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    Death Comes to London
    Death Comes to London
    Death Comes to London
    Ebook325 pages5 hours

    Death Comes to London

    By Catherine Lloyd

    4/5

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    About this ebook

    Murder makes a debut on the London social scene in this Regency-era mystery by the author of Death Comes to the Village.

    With the reluctant blessings of their father, the rector of Kurland St. Mary, Lucy Harrington and her sister Anna leave home for a social season in London. At the same time, Lucy’s special friend Major Robert Kurland is summoned to the city to accept a baronetcy for his wartime heroism.

    Amidst the dizzying whirl of balls and formal dinners, the focus shifts from mixing and matchmaking to murder when the dowager Countess of Broughton, the mother of an old army friend of Robert, drops dead. When it's revealed she's been poisoned, Robert’s former betrothed, Miss Chingford, is accused, and she in turn points a finger at Anna. To protect her sister, Lucy enlists Robert's aid in drawing out the true culprit.

    But with suspects ranging from resentful rivals and embittered family members to the toast of the ton, it will take all their sleuthing skills to unmask the poisoner before more trouble is stirred up…
     

    Praise for Death Comes to London

     

    “Lucy’s second case…is a pleasant combination of Regency romance and mystery that evokes fond memories of Georgette Heyer.”—Kirkus Reviews

     

    “Fans of mysteries and intelligent Regencies will like this book, and should read the first one, too.”—Historical Novel Society
    LanguageEnglish
    PublisherKensington Books
    Release dateNov 26, 2014
    ISBN9780758287366

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    Reviews for Death Comes to London

    4/5

    64 ratings13 reviews

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    • 4/5
      In chapter nine the Dr. Redmond character describes a drink often mentioned in Heyer's Regency Romances: 'Orgeat is a syrupy concoction made from orange flower water, almonds, and barley water.' He considered the taste to be sweet and sickly -- sounds as if it would have been a useful beverage during PMS.
    • 4/5
      Death Comes to London
      4 Stars

      Lucy Harrington and her sister Anna travel to London for the Season and become involved in a murder investigation when the Dowager Countess of Broughton drops dead during a ball. With the aid of Major Robert Kurland, who is in the capital to accept a Baronetcy for his heroic actions on the battlefield, Lucy slowly exposes a dangerous web of family secrets, theft and poison.

      Once again, Lloyd has created wonderful characters and the romance is developing nicely. However, the mystery isn’t as intense as it could have been.

      Major Kurland is rather obtuse at times when it comes to his feelings for Lucy, but he is slowly coming to realize that she isn’t only the girl next door, but a lovely woman in her own right. Lucy, in contrast, is still in denial about her relationship with Robert although she does appear to be waking up toward the end.

      The secondary characters are just as compelling even though there are times when they fail to behave in accordance with the social norms of the Regency period, which can be jarring.

      As said, the mystery is the weakest element. Despite the large suspect pool, the villain is rather obvious, mainly due to their distasteful behavior, and it is more a matter of figuring out the motive. There are also a couple of twists that don’t really make sense in the larger picture, i.e., why did Dr. Redmond highlight the fact that the dowager died of poisoning when he was an accomplice?

