Miss Morton and the English House Party Murder

By: Catherine Lloyd

Narrated by: Lucy Rayner

Length: 9 hrs and 42 mins

Publisher's summary

The options for the penniless daughter of a deceased earl are few indeed in Regency England. So, following the suspicious death of her father, the Earl of Morton, and the discovery that she and her much younger sister have been left without income or home, Lady Caroline takes a post as a lady's companion to the wealthy widow Frogerton.

Just as Caroline is getting accustomed to her new position, her aunt, Lady Eleanor Greenwood, invites her and her employer to a house party in the countryside to celebrate her youngest daughter's birthday. Mrs. Matilda (Matty) Frogerton sees this as an opportunity to introduce her own rather wild daughter, Dorothy, to the ton, and Caroline is eager to see her sister, who as a child lives with their aunt.

But all is not well at the Greenwood estate. For one thing, Lady Caroline's former fiancé, Lord Francis Chatham, is a guest and refuses to speak to her. Far worse, after a series of troubling harassments of the staff, an elderly family member is found stabbed by a knitting needle. As Caroline and an unexpected ally—Mrs. Frogerton—attempt to solve the chilling crime, they discover the culprit may be leaving bizarre clues as to who will be next in the nursery. But they must make haste, for this heartless killer is engaged in anything but child's play . . .

©2022 Catherine Lloyd (P)2022 Tantor

Enjoyable story

Good story but narrator was hard to listen too: affected accents; overly dramatic. Should have listened to sample.

Uneven story, dragged in spots

I have listened to other books by this author that had plot lines that held together better. enjoyable to listen to, but ultimately unsatisfying. The protagonist's mentality was a bit too 21st century for the timeframe.

Exceptionally Good Read

Setting the Scene: After she and her much younger sister are left orphaned and destitute by a complete wastrel of an aristocratic father, Lady Clara, now Miss Morton, sought and found employment as a paid companion to a boisterously outspoken woman of means and her spoiled daughter, Dorothy. Miss Morton's duty to help Dorothy navigate the treacherous waters of her first "season" is given a boost when Miss Morton's aunt invites all 3 to her youngest daughter's 17th Birthday Ball at the ancestral home. Miss Morton is pleased only because she will see her young sister who still resides with her aunt. Soon after they arrive, things go awry, family drama gives way to suspicious deaths, no one is acting as they should, but thankfully Miss Morton finds a surprising ally in her employer.

What I Thought: This is an exceptionally good read with unique but well developed complex characters, and an equally complex mystery that is well plotted, with ample twists and suspects and a totally unexpected ending. Miss Morton is a strong lead character who remains cool and calm in the face of surmounting obstacles yet somehow misses being cold and unfeeling. Her employer is a delight, and I look forward to more adventures.

Great story

I love the storyline of an independent female. I would have enjoyed it more if a different narrator was reading the box. If there are anymore books in this series, I pray that a different narrator be chosen. One who can do various voices and characters.

The narrator drove me crazy

The story was well written and the characters were well developed but the way the narrator performed the main character was not very good. It seemed cold and too drab and she had a way of speaking with the same inflection no matter what the character said. It was a pretty good story though.

Not bad

On its own, the story wasn't impressive. However, it did succeed in setting up a potential series. I'd be interested in listening to a sequel.

good mystery, but hard to listen to.

I found narrator's breathy hushed monotone difficult to listen to (but lovely for putting me to sleep). As a mystery, it was quite good, I wasn't sure who was involved and the extent of the motivation until nearly three quarters of the way through. the authors knowledge of Early Victorian society and customs was weak, and in some areas did not ring true. one hopes for improvement in later novels.

Wonderful Regency mystery

I enjoyed Catherine Lloyd’s last series around Kurland Hall and I think this series is proving to be even better. Enjoyed the visit and look forward to the next book in the series!!!!

Great New Character.

I am looking forward to more of this series. The storyline was very original and engaging.

Waste of a listen and not much of a of a read!

Mediocre story and the worst performance I've heard in quite awhile! Tediously written and annoyingly performed.