A Murderous Tryst

Beatrice Hyde-Clare Mysteries, Book 11

By: Lynn Messina

Narrated by: Jill Smith

Length: 8 hrs and 45 mins

Publisher's summary

The past rears its gorgeous head …

Deeply distressed to discover her husband lied about his whereabouts the day before, Beatrice, Duchess of Kesgrave, emerges from a wretched night’s sleep to discover him embracing the most beautiful woman she has ever seen.

His former mistress!

It is shocking, yes, but not so very alarming, for Penelope Taylor is actually there to see Bea. Her dearest friend has been brutally slain, and as Millicent Lloyd happened to be sleeping in the courtesan’s bed at the time, Mrs. Taylor is the only suspect. The magistrate is impatient to cart her off to Newgate and refuses to acknowledge the truth that is glaringly obvious to her: She was the intended victim.

Poor Millie, murdered in her stead!

Persuaded by the evidence, Bea accepts the assignment, launching an investigation to prove the innocence of her husband’s former lover, whose fond recollections of her liaison with the duke confirm she is anything but innocent. Following the clues—and the trail of broken hearts discarded by Mrs. Taylor—Bea realizes she is looking for a villain more diabolical than any she has ever known.

And this one will not hesitate to strike again.

©2023 Lynn Messina (P)2024 Lynn Messina

Mystery Maven

So I enjoy this series but this entry was interesting to follow and conjure a line to solve the puzzle. Good narration and now onto the next entry, when available.

Jane Austen meets Agatha Christie

Continues to stay in my favorite series. If you are new to these books you'll want to go back and start at book 1. They really should be read in order for the best experience.

Part of the fun outside of the mystery, of course, is getting to watch the growth in both characters and their relationship. I stick by my description of this series being the best mixture of an Agatha Christie mystery with the era and writing style of Jane Austen - really what could be better?

Without giving too much away this one was an interesting twist to have Bea pulled into solving a murder in order to save one of the Duke's former and first mistress. This made for some awkward moments and was not easy for poor Bea. I was however impressed with her grace in dealing with the matter. Pretty sure the Duke won't allow another such experience. This mystery had the twists we've come to expect but wasn't quite the reveal at the end that I'm used to here... my suspicions turned out correct in the end. Still a very engaging, fun listen and I can't wait for the next book and to see where this little family goes next.

Parents- PG13 - high school and up readers
Language- none
Violence- PG- murders are kept free of overly graphic detail
Sexual Content- PG13- there is just a matter of a week or two between books so they are still very much newlyweds and while there are no actual sex scenes there are a lot of make-out scenes with some pretty steamy lead-ups to the door closing, them adjusting clothing back into place, and teasing each other about better uses of time and the like

This narrator is one of the very few that I can't listen to sped up because she's just that much fun to listen to. She just fits the characters so perfectly, has phenomenal differentiations, and is simply a lot of fun to listen to. In my book, Jill Smith is up there with narrators like Jim Dale who have ruined me for the lesser skilled narrators.

Lynn Messina has another hit!

This narrator is by far one of my favorites for her talent with multiple characters’ voices is amazing! But without the amazingly funny, endearing and well written story her talent would not shine quite so brightly!
If you haven’t read or listen to the first 10 in the series then you must before reading the book, otherwise you’ll have quite a few spoilers. I don’t like to say much of what happens in the books I read for fear of giving off spoilers unintentionally, however I will state that the interesting way this book starts off grabs you. This book also makes you want to read the spinoff series “A Lark’s Tale,” which will more than likely be my next two reads.
Set in Victorian times England, the former Beatrice Hyde-Claire, now the Duchess of Kesgrave has become a famous lady runner. Along with her husband the Duke, they are presented with yet another mystery to solve. But Beatrice is slightly distracted by events that had happened the day before, the question is will the distraction mess up the investigation or drive a wedge between the Duke and Duchess? The only way to know is to read and find out!
I hope this helps you find your next Tantalizing Tome!

A Murderous Tryst

Another solid entry in the series. The mystery is engaging and there was some good character development that I found to be satisfying. There was also a rather lengthy conversation relating Kesgrave’s interactions with Verity in ‘A Lark’s Flight’ which I found to be exceedingly entertaining.
I received a free Audible copy of this book and am voluntarily leaving a review.

Im obsessed and you cannot stop me

I tell almost anyone who will listen about BHC regency cozy series. I love them. I live for them. I reread them. I love the narrator. She’s incredible,

Another good listen

Love the series and the main character. Can’t wait for the next one. Wish they were longer!

Disappointed

I did not like this book nearly as much as the previous ones, and was disappointed. I pressed on to finish the book, but sadly, it didn’t get any better. I found the premise of Bea spending time with Kesgrave’s former mistress unlikely & demeaning for a character that has always represented a woman ahead of her time in equality. The ending, with every one of the men being disabled, & Bea having to take down the culprit while being assaulted while pregnant distasteful. Since I have enjoyed the series in the past, I will give the author one more chance with the next book, but if it doesn’t return to the prior quality of writing, I will not continue listening to the series.

Not as good as previous books in the series

I really love this series but honestly I struggled through this one. The plot was meh, I predicted the killer, and I was just really disappointed with the overall story. Narration was fabulous as always.