Miss Morton and the English House Party Murder: A Miss Morton Mystery (Book 1), by Catherine Lloyd — A Review

From the desk of Barbara Rogers: 

As a huge fan of Catherine Lloyd’s Kurland St. Mary series, I couldn’t wait to get my hands on her latest Victorian mystery series, Miss Morton and the English House Murder.

 A Family Tragedy Changes the Heroine’s Life

Lady Caroline Morton, daughter of the deceased Earl of Morton, is penniless with a tarnished reputation, through no fault of her own. No, not her fault at all, but society tars her and her sister with the same brush as her father when he kills himself. Further humiliation follows when everyone finds he is deeply in debt. Fortunately, her aunt and uncle take them in. That works fine while they are still young, but children have a habit of growing up. Caroline finally realized that she could strike out on her own and seek employment—or—she could stay with her aunt and uncle and become an unappreciated, unpaid drudge within their home.

Perfect Crime Solving Partners

Being the strong, independent, forthright, intelligent woman she is, she arranged employment as a companion to Mrs. Frogerton, an adventurous lady who is anxious to see her daughter marry well. She has tons of money, but their background is tainted with the stench of being in ‘trade’. However, Caroline and Mrs. Frogerton are perfect partners in crime solving—and goodness—do they have some crimes to solve!

A few months after Caroline’s arrival at the Fogertons, her Aunt Eleanor pays her a call to request that she attend a house party honoring her daughter’s birthday. Caroline declines, but Mrs. Frogerton is delighted to attend. It appears they are going to have an adventure after all.

Murders, Threats, and Sleuthing

Not long after their arrival at her aunt’s home bodies begin to drop. While Lady Eleanor refuses to acknowledge that any murders occurred in her home, Caroline and the local physician, Dr. Harris, know otherwise. As they investigate, Caroline begins receiving threats—veiled and not so veiled. Clues turn up in the oddest places, and large sums of money appear where they should not be. And what about all of those charity children in the nursery? Oh—this is going to be a handful to solve.

Keeps You Guessing

I thoroughly enjoyed Miss Morton and the English House Party Mystery. The characters—especially the featured characters—were very well written. You didn’t learn everything about them right away, it was doled out a bit at a time, and some of what you thought you knew, it turns out you didn’t. 😊 You aren’t sure who the good guys are—or who the bad guys are. You THINK you know, but do you? The book was, very, very busy with many characters and subplots that weren’t necessary to the story but added to my enjoyment of it. I hope you will love it as much as I did. It was worth the wait.

4 out 5 Stars

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GUEST REVIEWER BIO

Barbara Rogers is a Florida girl living in a Tennessee world and loving it! Reading and reviewing books has been a life-long passion for her, and she has pulled many all-nighters because she just couldn’t put a book down. Dinners have been late because she just needed to finish one more chapter. Luckily for her, she has understanding family members. Her favorite genre is historical mysteries, but she is also a great lover of historical romance. Then, just to be contrary, she has a number of contemporary (even a futuristic) mystery series that she loves as well. So many books – so little time!  Visit her at her blog Flippin’ Pages blog. She’d love to see you there and share more books with you.

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BOOK INFORMATION

• Miss Morton and the English House Party Murder: A Miss Morton Mystery (Book 1), by by Catherine Lloyd
• Kensington Books (May 31, 2022)
• Hardcover, eBook, & audiobook (304) pages
• ISBN: 978-1496723284
• Genre: Historical Mystery, Victorian Mystery

ADDITIONAL INFO | ADD TO GOODREADS

We received a review copy of the book from the publisher in exchange for an honest review. Austenprose is an Amazon affiliate. Cover image courtesy of Kensington Books © 2022; text Barbara Rogers © 2022, austenprose.com.