Book After Book

Publication: 20th January 2026 – Storm Publishing

A deliciously twisty Highland mystery that will keep you guessing until the very last page. Perfect for fans of cozy crime with a bite!

Beth Cunningham‘s clever book subscription service is the talk of Oban, complete with local treats and hand-picked reads. But when elderly customer Nora Kelly is found dead in her armchair, Beth’s book boxes are identified as the murder weapon. It seems a vengeful killer has the Wild Haggis Bookshop in their sights…

Detective Sergeant Logan Hunter insists on round-the-clock protection for Beth, which means close quarters with the infuriating – and increasingly attractive – officer. As spring approaches and the bookshop fills with bountiful blooms and excited children, Beth’s investigation uncovers secrets that someone has spent decades trying to bury. With time running out, Beth must untangle a twisted web of lies that stretches far beyond this quaint Highland town. But when the killer strikes again, even Logan’s protection may not be enough to save her…

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It’s always exciting to return to the Scottish Highlands with this fantastic cozy mystery series. Poison at the Wild Haggis Bookshop is the second book in The Highland Bookshop Murders series and its protagonist, Beth Cunningham, is, once again, involved in a murder investigation.

Bookshop owner Beth seems to have settled down quite well in the town of Oban. After the events of the first book and the trauma of her past, she is finally happy. She has found a new family and new friends, the handsome detective Logan Hunter is still in her mind, and her bookshop is going well, with an Easter egg hunt planned and a subscription box that it’s having quite the success, until she finds one of her clients dead while she is delivering a box and the cause of death turns out to be a poisoned item inside one of her boxes. Eager to clear her name and find out the truth, Beth and her friends start to investigate.

This was another engaging and immersive story. The mystery was much darker and more intriguing than I expected with many twists and surprises and also quite a few suspenseful and scary scenes. I loved also the various subplots that made the story more authentic and entertaining, from her friend Morna’s complicated family dynamics to the chaotic Easter party, from the involuntary new adoption of a cat to Beth’s slow-burning romance with the charming detective (I can’t wait to read more about that!).

Overall, Poison at the Wild Haggis Bookshop was a compelling and exciting read. It is well-written, the mystery is well-developed, the characters are charming, and most of the story is set in a bookshop. I am looking forward to reading the next adventure!

A huge thank you to Storm Publishing and NetGalley for providing me with a proof of this wonderful novel.

Jackie Baldwin grew up in a small, rural town in southwest Scotland. She went off to study law at Edinburgh which proved something of a culture shock and returned to Dumfries to practice family and criminal law. Much later, she retrained as a hypnotherapist and discovered a passion for the inner workings of the human mind. Her first novel was published in 2016 and featured former priest, Detective Inspector Frank Farrell. Murder by the Seaside is her fourth novel and the first in her Detective Grace McKenna series. It is set in Portobello, the seaside suburb of Edinburgh. Married, with two grown-up children and a little grandson, Jackie loves roaming about the East Lothian countryside with her golden retriever, Lucy, or taking her for long walks on one of the many beaches. If you come across her in the wild she will likely be a combination of windswept, muddy, or soggy with twigs in her hair. She also loves to swim in the sea, but is only brave enough to do it in the summer.

Publication: 22nd January 2026 – Penguin MichaelJoseph

It all started with a game of hide and seek.

The four Esmie children were playing together when the youngest brother, Ben, went off to hide, and was never seen again.

That was long ago. It’s been eighteen years since the siblings fled their childhood home, Fell House, the one that holds all the ghosts of the past. They’ve built separate lives, but all of them carry the psychological scars of that fateful day.

But then Violet receives a call from the house’s caretaker. He’s too scared to keep working there. He says he saw the spirit of a young boy whispering two words . . .

Come home.

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A Box Full of Darkness is yet another chilling, dark, and completely addictive story from one of my favourite authors, Simone St. James. I am not a huge reader of paranormal thriller novels. It’s actually not a genre that I read at all, but for Simone St. James I always make an exception. This was such an exciting read, especially when I discovered that it’s set in the same town as my favourite of her novels, The Sun Down Motel.

Set in the town of Fell, New York, this is the story of three siblings who, after eighteen years away, return home to discover, once and for all, what happened to their younger brother many years earlier. There is the oldest, Violet, with the gift of seeing ghosts and with a teenage daughter who she barely sees and an ex-husband who loves to blame her for everything that went wrong in their family; Vail, an UFO investigator who never stays long anywhere; and the youngest one, Dodie, a shampoo model who never goes on second dates. The three siblings have been estranged for years, but there is one person who can bring them together: their younger brother Ben, who disappeared suddenly when he was six years old and was never found. So, when someone claims to have seen a child in their family home, closed since their parents’ deaths many years before, they pack their bags without a second thought and return to Fell to discover what happened to Ben. However, Ben’s death is not the only strange thing that happened in town and returning home means also revisiting the memories, good and bad, from the past.

