A Lady’s Guide to Mischief and Murder is the third book in Dianne Freeman’s delightful mystery series set in late Victorian England. Frances Wynn, Countess of Harleigh, is an American heiress from New York whose social-climbing mother brought her to London to find an aristocratic husband. She did, but it turned out her husband, Reggie, was a scoundrel who only wanted her money, which he promptly spent, and who ended up getting murdered in his mistress’ bed. In the first book, A Lady’s Guide to Etiquette and Murder, Frances solves her husband’s murder, with the help of the handsome George Hazelton, her best friend Fiona’s brother.
The attraction between Frances and George is an important element in the series. They are both highly intelligent, which makes them skilled at detective work. George has a somewhat mysterious background, carrying out clandestine investigations for the government. In the first two books, his work was described only in vague terms, but in this one we find out more about what he does. One of the delights of the series is the witty dialogue between the two protagonists. Frances insists that George treat her as an equal partner, while he wants to keep her out of danger. He does not become overbearing in his protectiveness, though, and he knows Frances has the skills to be his equal in investigation. Their partnership eventually develops into love, and George asks Frances to marry him in each of the books. In the first one, she thought he wasn’t serious. Later, she realizes he is, but she doesn’t want to rush into marriage because of the disastrous experience with her first husband. By this time, she has accepted George’s proposal, but they have decided to keep their engagement a secret for a while.
This book is somewhat of a departure from the previous two because of the setting. The first two books take place in London, but this one takes place at a country house party, a setting that recalls Agatha Christie. Frances’ younger sister, Lily, has gotten engaged to Leo Kendrick, the son of a businessman, and they had planned for a large wedding in London. Then Frances finds out Lily is pregnant, and the wedding must take place earlier than expected if a scandal is to be avoided. George offers his brother’s country estate as the site for the wedding, since his brother, an earl, is abroad. Frances is delighted with the offer, and travels to the estate with her eight-year-old daughter, Rose, the bride and groom, and various friends and family members.
The party quickly turns into a disaster. First, Frances’ mother, who has arrived for the wedding along with Frances’ brother Alonzo, takes an instant dislike to Lily’s fiancé Leo because he’s the son of a businessman and not an aristocrat. She also doesn’t care for George because he’s a younger son of an earl instead of the heir, even though she doesn’t know about his engagement to Frances, which they plan to announce after Lily’s wedding.
Then a series of accidents happen to several of the guests and the servants. The incidents seem unrelated at first, but Frances thinks it’s too much of a coincidence that these accidents keep happening, and eventually she sees a pattern: Leo was nearby when all the accidents took place. Is someone trying to kill the groom before the wedding? Most of the accidents are not fatal, but then a footman turns up dead of arsenic poisoning. George calls in the police (which, in this book, means an incompetent sergeant, rather than Inspector Delaney, who had worked with the two protagonists in London). All the servants are questioned in the presence of the butler, and they all say everyone got along well, and everyone liked Michael, the dead footman.
The butler, though, is an overbearing man who demands obedience from all the servants, and they are afraid to tell the truth in front of him. Frances eventually finds out, with the help of her maid, Bridget, that Michael was not well-liked at all. He was a ladies’ man and probably a thief, and many people had a motive to kill him. After the accidents keep happening to the guests, though, Frances still believes all the incidents are related and that Leo, not Michael, was the intended victim. Will she and George solve the crime before anyone else turns up dead?
This is a wonderful addition to the series. The plot takes many turns, and I did not guess who the killer was until the end. I love Freeman’s descriptions of country life at a Victorian estate. One of the highlights of the book is an archery contest which takes place near a maze. Frances’ cousin Charles ends up with an arrow in his back (thankfully not fatal—he’s one of the best characters in the series), and Frances and George search through the maze for the spot where the arrow was fired. There are also great scenes of horseback riding. Frances’ daughter, Rose, is becoming an excellent horsewoman, unlike her mother, even though Frances is learning to ride. The relationship between Frances and George develops and reaches a very satisfying point by the end of the book.
Each book in the series can stand on its own, so A Lady’s Guide to Mischief and Murder can be read without having read the previous two, but I recommend beginning with the first one, so you can see how the characters’ relationships develop. I highly recommend the series. The books are impossible to put down, and once I read the first one, I couldn’t wait to move on to the next one. They should especially appeal to fans of Tasha Alexander and Anne Perry, even though they are more lighthearted in tone than Perry’s books. I would recommend this one, in particular, to fans of Agatha Christie, because the country house setting will be familiar. I am looking forward to seeing what will be in store for Frances and George in future books.
A Lady's Guide to Mischief and Murder is available from the Shapiro Undergraduate Library.