A Gentlewoman's Guide to Murder

Gentlewoman's Guide to Murder Series, Book 1

De: Victoria Hamilton

Narrado por: Heather Wilds

Scandal and slayings among Regency London's elite

The shocking murder of Sir Henry Claybourne leaves Regency London shaken and horror-struck. But for genteel spinster Miss Emmeline St. Germaine, the crime slices far too close to home. Just hours before the knight's death she held a dagger to him, threatening him to stay silent as she rescued a scullery maid he had procured for his pleasure.

Did the man - or woman - who murdered the knight know of her visit? Her secret identity at risk, her reputation and life in jeopardy, Emmeline must solve the crime or face scandalous exposure and ruination, or worse - the hangman's noose - for a crime she did not commit.

©2019 Victoria Hamilton (P)2019 Tantor

Reseñas de la Crítica

"[An] outstanding series launch...Hamilton expertly balances the page-turning detection with the story of a hypocritical society where women, whether they are scullery maids or orphans, rarely get to make their own decisions." (Publishers Weekly)

Interesting topic and storyline

It was a very interesting storyline. At times I was frustrated with the main character's feminist views and wanted her to just like the guy already. The saying that kept me from really enjoying the book was the narrator. it was painful to listen to at times.

Disappointing

Disappointingly long winded, plot was not very inventive, and historic references were over worked, and found staccato delivery annoying,

Excellent novel by a skilled author

An unapologetic, survivor-centered book that names and calls out sexual violence? I was all in. Set in 1810, Regency London, where upper and middle class women are property of men and where poor girls are seen as expendable, this book doesn't use the euphemisms or glosses so often employed to explain away the abuses women and girls faced in order to move a mystery along. Nor does the author excuse the cultural systems in place that allowed predatory men to inflict harm and label it their right. Hamilton tells a story that centers strong women and as the story moves along, the ways that her thoughts become more complex opens her world to a group of other women, whose lives are intricately connected to her own. To be clear, Hamilton lays blame where it is deserved and does not tend toward sweeping statements unless the main character is struggling with how to make sense of just how many women's lives, across classes, included sexual violence and how even a single man can have had such a profoundly significant reach. I have worked in the field of SV for many years and listening to the women in this novel speak about such memories, some for the first time, was far too familiar.

I truly enjoyed this book and of the nearly 250 similar books I've listed to, count it among my favorites precisely because there are so many moments of women bonding to hold perpetrators accountable, even in naming the violence, that I wished showed up in other novels. If it helps, other authors I enjoy include Sherry Thomas, Deanna Raybourn, Rosemary Simpson, Charles Todd, and Theodora Goss, I also actually enjoyed that there was no romance. They can be fun when done well but in this case, would have been distracting.

Heather Wilds is one of my favorite narrators. I don't need all sorts of different character voices and truly enjoy how Wilds reads women's voices.

Disappointed

Quite with three hours to finish. Tired of being preached to. Characters two dimensional. Love interest flat

Most irritating reader

Deadpan, halting and in no way lyrical .... she does do accents well, but the rest is so frustrating to read ... It was so distracting that it was difficult to decide if I liked the book or not.