Murder and Marriages in the Duke's Private Theatre

A Cozy Regency Mystery of Murder, Love & Ghosts

De: Marisa Paxon

Narrado por: Virtual Voice

I am the narrator of this book, which means I carried every bonnet, bruise and bad decision across the finish line, and now they have decided I must sell it too. Fine. Welcome to the duke of Wescott’s private theatre, where the curtains are crimson, the manners are impeccable, and the main prop is in a temper.

Lady Arabella Sorrell arrives engaged to Lord Crispin Fallowmere, dressed for a betrothal celebration and braced for the kind of conversation that kills the spirit slowly. Instead she gets a sulking black cabinet built to make a gentleman vanish, a manager named Draycott who looks as if he would like to resign from reality, and Captain Silas Rathbone, the engineer half inside the contrivance, calmly adjusting hidden latches while everyone else pretends this is a charming diversion before matrimony.

Then Crispin obliges by vanishing at exactly the wrong moment and reappearing in the orchestra pit as a corpse: eyes open, cravat slightly disarranged, head at an angle no neck should attempt. There is no blood, no splatter, nothing theatrical at all, unless you count the screaming upstairs. I do, regrettably, count it.

Because Crispin does not stay politely dead. His ghost turns up with the confidence of a man who never learned restraint, announcing that men like him do not die by mischance, and demanding Arabella investigate on his behalf. The household wants an “accident”, the duke wants his scandal contained, and Silas wants very much not to be blamed for a cabinet that behaved precisely as designed.

So I watch Arabella do the only sensible thing available to a woman being managed by everyone in the room: she starts asking questions. In corridors, drawing rooms and the dusty belly of the theatre, she and Silas pick at alibis, access routes, motives, and the nasty little mechanics of who could reach what, when, and with which “helpful” household object. The ghost heckles, loudly. Society whispers, softly. If Arabella fails, Silas’s life collapses into disgrace, Arabella is left in deep mourning and quietly pushed back into obedience, while the murderer keeps breathing and Crispin keeps talking.

Do not worry, this is cozy in the way rich households are cozy: the violence is non gory, the dread is mostly social, and the most dangerous thing is still what people say in a drawing room. I, meanwhile, am forced to keep everything tidy, including the clues.

Also, just to make my job harder, Arabella and Silas make an infuriatingly competent pair. The partnership is sharp wits and reluctant respect, class tension and slow softening, with on page kissing only and nothing explicit. The romantic ending is slow burn, closed door, hopeful HFN: chosen, steady, and very much alive, even if society needs time to stop clutching its pearls.

Perfect for readers who like witty, clue led cozy mysteries, Regency manners with a bite, lightly haunted mischief, reluctant allies, and romance that simmers politely while a ghost complains in the background.

Expect a clue rich mystery with a satisfying, logical reveal, low gore, and a warm finish. This is a complete, standalone case within the Regency: Ghostly Grievances Society world, so you can start here without homework. Now click Look Inside, the cabinet is waiting, and so am I.