Author: Katharine Schellman
Series: A Lily Adler Mystery (Book 4)
Publication: Crooked Lane Books (September 19, 2023)
Description: Perfect for fans of Deanna Raybourn and Ashley Weaver, when a body is found shot to death after an unexpected snowstorm, Lily Adler quickly realizes that some people will stop at nothing to bury their secrets.
Regency widow Lily Adler is looking forward to a quiet Christmastide away from the schemes and secrets she witnessed daily in London. Not only will she be visiting the family of her late husband; she will be reunited with Captain Jack Hartley, her friend and confidante, finally returned after a long voyage at sea.
But secrets aren’t only found in London. Jack’s younger sister, Amelia, is the center of neighborhood scandal and gossip. She refuses to tell anyone what really happened, even when an unexpected snowstorm strands the neighborhood families together after a Christmas ball. Stuck until the snow stops, the Adlers, Hartleys, and their neighbors settle in for the night, only to be awakened in the morning by the scream of a maid who has just discovered a dead body.
The victim was the well-to-do son of a local gentleman—the same man whose name has become so scandalously linked to Amelia’s.
With the snow still falling and no way to come or go, it’s clear that someone in the house was responsible for the young man’s death. When suspicion instantly falls on Jack’s sister, he and Lily must unmask the true culprit before Amelia is convicted of a crime she didn’t commit.
My Thoughts: An unexpected snowstorm strands Lily Adler and others after a Christmas Ball. Among the stranded is a murderer and Lily's friend Jack's youngest sister Amelia is the prime suspect. Amelia is the focus of a local scandal which also concerned the victim. She won't share her secrets which makes it hard to clear her name.
Lily and her brother-in-law John who is the local magistrate need to solve the crime before the weather clears and the houseguests depart for their own homes. Amelia's are not the only secrets and Lily and John and Matthew Spencer, the man who wants to marry Lily, need to uncover them all if they are to find the killer.
It doesn't help that Jack "confesses" to the murder in order to clear his sister's name. Nor does it help that there is a second victim whose death is supposed to look like a suicide. Missing jewels, a cunning financial scam, and Lily's own indecision about whether or not to accept Matthew's offer add layers to this story which was engaging and entertaining.
This was an excellent addition to an entertaining series.
Favorite Quote:
There were not many people Lily considered true friends. But Jack, who had been a boyhood companion of her husband and become her own trusted confidant, was one of them.A bit of a scoundrel by nature, he had his mother's good looks but little of her reserve. And he never lost an opportunity to tease Lily or make her laugh.
I enjoyed this book as well.
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