Review: A Murderous Marriage by Alyssa Maxwell

Author Alyssa Maxwell has a new installment in her Lady and Lady's Maid series and Kerry Hammond is here with her review.

A Murderous Marriage by Alyssa Maxwell was released in Hardcover by Kensington on January 29, and is the 4^th book in the Lady and Lady’s Maid mystery series. I’m new to this series and was a little nervous at jumping in at book four, but I can honestly report that I had no problem joining the series mid-swing and was immediately wrapped up in the story.

In A Murderous Marriage, Lady Phoebe Renshaw and her maid Eva find themselves knee deep in a murder. The police have a solid suspect, but it happens to be Phoebe’s sister, Julia. Julia has just married Gilbert Townsend, a wealthy man who is 40 years her senior and Julia now stands to inherit his fortune. To make matters worse, prior to the wedding Julia was heard admitting that she was marrying Gil for his money. Phoebe is determined to find the real culprit and saver her sister, and she once again enlists the help of her maid, Eva.

I picked this book up and didn’t want to put it down. I fell in love with the characters, specifically Phoebe and Eva. I was transported back to a different era, a Downton Abbey-esque time of British Noblemen and Noblewomen. Maxwell is adept at creating a fictional world where a lady and a lady’s maid work hand in hand to solve murders.

The author tells a story of fiction, but the reader is treated to a history lesson along the way. Details of the time are peppered into the narrative and add an extra element to the story. The book is a well written mystery, with both an interesting plot and detailed characterization. I enjoyed the book enough to seek out the three earlier titles and I hope that more are in the works.

This book was provided to Mystery Playground by the publisher. The review was fair and completely independent.

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