A Lady's Guide to Mischief and Mayhem
(A Lady's Guide, 1)
By Manda Collins
Adult Historical Romance, Mystery
Paperback, Audiobook & ebook, 368 Pages
November 10, 2020 by Forever
Summary
An intrepid female reporter matches wits with a serious, sexy detective in award-winning author Manda Collin's fun and flirty historical rom-com, perfect for readers of Evie Dunmore, Julia Quinn, and Tessa Dare!
England, 1865: As one of England's most notorious newspaper columnists, Lady Katherine Bascomb believes knowledge is power. And she's determined to inform and educate the ladies of London on the nefarious-and deadly-criminals who are praying on the fairer sex. When her reporting leads to the arrest of a notorious killer, however, Katherine flees to a country house party to escape her newfound notoriety-only to witness a murder on her very first night. And when the lead detective accuses Katherine of inflaming-rather than informing-the public with her column, she vows to prove him wrong.
Detective Inspector Andrew Eversham's refusal to compromise his investigations nearly cost him his own career, and he blames Katherine. To avoid bad publicity, his superiors are pressuring him to solve cases quickly rather than correctly. When he discovers she's the key witness in a new crime, he's determined to prevent the beautiful widow from once again wreaking havoc on his case. Yet as Katherine proves surprisingly insightful and Andrew impresses Katherine with his lethal competency, both are forced to admit the fire between them is more flirtatious than furious. But to explore the passion between them, they'll need to catch a killer.
England, 1865: As one of England's most notorious newspaper columnists, Lady Katherine Bascomb believes knowledge is power. And she's determined to inform and educate the ladies of London on the nefarious-and deadly-criminals who are praying on the fairer sex. When her reporting leads to the arrest of a notorious killer, however, Katherine flees to a country house party to escape her newfound notoriety-only to witness a murder on her very first night. And when the lead detective accuses Katherine of inflaming-rather than informing-the public with her column, she vows to prove him wrong.
Detective Inspector Andrew Eversham's refusal to compromise his investigations nearly cost him his own career, and he blames Katherine. To avoid bad publicity, his superiors are pressuring him to solve cases quickly rather than correctly. When he discovers she's the key witness in a new crime, he's determined to prevent the beautiful widow from once again wreaking havoc on his case. Yet as Katherine proves surprisingly insightful and Andrew impresses Katherine with his lethal competency, both are forced to admit the fire between them is more flirtatious than furious. But to explore the passion between them, they'll need to catch a killer.
My Review
A LADY's GUIDE TO MISCHEIF AND MAYHEM is a story about an independent woman who runs a newspaper and is of the nobility, and a Scotland Yard detective who she causes trouble for, but who she ends up being intrigued by as well. Together they investigate a string of murders in the hope of discovering the murderer. Full of mystery, friendship, romance and even a bit of mayhem.
I rather enjoyed the start of this story with Katherine and Caro standing up for women at a dinner party, which leads to them writing a column together at Katherine's newspaper. Katherine is a great character and I easily fell in love with her. Her past isn't at all lovely, but she has found herself again after her husband's death. I liked how she wasn't afraid to push forward, but also was willing to realize when she made mistakes and to try to do her best to rectify them. Andrew is also a great character and an easy hero to cheer on. He's a man of integrity and takes his job seriously. He's a bit challenged by Katherine, not in just that she wants to be involved, but also because she is so different from other women he's known. There is an instantaneous attraction between them. I rather liked the two of them together as a couple. Caro and Val were fun side characters who I'm sure will be the focus in the next book in the series.
The mystery part of the story was weaved throughout. I felt like a few more hints could have been dropped here and there and the suspense could have been a bit stronger, but it was an intriguing part of the story. It also made sense in the end, as did the way the investigation unfolded. Other parts of the story could have used more development, such as Caro's and Kate's relationship going from being acquainted to best friends overnight. I honestly would have enjoyed this story so much more without the love scenes. I was happy with just the kissing and it kind of ruined the book for me for it to be more than that and to make the relationship involve so much lust. It felt like the relationship just went from getting acquainted to much more and love a bit quick.
In the end, was it what I wished for? This was an overall enjoyable story with great characters and an entertaining plot. I would recommend it to those who enjoy historical romance with mature content.
Content: Some mild swearing, one detailed love scene and some referenced/closed-door love scenes, innuendo, non-detailed murders
Source: Loaned from the library
What do you think? Is this something you'd enjoy reading?
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