Of Manners and Murder is the first in the delightful new Dear Miss Hermione mystery series from Anastasia Hastings .
"Evokes the shocking revelations of Wilkie Collins, the social acuity of Jane Austen and the comic melodrama of Oscar Wilde."― Wall Street Journal
1885: London, England. When Violet's Aunt Adelia decides to abscond with her newest paramour, she leaves behind her role as the most popular Agony Aunt in London, "Miss Hermione," in Violet's hands.
And of course, the first letter Violet receives is full, not of prissy pondering, but of portent. Ivy Armstrong is in need of help and fears for her life. But when Violet visits the village where the letters were posted, she finds that Ivy is already dead.
She'll quickly discover that when you represent the best-loved Agony Aunt in Britain, both marauding husbands and murder are par for the course.
"Evokes the shocking revelations of Wilkie Collins, the social acuity of Jane Austen and the comic melodrama of Oscar Wilde."― Wall Street Journal
1885: London, England. When Violet's Aunt Adelia decides to abscond with her newest paramour, she leaves behind her role as the most popular Agony Aunt in London, "Miss Hermione," in Violet's hands.
And of course, the first letter Violet receives is full, not of prissy pondering, but of portent. Ivy Armstrong is in need of help and fears for her life. But when Violet visits the village where the letters were posted, she finds that Ivy is already dead.
She'll quickly discover that when you represent the best-loved Agony Aunt in Britain, both marauding husbands and murder are par for the course.
My rating: 4 of 5 stars
I enjoyed this, but it does slow down a bit after the whirlwind of the beginning. There is a lot of information gathered about the list of suspects and once you get past the halfway point it picks up again.
Violet is thrust into the role of Aunt Hermione by her Aunt Adelia. Aunt Hermione is the most popular Aunt Agony in all of London, Aunt Adelia has secretly filled this role but is leaving it in her niece Violet's hands so that she can take off with her newest paramour.
The first letter she receives immediately grabs her attention. Ivy Armstrong needs help and fears for her life. When Violet travels to the village where the letters were mailed, she discovers that Ivy is already dead.
Using the information Ivy sent to Aunt Hermione, Violet sets out to discover what really happened to Ivy.
Thank you so much to the author and St. Martins Press for this ARC to review.
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