Murder at Kensington Palace

Wrexford & Sloane Mystery Series, Book 3

By: Andrea Penrose

Narrated by: James Cameron Stewart

Length: 12 hrs and 40 mins

Publisher's Summary

Though Charlotte Sloane's secret identity as the controversial satirical cartoonist A. J. Quill is safe with the Earl of Wrexford, she's ill prepared for the rippling effects sharing the truth about her background has cast over their relationship. She thought a bit of space might improve the situation. But when her cousin is murdered and his twin brother is accused of the gruesome crime, Charlotte immediately turns to Wrexford for help in proving the young man's innocence. Though she finds the brooding scientist just as enigmatic and intense as ever, their partnership is now marked by an unfamiliar tension that seems to complicate every encounter. 

Despite this newfound complexity, Wrexford and Charlotte are determined to track down the real killer. Their investigation leads them on a dangerous chase through Mayfair's glittering ballrooms and opulent drawing rooms, where gossip and rumors swirl to confuse the facts. Was her cousin murdered over a romantic rivalry...or staggering gambling debts? Or could the motive be far darker and involve the clandestine scientific society that claimed both brothers as members? The more Charlotte and Wrexford try to unknot the truth, the more tangled it becomes. But they must solve the case soon, before the killer's madness seizes another victim....

©2019 Andrea DaRif (P)2020 Tantor

I am sick of Charlotte

I loved the first book in this series. I liked the second book, and was thrilled with the way it ended as I (foolishly) assumed that the author was going to dispense with all the interpersonal idiocy from Charlotte. But no!!! It turns out the ending of book two meant nothing, and we are back to Charlotte being insecure, dishonest, rude, ungrateful, and vastly annoying with regard to Wrexford all over again in book three. I have had it. We spend VAST amounts of time listening to her being a complete and utter idiot about Wrexford and his motivations, on and on and on and ON, and I have simply had enough of her.
She's not that bright about anything else either, TBH. It is completely impossible for me to believe that she's been so sucessful in life and in her art, given how idiotic she is in every aspect of it that we see. It's fine for the author to tell us how brilliant she is, but when all we see is her acting like a numbskull, it becomes both unbelievable and annoying.
It's unfortunate that she's a major character, because I like so many other characters in the books. Wrexford is fine, and I like his friend Sheffield. I love the addition of the Scottish lady (we need more of her, since she's a female character who's not a complete fool), I like the kids, and I loved the addition of the new mathmatical lady. The reader does a great job with all these characters, I particularly like his renditions of the Scottish lady and the mathmatical lady. The mystery was pretty stupid and pretty gross for what is basically a cozy, but whatever, I don't really listen to these things for finely plotted mysteries. I don't know if I'll continue with the series, because I don't know if my enjoyment of the supporting characters can out balance my really intense frustration with Charlotte, who hogs so much of the limelight.

Great Book & Series

I really liked this book and the entire series. It is the story of how a relationship grows and the changes you have to embrace for yourself and those you love. A very romantic evolution between 2 people with a lot of issues & complexity.
The series is very interesting and this book held my interest until the very end. Every time I thought "this is the killer", it would turn out not to be the murderer. I could not guess until the very end. Not many mysteries can keep you guessing.
I loved the 2 little boys that seem to become more loveable in every chapter. The care that the H/H shows them, is a mirror of their growing love for each other. No real sexuality, but you know that they love each other.
The only item that gave me a problem is the anachronistic sentences i.e. "snowball's chance in hell" and "cut to the chase". I don't think they belong in regency era vocabulary, but it was not enough to spoil the flow of the story.
I would highly recommend the series.

Dreadful narrator

I enjoyed the storyline but found the narration stilted and the falsetto female wearing. Not sure why the hero, a man of quick mind and temper should be gifted with such a ponderously slow voice.
I will not listen to any others in the series with this narrator

PRT

Really struggled with finishing - the most adult acting in the book were the two boys.. One cliché after another. Very poorly written.

Thrilling

Another well thought out mystery.. Performance was excellent and many murders to solve. Great chemistry between the characters.

Love this series

I just love this series! Every book develops each character so wonderfully! I hope for many adventures in the future!!!

Third in the Wrexford & Sloane Series

Murder at Kensington Palace is the third book in the Wrexford & Sloane mystery series. Though Charlotte Sloane’s secret identity as the controversial satirical cartoonist A.J. Quill is safe with the Earl of Wrexford, she’s ill prepared for the rippling effects sharing the truth about her background has cast over their relationship. She thought a bit of space might improve the situation. But when her cousin is murdered and his twin brother is accused of the gruesome crime, Charlotte immediately turns to Wrexford for help in proving the young man’s innocence.

The story does a good job balancing between solving the mystery & the potential romantic relationship with Wrexford & Sloane. All the usual supporting characters make their appearance (Kip, Hawk, Raven & the rest) in support of both to solve the murder. The pace the book is good & the banter is still there between the characters. I don't really need the romantic portion of the story as long as everything else is present. There is a decent amount of growth in several of the characters. The suspense was lacking, but plenty of suspects.

I do plan on continuing this series.

The really bad writing ruined it for me.

The early entries weren't well-written but the plots, the glimpses of Regency life and science, and some of the characters (the two boys) carried them along. In this one the plot barely moves, the murderer is obvious, the science is invisible and the formerly interesting secondary characters aren't interesting. This foregrounds the really awful writing; repetitious turns of phrase (lips twitch and quirk dozens of times), "begs the question" used twice both times incorrectly, "prevaricate" used to mean procrastinate (that could be a slip of the narrator, who was getting bored) and lots more errors of diction to the point of distraction. A copy-editor didn't spend much energy on this manuscript. I don't know if the writing was actually worse in this installment or just more noticeable without the distraction of a plot.

Painful narration

This narrator...This is painful...I don't know if I can finish it. Boring narration, exaggerated voice, slowww.

Good, but not as good as #1&2

I enjoyed the book and getting to hang out more with Charlotte and Wrexford and the other characters, but the emotional payoff at the end was lacking. Where you expect a big moment, there are a couple of platitudes.