I loved A Box Full of Darkness, it kept me on the edge of my seat from the first to the last page. There is a haunted house (and also, let’s say, a haunted town), mysterious deaths, ghosts (one in particular who was very aggressive), but also grief and coming to terms with the past. A Box Full of Darkness is a gripping, spooky, well-written read that left me looking forward to the author’s next novel!

A huge thank you to MichaelJoseph and Netgalley for providing me with a proof of this fantastic novel.

Simone St. James is the New York Times bestselling author of The Book of Cold Cases and The Sun Down Motel. She spent twenty years behind the scenes in the television business before leaving to write full-time.. Her debut novel, The Haunting of Maddy Clare, won two RITA Awards from Romance Writers of America and an Arthur Ellis Award from Crime Writers of Canada. Simone spent twenty years behind the scenes in the television business before leaving to write full-time. She lives just outside of Toronto, Canada with her husband and a spoiled rescue cat.

Publication: 29th January 2026 – Electric Monkey

KING ALARIK FELSING.

A LONE WOLF.

A FROZEN HEART …

Deep in the mountains of a snow-swept kingdom, an ancient beast is stirring. When a beautiful young wrangler arrives to try and tame it, she is not expecting to tame the beast that lives inside the king too. But sometimes, all it takes is an unexpected spark to melt even the iciest of hearts …

This standalone novel from the stunning YA romantasy world of Twin Crowns is filled with magic, tantalizing romance and explosive action.

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I am a huge fan of all Catherine Doyle’s novels and King of Beasts is no exception, I am only disappointed that there won’t be a sequel.

King of Beasts is set in the world of Twin Crowns and there are mentions to the previous books, but it can be easily read as a stand-alone (although I highly recommend reading the other novels, too, because they are amazing).

The protagonists of the novel are Alarik Felsing and Greta Iversen. One is the king of a kingdom on the brink of a war against a powerful queen and about to enter into an arranged marriage to protect his own people. The other is a talented wrangler who would do anything to support her own family, including accepting a job offer from her king. And when they meet, sparkles fly. 

I loved the chemistry between these two characters. Alarik is convinced that there is no love match in the future for him, so why not accept a loveless marriage if it will make his grieving mother happy and it will help him defend his kingdom? Except, that he can’t get the gentle and yet fierce Greta out of his mind, even when the danger is getting closer and closer.

King of Beasts is an addictive, well-written, compelling novel. There is swoony romance and friendship, loyalties and betrayals, banter and witticism, and, if that’s not enough, even a cast of magical animals. I loved everything about this book and I was sad to reach the end of the story and its wonderful cast of characters. I can’t wait for more stories by this author!

A huge thank you to Electric Monkey and NetGalley for providing me with a proof of this fantastic novel.

Catherine Doyle is the co-author of YA fantasy rom com series Twin Crowns with Katherine Webber. She grew up in the West of Ireland by the sea and is the author of the YA trilogy Blood for Blood and the award-winning and magical middle grade Storm Keeper’s trilogy.

Publication: 29th January 2026 – One More Chapter

Nothing is deadlier than angry readers… especially when you murder one of their own.

When the manager of The Quaint Bookshop is found slumped between the shelves, the four members of the shop’s reading group decide to put into action all the skills they’ve picked up from their favourite fictional detectives.

If anyone knows how to solve a killer of a crime, it’s a team of murder-mystery superfans. The police might be investigating but the reading group are on the case…

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A cozy murder mystery set in a bookshop will attract all kinds of readers and it certainly kept my attention: a murder, a group of amateur detectives, and many secrets to uncover.

The Quaint Bookshop is a safe place for many people, especially for the retired professor Stone, the housewife Bella Bourton, the out-of-work actor Harrison Fforde, and the aspiring writer Lauren Sherwood, who hold their own bookclub every week. When the manager of the bookshop, Felicity Penman, is found murdered after one of their meetings, the group decides to investigate on their own, especially since the police are convinced that the killer is one of them.

Murder by the Book is an entertaining and intriguing read. There is a cast of likable characters, all from a different background, with different stories and personalities, but also with secrets to hide, and each chapter is told from the perspective of each character. There are mysterious letters, lots of references to classic detective fiction, an hostile detective who doesn’t appreciate the interference of a group of bookworms, and an interesting mystery to solve. The pace was a bit slow, but, overall, Murder by the Book is an engaging and compelling novel, the first of a series that will see a group of determined and promising sleuths at work.

A huge thank you to One More Chapter and NetGalley for providing me with a proof of this novel.

