A Most Agreeable Murder

This book was a wonderfully well done and comedic mystery.  Set in a small town in England with strong and strict social requirements, particularly for women, we follow Beatrice who is smart, witty, and loves to solve crime.  Stolen away in the turret of her family estate, Beatrice reads crime columns and finds she often solves the mystery before her favorite detective columnist.  This is a secret hobby Beatrice must hide because it is positively not allowed for a lady to be interested in crime. 

Adding to her struggles, Beatrice and her family learn that her cousin is aiming to take their estate as neither Beatrice nor her sisters have wed. The sisters attend a ball with the hopes that at least one of the sisters will secure an engagement and save the family estate.  During the course of the evening one of the eligible bachelors is murdered and Beatrice finds that she is finally able to follow her true passion: solving crime. Paired with a disgraced investigator, Beatrice must work through personal relationships to discover the truth.

This is a classic closed-door mystery as everyone is trapped in the estate where the ball took place due to a vicious storm and with the knowledge that one of them is a killer. It takes a comedic approach to addressing the expectations of women at the time and showcases the impact of following one’s heart.  I truly hope this becomes a series and we are able to follow Beatrice on more adventures.