(")"you must stop doing this!" she wrote desperately. It was not the response any author anticipated. [....] "You must stop making me like your books more. The feeling is already so overwhelming that I can scarcely wait for the next installment to be published and to disappear into my reading nook."(") Jokes aside - Please don't. My first Flora-book, yay! If you, dear review reader, are now awaiting a gushing, giddy, bubbling fan-girl review - please hold. For I will be concise this time. It won’t be a Haiku but it won’t be Mann either. Flora not surprisingly turns out to be exactly a character or the glimpses of character that we get throughout Bea’s books. What is surprising, are her efficient intelligence (show you have some only if and when the situation is either too tumultuous or too dear that the fact can be noticed) and her self-imposed commitment to the non-existent investigator code. One of the other gems of the story is Aunt Vera (or here: Mama). It would be so exhilarating to be able to trace what is going on in her mind. Before and after a (non-related) death, preferably. Although, finding a murderer is a serious business, Flora, with her efficient intelligence and investigative commitment, makes it seem rather as a necessary errand before going to the haberdasher for that ribbon that matches the shade of the eyes of her beloved exactly. And Seb loves her for it (sight) and you will too, dear reader, you will too. Apropos Seb. He fits rather well with the array of the new-ish siblings-in-law on the Hyde-Clare orbit. Now only Russell is missing a smart partner (in crime?) that will manipulate him into his own happiness. Together they will be a big and happy family that could change the Regency world if it only set its collective mind to it. No more spoilers from me, as this exquisite Regency rompy-but-insightful meeting-the-laws-drama awaits you now (lucky you!). So, get your fanciest shawl with that amber and amaranthine pattern that I know you have, a hot beverage and enjoy the calm joy of settling in in this funnily comfortable mystery. Thanks Book Whisperer and netgalley for the arc. Much appreciated. Opinions are my own.