      In sum, an enjoyable sequel and I look forward to reading book #3 and hope that Lloyd is working on more.
    • 4/5
      Lucy and her sister Anna head to London for their first season looking for husbands. At the first ball they attend at the Almack, the grumpy dowager Mrs. Broughton drop dead after accepting a drink from Lucy. Major Kurland is in London to meet with the Prince and happens to be at the Almack also. This begin their private investigation into the death. The Major monopolizes Lucy's time and she doesn't meet a prospective husband and decides to return home after realizing that she loves village life.
    • 4/5
      Another good story in this fine series. Lucy and her sister are off to London to have their "season" At one of their early events, a ball, an elderly, nasty dowager falls dead. Old age, no, it is poison? Lucy and the Major pair up to resolve this crime and the subsequent deaths that follow. They, do make a good team of sleuths during this authenticly presented Regency Period story.
    • 4/5
      It’s the spring of 1817 in England. Miss Lucy Harrington and her sister Anna are heading to London for the “season.” It’s a social whirlwind undertaken to help both women find husbands. Anna is the beauty in the family and just 20 years old. Lucy, a spinster at 25 has less hope. Also in London is their neighbor Major Robert Kurland, who’s going to be made a baronet … that means he’s quite a catch. At one of the social events, the mother of one of Major Kurland’s army mates is murdered. She’s an odious woman and there aren’t many people who are upset at her death. Then her two sons are taken ill and appear to have been poisoned. What is going on here?? Major Kurland and Lucy have collaborated in their home village on a few other murders, and it falls to them to do some snooping. This is a great little series. I love the two main characters – the Major and Miss Lucy Harrington – and there’s just enough sexual tension between them to keep it interesting, but not to turn this quiet mystery into a romance.
    • 3/5
      I got a free copy of this book from Netgalley. It was a fun little mystery set in 19th century London. It's the second in the series, but I don't think it's necessary to read the first one to enjoy Death Comes to London. The writing is good -- Lloyd does a good job of mimicking 19th century literature. Also the story seems true to the times but maintains a contemporary sensibility. One small complaint is that the unconsumed relationship between Lucy and the Major (the two main characters who do the detective work) quickly becomes a tired trope. Ultimately, this book is a three star read for me because it is very light -- but it was still a fun quick read worthy of a train trip or rainy afternoon.
    • 5/5
      Death comes to London is the second book in a series. Lucy Harrington is the older daughter of the village Rector. She accompanies her beautiful younger sister to London for the season. All Lucy wants is to find a husband and set up her own household. She thinks she has left her Special friend and ( sleuthing partner) Major Robert Kurland home yet fate summons him to London to appear before the Prince Regent. Their paths cross among the ton... And they soon find themselves knee deep in a murder mystery. I won a copy on Good reads giveaways. I highly recommend if you enjoy a cozy mystery and historical romance.
    • 5/5
      The saga continues about the abortive ‘love affair’ of the Major and Miss Harrington. The delightful narrative is simple and entertaining; and flows quite seamlessly with interesting and colorful characters, bad and good.
    • 4/5
      Always entertaining with plenty of twists and characters to consider on the way to the conclusion of the tale.
    • 4/5
      I chose this book to read right before going to sleep at night because it's a Regency historical cozy and would be a more calming read than, say, a thriller or a paranormal ghost story. This was also dumb, because I enjoyed the story enough that I didn't want to close the book and I ended up staying up too late three nights in a row. Ms. Lloyd created excellent characters: likeable and flawed. The clincher for me is not that they are flawed, but that there isn't any spotlight on the flaws; they weren't created to give the characters something to overcome, they just are what they are. Lucy is too headstrong and independent for most of the eligible men of London, and maybe a bit too old. Oh well, she is what she is and she's fine with it. Robert is a grumpy ass in a lot of pain (war wound). He's a good person, just really not subtle and he's short-tempered. He apologises when he offends, but well, it's the way he is. Anna comes closest to a trope: beautiful, naive, sweet-natured, but she shows not only the expected flashes of temper but also appealing moments of rational thinking and decisive action. The mystery concerns the death of a dowager countess during a ball at Almack's - she was universally loathed so the suspects are thick on the ground. The plotting is complex, well-thought out and until the very end there are just too many people who could have done the terrible deeds that begin with that old woman's death. There's a romantic element between Lucy and Robert but it's ethereal at best; I would have liked a little more forward momentum and less of Lucy jumping to unwarranted conclusions. (The end was what griped me the most - the rest was fine.) A great read and it looks to be a great series - I'll be waiting for book 3.
    • 5/5
      A year later in March 1817 Lucy Harrington and her sister Anna leave Kurland St. Mary to have a season in town. Both looking for husbands.
      Not long after Major Robert Kurland is summoned to London to accept a baronetcy for his war deeds.
      When the grandmother of a Major's friend - the dowager Countess of Broughton - dies, Lucy and the Major begin their own investigation, but can they prevent more deaths.
      Really liking the characters and enjoyed re-reading this second in the series and look forward to the next.
    • 4/5
      Major Robert Kurland goes to London where he will receive a noble title for his war valor. Lucy and Anna Harrington, daughters of Kurland St. Mary's rector, travel to London for the season, hoping to find a husband. Robert runs into an old army acquaintance. When the acquaintance's relative, the Dowager Countess of Broughton, dies under suspicious circumstances, the amateur sleuths (Robert and Lucy) use the developing scientific field of poison identification to determine how she met her death and who might be responsible. I found the book enjoyable although the mystery takes a back seat to some of the other less enjoyable plot elements, such as the pursuit of marriage.
    • 4/5
      In the continuing sleuthing saga of Lucy and Robert, they remain in touch even though both have reasons to be in London. The rector, Lucy's father sets my teeth on edge with his presumptuous attitude to women, but the story mostly unfolds away from the village of Kurland St. Mary. I romped through the tale quickly but with somewhat less enjoyment due to improbable developments along the lines of the still room and entangled family and friend associations. My biggest niggle was the clumsy development of the obvious character really causing the grief. It could have been more smoothly drawn with less contrived scenarios. However, I did have a few snorts of laughter over the behaviour of some of the side-characters.

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    Death Comes to London - Catherine Lloyd

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