Genre: Cozy
Mystery/Historical/Humor/Young Adult
Description:
“When a Buckingham Palace lady-in-waiting is killed, Poppy
Throckmorten is up to her crinolines helping her mentor, Florence Nightingale,
solve the murder. But in tracking the clues, they uncover a plot to kill Queen
Victoria herself!
Poppy must use all the detective skills she’s learned from Florence to
foil the villains before the young monarch’s first meeting with her future
husband, Prince Albert.”
Author:
“Barbara Silkstone is the best-selling author of both Regency Pride and Prejudice variations, including
the popular the Mister Darcy Series of
Comedic Mysteries, and Pride and
Prejudice contemporary variations. All her books are light comedies based
on Jane Austen's timeless tales of love denied and love discovered. ‘Feel good’
tales to warm your heart.
She is also the author of the Wendy
Darlin Comedy Mystery series. Five coffee-snorting tales that combine cozy
with outrageous adventures.
Please check out Ms. Silkstone’s website, Second Act Café, or stalkher on Facebook.
Appraisal:
It’s been three months since Florence Nightingale, Poppy Throckmorten,
and Granny (Mrs. Throckmorten) have returned home from their last mystery.
Florence receives another letter from Buckingham Palace. Queen Victoria
requires their service for a private matter. She especially mentions Poppy
Throckmorten must attend as well. Granny jumps at the chance to join the girls’
as their guardian again.
As soon as they arrive at Buckingham Palace they are whisked straight
to the Queen’s private parlor. It’s not long before the plot twists begin and
continue to twist time and time again. As the mystery deepens it is not safe to
walk the palace halls unattended. Moon, the footman Polly is smitten with, is
never far away when she needs escorting. He also finds a private moment to
profess his attraction to her. However, she is busy with the mysteries
presented and she can hardly entertain a relationship with Moon until his
social status is elevated. (Do you hear me, Queen Victoria?)
Florence has been called upon to apply her analytical instincts along with
Poppy’s assistance to gather and explore the facts of a murder inside the
palace walls. Poppy is learning from Ms. Nightingale by watching her dogged
determination and attention to small details. Even Granny gets to stretch her
acting wings, and does a brilliant job distracting by causing a ruckus at the
dressmakers, giving Florence and Poppy time to snoop around. It’s all highly
entertaining and smartly written. The reveal at the end is surprisingly complex
with political ties. I think Queen Victoria will sleep a little easier.
I would be remiss not to mention the historical notes at the end of
the book, which describes the real life characters in her story. However, Ms.
Silkstone confesses she did take artistic liberties to create the story. The
other supporting cast of the book are figments of her imagination.
FYI:
The
Killer Corset is book 2 of Barbara Silkstone’s, Florence Nightingale
Comedy Mystery Series following, The
Giggling Corpse. I do believe this book could be read as a standalone.
However, some character development and nuances would be lost.
Format/Typo
Issues:
A small number of proofing errors, nothing that threw me out of the
story.
Rating: *****
Five Stars
Reviewed
by: ?wazithinkin
Approximate
word count: 50-55,000 words
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