ARC Review: Murder in Masquerade by Mary Winters

Murder in Masquerade
Author: Mary Winters
Series: Lady of Letters Mysteries (Book 2)
Publication: Berkley (February 20, 2024)

Description: Extra, extra, read all about it! Countess turned advice columnist Amelia Amesbury finds herself playing the role of sleuth when a night at the theatre turns deadly.

Victorian Countess Amelia Amesbury’s secret hobby, writing an advice column for a London penny paper, has gotten her into hot water before. After all, Amelia will do whatever it takes to help a reader in need. But now, handsome marquis Simon Bainbridge desperately requires her assistance. His beloved younger sister, Marielle, has written Amelia's Lady Agony column seeking advice on her plans to elope with a man her family does not approve of. Determined to save his sister from a scoundrel and the family from scandal, Simon asks Amelia to dissuade Marielle from the ill-advised gambit.

But when the scoundrel makes an untimely exit after a performance of Verdi’s Rigoletto, Amelia realizes there’s much more at stake than saving a young woman’s reputation from ruin. It’s going to take more than her letter-writing skills to help the dashing marquis, mend the familial bond, and find the murderer. Luckily, solving problems is her specialty!

My Thoughts: This is the second book in the Lady of Letters cozy mystery series. It takes place in London in 1860. Amelia Amesbury is the widowed Countess of a man who died two years earlier of a degenerative disease. She filled the boring time of her mourning by writing an advice column in a penny paper. Each chapter begins with one of the letters and her answer. 

The problem in this episode concerns the younger sister of her friend Simon Bainbridge who is being courted by an unsuitable man. Her brother wants to break up the relationship before George Davies, a social-climbing stable master, convinces his sister Marielle to flee to Gretna Green with him. 

However, before he can convince her, someone solves the problem by stabbing Davies to death with a distinctive knife. Simon and Amelia are on the case to discover who killed Davies even though Simon thinks the death was helpful to him. 

As the two track down various clues, Amelia begins to see Simon as something more than just a man who was a friend to her when her husband died. And he seems to return her regard. 

This was just an okay historical mystery/romance for me. I didn't get any sense of the time period except for throwing in a few clothing descriptions. I had trouble believing that Amelia who is the daughter of rural innkeepers would ever have been allowed to marry a peer of the realm. And, having married him, I can't see her being accepted into high society as she seems to have done. I thought she seemed too modern in her outlook and actions for the time period. Many of the other characters were also unrealistic including an opera performer who is also a Lady and a street flower vender who is able to plan high class social events. It seems the author paid little attention to the rigid class system of the day. 

The mystery was entertaining and the motive for the crime believable if one allows for a villain who is obsessed. 

Favorite Quote:

"Thanks, friend." Kitty crossed her arms. "Didn't your mother ever teach you if you don't have something nice to say, don't say it at all?"

"She said, 'Speak your mind, or someone else will speak it for you.'" Amelia suggested.

"That explains so much."

I received this one in exchange for an honest review from NetGalley. You can buy your copy here.