Lucy Harrington has returned to Kurland St. Mary to help with her friend Sophia Giffin’s wedding. But her homecoming is made disagreeable by the presence of Major Robert Kurland, whose bungled proposal has ruffled Lucy’s composure, and a meddling widow who has designs on her father, the village rector.
Wary of the cloying Mrs. Chingsford from the start, Lucy has doubts about the busybody’s intentions with her father. But everyone else seems to think they make an ideal match—until the courtship is curtailed when Mrs. Chingsford is found dead at the bottom of a staircase. It’s clear that it wasn’t an accident, and in hopes of finding the culprit, Lucy and Robert call a truce and begin scrutinizing the wedding guests.
But the widow left behind plenty of enemies, and when one of them is the next to turn up dead, Lucy and Robert discover that the truth is far more scandalous than anyone could have imagined…
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| A Korean couple wed at the Ko Olina resort on Oahu |
Love is an endless mystery, for it has nothing else to explain it. - Rabindranath Tagore
DEATH COMES TO KURLAND HALL is Book Three is Catherine Lloyd's cozy mystery series set in Regency England. I enjoyed the first two books and recently purchased DEATH COME TO KURLAND HALL ... I could not put it down!
The series focuses on the friendship between Major Robert Kurland, a veteran of Waterloo, and Miss Lucy Harrington, the rector's daughter. Lucy prodded Robert out of his post war funk and helped him recover the use of his leg. Their friendship turned into a partnership when they became entangled in a mystery in the village of Kurland St. Mary (Book 1) and during Lucy's introduction to London (Book 2). Their partnership is now threatened by their growing feelings for each other - can a cripple and a spinster find happiness together? Neither have time to ponder on their circumstances when a murderer strikes during a wedding party.
DEATH COMES TO KURLAND HALL follows the typical pattern of a cozy mystery - suspicious characters, red herrings, and the amateur sleuth (Lucy) exposes herself to danger. Lloyd sets this series apart with its historical setting, secondary characters who are not quite who they seem to be, and the budding romance between the practical Lucy and the cranky Robert. Lloyd is not afraid to allow Lucy and Robert to make mistakes with the mystery and their relationship. Likewise, Lloyd pleasantly surprised me with a few twists of the mystery plot and how secondary characters flushed out from previous books.
Recommended read for fans of cozy mysteries and historical settings.
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| A bide on Kailua Beach |
I am giving away a book choice from my convention stash, which includes DEATH COMES TO THE VILLAGE, to one randomly selected commenter. To enter the giveaway,
1. Leave a comment about a wedding you attended - did anything happen that was out of the ordinary? Four years ago, we flew from Hawaii to Ohio for my cousin's daughter's wedding. The groom's uncle also came from Hawaii ... so we had an Aloha moment.
2. Comments are open through Saturday,
3. I'll post the winner on Sunday,
Mahalo,
Kim in Baltimore
Aloha Spirit in Charm City
I went to a wedding a few years ago where the bride did NOT wear a big white dress... But a burgundy suit with pale yellow blouse. It was certainly original to say the least :)
ReplyDeleteI did go to a wedding once where the bride wore black. It was very odd. Although she did look beautiful.
ReplyDeleteI spilled my wine all over my maid of honor dress at my brother's wedding... Does that count as out of the ordinary?! ;)
ReplyDeleteMy wonderful cousin got married just before her 60th birthday for the very first time.....I've never been to a wedding like this....everything was top shelf from the liquor to the food to the dessert. There was also a couple who sat with us while talking to them I found out I used to go her parents Italian grocery store.
ReplyDeleteI can't even remember the last wedding I went to, much less one that was out of the ordinary!
ReplyDeleteI attended a wedding where the flower girl went back and tried to pick up the flowers.
ReplyDeleteIn the early 90's two of my friends were married and the groom fainted during the ceremony. His dad was a doctor and everything turned out okay but he gave us all a scare ;)
ReplyDeleteMany years ago when I was visiting Hawaii with my husband on R&R we were walking the beach and came across a Hawaiian couple marrying on the beach - was lovely.
ReplyDeleteMy friends husband was Scottish. At the reception, all of the groomsmen lifted their kilts and mooned everybody.
ReplyDeletePlease don't enter me into the contest as I've read all of Catherine's books. I actually just finished reading "Death Comes to Kurland Hall".
The last wedding I attended was my niece's. It was early spring in Virginia and super cold - especially since the venue charged a stupid exorbitant price to turn on the wall heaters (something like $275 an hour per wall). So they used space heaters instead.
ReplyDeleteThe last wedding I attended was my niece's. It was early spring in Virginia and super cold - especially since the venue charged a stupid exorbitant price to turn on the wall heaters (something like $275 an hour per wall). So they used space heaters instead.
ReplyDeleteI haven't been to many weddings! But I was a flower girl when I was younger and I'm told I kept running through the pews asking people for gum lol.
ReplyDeleteat my cousin son's wedding they had the ceremony in a gazebo alongside a river. after the ceremony the bridal party got on two good sized cabin cruisers and rode those up river to the site of the reception.
ReplyDeleteno, nothing
ReplyDeleteMy friend got married on an old steam ferry here in San Diego. As part of the deal, we were able to go onto the old sailing ship The Star of India for wedding party photos. It was really fun and made for some nice photos.
ReplyDeleteMany years ago the bride got too close to a lit candle and her hair went on fire. But all was ok, it got put out quickly.
ReplyDeleteladbookfan
I went to a gay wedding for a guy I used to date. I was his last girlfriend!
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