Letter to a Duchess

Duchess of Blackmoore Mysteries, Book 2

By: Nellie H. Steele

Narrated by: Liz Gentle

Only she can prove his innocence. But will it make her the killer’s next victim? Can her connection with the dead keep her alive?

Lenora Fletcher is settling into her new role as Duchess of Blackmoore, after having put the ghost of her husband’s first wife to rest. But when her ne-er-do-well brother-in-law is accused of murder, only Lenora can help him.

Using her ability to communicate with the dead, Lenora must contact the deceased sailor and determine who his real killer is in order to clear Edwin’s name. But will her involvement cause the killer to end another life? And will that life be her own?

Find out in Letter to a Duchess, the thrilling second book in the Duchess of Blackmoore Mysteries series.

©2022 Melissa Marie Sovak (P)2022 A Novel Idea Publishing, LLC

Enjoyable Read

The narrator is excellent. The mystery kept me pondering until the end. Very enjoyable book

Duchess

This book was very good about ghost and dead people and talking to the dead

Blackmore Mysteries

Good little mystery with ghosts and murder and a bothersome sibling then add a great narrator to the mix (pretty good all around)....The Duke and Duchess are a nice couple and I've been pulling for them from the beginning.

Not as Good as the First One

I was excited about this series, and as I write this review, I have recently begun book 4, Danger for a Duchess. The beginning of my reviews for all four will be similar, and then I will be more specific about each book towards the end of the review.

First of all, the narrator did a great job, but she was clearly an older woman. It just didn't compute for me when the heroine of the story is only 18 years old. The only saving grace is that the story is told in first person, past tense. It allowed me to believe that the narrator was telling her life story- things that happened long ago. I have to say, however, she did make the husband, Robert, sound very short, clipped, and pompous, unfortunately. I didn't feel any emotion from him, despite the narrator's efforts.

As far as the stories go, each one has been very slow-going. For being some great detective who can speak to the dead, I found it frustrating that it took her so long to figure out some things that were actually quite obvious and predictable to any average joe. I did appreciate the element of spookiness without going too far into the horror genre; those are hard to find!

Now, as for the specifics of Book Two, Letter to a Duchess:
This one wasn't as exciting to me as the first one, but that could just my personal preference for the damsels in distress trope. This one was about solving a man's murder who we didn't even know until now, so I felt no connection to the deceased. The premise of this story was clearing the wayward brother's name. I did enjoy watching the redemption of the brother unfold, and I enjoyed the constant bickering between the brothers. I found myself chuckle a few times.

As far as the relationship between husband and wife go, I am extremely disappointed in its development. There is no chemistry between them, no intimate moments, no quality time, so (*SPOILER ALERT*) I was left dumbfounded at the end of this book when we find out that Lenora is pregnant. Until then, I was still waiting for them to engage in a "real" kiss, so the fact that she ends up pregnant felt unbelievable and far-fetched. At one point in the book, something was said that made me question whether or not she might be pregnant, but I dismissed the thought, since, to my knowledge, they hadn't even slept in the same in bed yet. But then, surprise! I was right all along. Similar to when readers don't like when there is no character development, I was equally annoyed that there was no relationship development. In addition, it's downright annoying that all the husband ever wants is for her to have a hot toddy and go to bed to rest!

Story good

I did not like the change of voices, the last 2 books were fantastic, but this one grated on my nerves!!!!