men’s wives then he did with Frances.  In fact, it was only through Frances’s quick thinking that his death didn’t cause a scandal.  Fortunately, Frances has enough money of her own that she can move out of her in-law’s home and set herself and her daughter up in a small place in London with a minimal staff.  Unfortunately, trouble follows Frances to her new life when a detective shows up asking about the night Reggie died.  Why is this coming up a year after his death?

Frances can’t spend too much time dwelling on this, however, since her sister, Lily, is coming to London for her first season with Frances as her chaperone.  Between the balls and other social functions, Frances hears of a string of robberies happening in the London upper class.  What will happen when those thefts begin to hit close to home?

So let’s get my issues out of the way first.  They involved the plot.  Unfortunately, I can’t get into specifics without issuing major spoilers.  Let’s just say I found several things under done as the story progressed.  I’m trying to figure out if my issues involved my expectations or if they really are issues with the plot.  Either way, it was disappointing.

Which is a shame because the rest of the book is lots of fun.  We meet a cast of fantastic series regulars here lead by Frances herself.  She’s got a couple of friends I enjoyed seeing here.  And her neighbor is a true gentleman in every sense of the word.  It’s obvious that we will get more of a romance between them in future books, and I find that prospect great.

And the setting is well done.  I think we all dream of living the life of the upper class in English society, so getting to travel in those circles with Frances is wish fulfillment.

I enjoyed A Lady’s Guide to Etiquette and Murder enough to consider reading the sequel, which is due out in a few months.  The characters and setting are that charming.