How does Lynn Messina do it? Lynn Messina writes twisty murder mysteries that keep you guessing until the very end and still manages to pepper every scene with humor. I imagine her cracking up as she writes, even though some of the subject matter in these books is heavy. In A Vicious Machination, the Beatrice Hyde-Clare series continues to overlap with the Verity Lark series. Verity Lark, the reporter who has excoriated Beatrice in the past in a gossip column who also happens to be the half-sister of Bea's husband, is in jail for murder. Bea feels she and her husband, Damen, Duke of Kesgrave, must investigate and prove her innocent. Though Damien and Verity have met in a past book, Bea meets Verity for the first time in Newgate Prison. The murder victim ran the orphanage where Verity grew up. She had been selling children into slavery and blackmailing members of the orphanage's board of directors as well. Verity exposed the scheme and ruined everyone involved, so suspects for the murder are numerous. Over the course of two days, Bea and Damien interview suspects and hone in on the guilty party. The finale is an action scene where Damien and Verity's beau (is that the right term?) play major roles. In addition to the fascinating investigation, we see Bea continue to deal with discomfort over her new roles as Duchess and impending motherhood,. These scenes are both sweet and funny with secondary characters like Bea's Aunt Vera and Lady Abercrombie appearing briefly. There's a hint that action will move to the Kesgrave country estate soon. As always, the pace is fast. Though this installment is under 300 pages, it is packed!
