Author: April J. Skelly
Publication: Crooked Lane Books (April 22, 2025)
Description: An airship bound for London is thrown off course by a murder on the first night of its transatlantic voyage in this locked-room historical mystery debut, perfect for fans of Deanna Raybourn and Katharine Schellman.
1890. American heiress, Cora Beaumont is celebrating her engagement to Terrance Tristan, the second son of a duke. Their union will solidify Cora's place in British society and put her in a rare position of power, but as they embark on the Lady Air’s maiden voyage to England, Cora soon finds that not everyone in society is accepting of her recent engagement, and tensions fly as high as the airship. When a body is discovered the first night on the ship, with a calling card for Cora on the victim, she’s determined to find the killer hidden among the passengers before they come for her next.
As Cora tries to solve the murder without attracting unsavory attention, her fiancé’s wandering eye may cause even more problems for her position in society. Gossip travels fast aboard the airship and bad news could sink the Lady Air, as well as Cora's own social status, before they reach their final destination. When more bodies are discovered, Cora teams up with her soon-to-be brother-in-law, Nicholas, as they scour the ship for clues. If she fails, it won’t only be her reputation visiting the undertaker.
No one is who they seem in this Gilded Age locked room historical mystery, perfect for fans of And Then There Were None and Alyssa Maxwell
My Thoughts: In this alternate history mystery set in 1890, Cora Beaumont is on her way to England to take her place in British Society. She is traveling with her fiancé and her fiancé's older brother who are the sons of a Duke. The journey is the first step on her way to independence. Yes, the fiancé will get her dowry, but she will get and retain as her personal property the airship they are traveling on.
When the murder of a second-class passenger occurs, she definitely wants to keep it quiet so as not to damage the reputation of the Lady Air. Of course, since she was about checking on rumors of conditions in third-class when the murder happened, she has her own reputation to protect too.
The ship's captain's refusal to recognize her authority means that she will be teaming up with her fiancé's older brother as they investigate the murder. This close proximity to him and her fiancé's indifferent behavior toward her causes her to question her future since she seems to be falling in love with the wrong brother.
Cora needs to deal with a lot in this book. She needs to solve three murders, keep her reputation and that of her airship pristine, deal with snotty and snobby, upper-class females, and also figure out why her fiancé is indifferent to her while worrying about the thunderstorm that is dogging the airship and could cause it to crash.
This was an excellent and engaging historical mystery. Fans of historical mysteries will enjoy this story.
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