A Most Agreeable Murder by Julia Seales

352 pages

Publisher: Orion

Publishing Date: June 27, 2023

NetGalley

 

Blurb

When a wealthy bachelor drops dead at a ball, a young lady takes on the decidedly improper role of detective in this action-packed debut comedy of manners and murder.

Feisty, passionate Beatrice Steele has never fit the definition of a true lady, according to the strict code of conduct that reigns in Swampshire, her small English township--she is terrible at needlework, has absolutely no musical ability, and her artwork is so bad it frightens people. Nevertheless, she lives a perfectly agreeable life with her marriage-scheming mother, prankster father, and two younger sisters-- beautiful Louisa and forgettable Mary. But she harbors a dark secret: She is obsessed with the true crime cases she reads about in the newspaper. If anyone in her etiquette-obsessed community found out, she'd be deemed a morbid creep and banished from respectable society forever.

For her family's sake, she's vowed to put her obsession behind her. Because eligible bachelor Edmund Croaksworth is set to attend the approaching autumnal ball, and the Steele family hopes that Louisa will steal his heart. If not, Martin Grub, their disgusting cousin, will inherit the family's estate, and they will be ruined or, even worse, forced to move to France. So Beatrice must be on her best behavior . . . which is made difficult when a disgraced yet alluring detective inexplicably shows up to the ball.

Beatrice is just holding things together when Croaksworth drops dead in the middle of a minuet. As a storm rages outside, the evening descends into a frenzy of panic, fear, and betrayal as it becomes clear they are trapped with a killer. Contending with competitive card games, tricky tonics, and Swampshire's infamous squelch holes, Beatrice must rise above decorum and decency to pursue justice and her own desires--before anyone else is murdered.

 

Review

What do you get when you mix Jane Austen and Agatha Christie? Well, that would be a combination of manners and murder, of course. And that is exactly what A Most Agreeable Murder gives us. This book can only be described as a closed-circle-mystery set during the Regency period. Throw in a large helping of humour, and you have a good idea exactly what to expect when you pick up this book.

We have a heroine, Beatrice, who struggles with societal rules and frequently breaks them secretly to satisfy her curiosity about crimes and solving them only to have her dream come true when she’s faced with a real murder in need of investigation. An investigation that will expose not just a murderer but also all the ways in which those around Beatrice may also have been playing hard and fast with the strict rules they’re supposed to be adhering to.

I guess this book may be best described as a romp. While I thoroughly enjoyed the story as such, it all felt a bit forced and over the top at times. The characters are a bit like caricatures, as is the setting of Swampshire, and those societal rules are pushed beyond credulity.

Caper is another word that springs to mind. The author has taken the strict societal rules from the Regency period and pushed them to such an extreme point that I couldn’t stop my eyes from rolling every now and again. But, at no point did it interfere with my reading enjoyment. In fact, I flew through this story and found it all but impossible to put it down. Because while the social mores were somewhat ludicrous, the mystery and the road to the eventual solution worked perfectly. The clues were there for those perceptive enough to pick them up, the red herrings were clever and effective, and the denouement pulled everything together very satisfactorily.

Quite a bit of suspension of disbelief is required, though. For example, for a woman who has never been allowed to do just about anything, Beatrice is quite self-sufficient when it comes to defending herself. Bareback horse riding doesn’t seem to be something a Regency period young woman would be proficient at either. 😊

However, caricatures or not, I really like Beatrice and Inspector Vivek Drake and the personal journeys of discovery they make while investigating the murders in Swampshire. And I can honestly say there isn’t a single dull or dead moment in this book.

To summarize: If you enjoy a light-hearted and comical period piece featuring larger-than-life, over-the-top characters combined with a satisfying mystery, and a frantic murder investigation, you’re going to love A Most Agreeable Murder.  Personally, I hope that the sequels the ending leaves room for will materialize. Because, rolling my eyes or not, I couldn’t put this book down.