Of Manners and Murder

December 19, 2022
Set in 1885, this witty series launch from Hastings (a pseudonym of Connie Laux, author of the League of Literary Ladies series) introduces Violet Manville, who has been living for a year in the London home of her aunt Adelia. Violet’s life is upended when her relative admits to being Miss Hermione, the author of the British Empire’s most popular agony aunt column. Adelia adds that she’s leaving immediately on a journey of undetermined duration with her lover and insists that Violet take over Miss Hermione during her absence, despite Violet’s lack of experience. That new role becomes even more unsettling when Violet reads the letter Adelia wants her to address first, from Ivy, a new bride who sought guidance earlier. Ivy’s second missive states that she suspects someone will murder her—and is accompanied by pictures of two men Ivy apparently suspects. Violet traces Ivy, but only after she has died in an apparent accident. Given the letter’s contents, Violet resolves to get justice for Ivy by turning detective. Hastings imbues her endearing lead with sufficient depth to make the plot plausible. Allison Montclair readers will be eager for the sequel. Agent: Gail Fortune, Gail Fortune Agency.

January 1, 2023
A letter to a Victorian advice columnist introduces a clever young woman to murder. "Dear Miss Hermione" is just Aunt Adelia to Violet Manville, a practical bluestocking whose younger half sister Sephora's nose is always in the clouds. The two girls have lived with Adelia since their father died. Now, leaving London for a trip to the Continent, Adelia puts Violet in charge of writing her column, confident that her niece's common sense and adventurous spirit make her perfect for the job. While Sephora busies herself falling for a dashing, mysterious man, Violet struggles to reply to a letter from a recently married woman uneasy in her role and fearful that someone's trying to kill her. Although the letter is unsigned, Violet hopes to identify the correspondent. With the help of Bunty, their knowledgeable housekeeper, she discovers that the writer's name may be Ivy and that she probably lives in the Essex village of Willingdale. Newspaper clippings enclosed with the letter concern a vicar, a doctor, a lady, and a member of the gentry. They all seem like unlikely murderers, but Violet sets off for Willingdale to investigate. She arrives just in time for the funeral of Ivy Clague Armstrong, who supposedly fell off a bridge and drowned. Pretending to be an old schoolmate, Violet inserts herself into the group of Ivy's friends and soon concludes that she was murdered. As Sephora grieves when her new love vanishes from London, Violet learns a great deal about Ivy's life, including her mother's rumored madness. A series of surprising revelations leads to a shocking conclusion. The first in a series steeped in Victorian mores offers a dashing heroine and an impressive pile of red herrings.

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January 1, 2023

In Hastings's 1885 London, "Dear Miss Hermione" is one of the most popular Agony Aunt newspaper columns, and Violet Manville is shocked when her Aunt Adelia announces she's running off to the continent with her latest beau and leaving the advice column in Violet's capable hands. Although Adelia persuades Violet that she can handle anything that comes up, the first letter Violet receives is from a nervous young wife who claims that someone is trying to kill her. Violet wants to assure her correspondent that it's all in her imagination, so she takes the train to the village where the letters were posted, to talk in person. She's too late, arriving during Ivy Armstrong's funeral. While she investigates the clues Ivy left, Violet's half-sister Sephora conducts a secret romance with a handsome man. When Sephora's suitor disappears, she turns for advice to "Dear Miss Hermione." In a surprising finale, the sisters' investigations converge. VERDICT There are a few twists in this entertaining historical mystery, the start of a new series by the multi-pseudonymous Hastings (author of Murder of a Mail-Order Bride under the name Mimi Granger). A good accompaniment will be Mary Winters's "Lady Agony" mystery Murder in Postscript (a March 2023 debut).--Lesa Holstine

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February 1, 2023
In 1885 London, Violet Manville is stunned to learn that her aunt Adelia is the author of a popular newspaper column, written under the pseudonym Miss Hermione, the ""agony aunt."" She is even more flabbergasted to learn that Adelia wants Violet to take over the column while Adelia traipses off to the Continent with her paramour. Violet is concerned when one of Miss Hermione's correspondents writes that someone is trying to kill her. Deducing that the writer's name is Ivy, Violet travels to Ivy's home in Willingdale but arrives too late, finding Ivy has died, presumably in an accident. Violet doesn't buy it and begins an investigation. At a house party, Violet meets the attractive, mysterious Eli Marsh, who is ready to assist in the investigation, but Violet doesn't trust him. Violet is a conscientious, studious, fully realized character, open to new experiences, including romance. This satisfying cozy, the first in a series, includes tricky plot twists and a beautifully described Victorian setting, framed by details concerning the writing of an advice column.

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