The Corpse in Court Dress and Other Inconvenient Alterations

A Cozy Regency Mystery of Love and Murder

The trouble with dressing the ton is that sometimes they stop breathing before they settle the bill.

Senior seamstress Lydia Hart is very good at her job: she keeps court trains from tripping debutantes, tempers from fraying, and account books from lying. Then Viscountess Dalrymple collapses mid curtsey in Madame Follet’s Bond Street fitting room, sugared almonds on her breath and a suspiciously elegant court gown on her back. Bow Street wants to know who poured the tea, why the comfits now taste of trouble, and why the sharp eyed girl with the pins keeps noticing things that are not in the official account.

Lord Benedict Ravenshaw, younger son, accomplished card player and part time disgrace, knows three things: the viscountess had a talent for making enemies, poison is tidier than scandal, and Lydia Hart is far too intelligent to be left alone with either. As inquests loom, royal patronage wobbles, and half of fashionable London parades through the workrooms in search of gossip, Lydia and Benedict pick apart alibis, hemlines, and motives stitched into silk. If she fails, she loses her position, her reputation, and possibly her neck; if he fails, someone very competent will get away with a perfectly stitched murder.

A witty, clue rich cozy Regency mystery with a fair play puzzle and a closed door slow burn romance that lands in a happy for now ending. Perfect for readers who enjoy clever seamstress heroines, sardonic younger sons, non gory poisonings, and murder investigations conducted among pins, pleats, and whispered fittings.

Slip into the fitting room and see who walks out.