Michael abandoned a successful career as a newspaper editor to write fiction. As an author, he completed Desmond Bagley’s thriller Domino Island for posthumous publication and has written two sequels, Outback and Thin Ice, both published by HarperCollins. His debut play Rasputin’s Mother won the Bristol Old Vic playwriting competition and subsequent work for the stage includes The Seagull Has Landed (Power Plays festival winner), MacHamLear (UK tour), Reality (Royal & Derngate) and the book and lyrics for Tess – The Musical (workshopped at the RSC). He has written narrative non-fiction for worldwide television, had short stories and poetry commissioned and published, and contributes regular essays for theatre programmes.

www.mrgdavies.com

Facebook: Michael Davies – Author

BlueSky: @mrgdavies.bsky.social

IG: michaeldaviesauthor

Publication: 15th January 2026 – Simon & Schuster Children’s UK

For the Kingdom. For the magic. And for love . . .

Aurelia Wycherley has found someone to tether her magic to – her enigmatic former enemy, Jules Nightly. Now, they are heading off to coven college to learn advanced magic. But they are also on a secret mission: to discover the Lost Quarter of the college, create their own coven of twelve and try to discover a way to bring back the Old Magic. 

When malevolent magic interrupts their first night at college, Aurelia and Jules discover that Jonathan and his coven of untethered witches has escaped and now they are after her magic, curse and all… 

Can they save the magic and the world – or will Aurelia lose her magic for good?

Prepare for balls, late‑night study groups, hidden mysteries, a heist, the return of old foes, and a lot more kissing!

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Last year, I fell in love with The Wycherley, the first book in a YA series set in a Regency world filled with magic, and I am super excited to return to this world and its wonderful cast of characters.

Love and Other Curses starts a bit after the events of the first book. Aurelia and her brother Vaughn are back in England after a few months of Grand Tour in Europe and they are heading to college, but studying won’t be their top priority. Aurelia and Jules reunite after a few months apart and their love is stronger than ever, even if there are secrets kept hidden. They form a new coven with new and old friends as they try to find the Old Magic. Old enemies resurface, new dangers are near, and we discover more about the magic. There is also romance, adventures, and lots of balls and spells.

Like the first book in the series, Love and Other Curses was a fantastic and addictive read from start to finish. The plot is intriguing, well-developed, and with quite a few moments of suspense. The romance between Aurelia and Jules is swoony and adorable and I also enjoyed reading more about the relationship between Aurelia’s brother, Vaughan, and her feisty best friend, Constance, who may be my favourite character. Love and Other Curses ends with a shocking revelation that makes me happy that we won’t be waiting long for the third novel (out in September).

The Wycherleys is a well-written, captivating, and charming series full of magic, romance, and incredible adventures and I read Love and Other Curses in a few days, turning page after page.

A huge thank you to Simon & Schuster Children’s and NetGalley for providing me with a proof of this fantastic novel.

Annaliese has always loved stories. As a child, she would regularly rollerskate to her local library to stock up on new books to read. She was nearly always in trouble with the librarians for having not returned her books on time. Annaliese would go on to become a librarian herself one day and use her position as library manager to be more understanding to the young readers at her library who returned books late.

Annaliese has always felt the power of good stories but equally enjoys being lost in the wonder of books with facts/non-fiction. As a child, Annaliese read her way through all 20 volumes of THE NEW CAXTON ENCYCLOPEDIA. She also collected a magazine series called Quest, and its exploration of science helped trigger a love of physics and astronomy.

In 2013 Annaliese founded an astronomical society, DASH Astro.

One of her ambitions in life is to have her own observing dome.

Publication: 17th November 2025 (paperback), 20th January 2026 (eBook) – Storm Publishing

Opening a detective agency above her beloved bookstore seems like the perfect business plan—until Annie Murray’s first case involves a suspicious death right on her doorstep.

June Munrow, an elderly resident of Annie’s home town, Redwood Grove, is convinced that young Kelly Taylor’s recent drowning wasn’t the tragic accident everyone believes it to be. Despite the police ruling, June is determined to prove there’s more to the story and hires the Novel Detectives to uncover the truth.

As Annie delves into Kelly’s life, she discovers a tangled web of secrets involving Kelly’s complicated relationships, a peculiar landlord, and her mysterious roommate. Everyone connected to Kelly seems to be hiding something, and the deeper Annie digs, the more puzzling the case becomes.

With her trademark blend of curiosity and compassion, can Annie piece together the clues and solve her first official case—before she gets into deep water herself?

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From what was hinted in the novel and my research online, I discovered that A Very Novel Murder is the first novel in a spin-off series of A Secret Bookcase Mystery series by the same author. The protagonist, Annie Murray, bookseller and private detective, is back in this new series to solve more mysteries in her hometown of Redwood Grove, with the help of her long-time friend and business partner Fletcher and her former mentor, Dr. Caldwell, the lead homicide detective for the Redwood Grove Police Department.

Annie and Fletcher’s investigative company, Novel Detectives, has two cases to solve. One involves the Queen of Crime, Agatha Christie, an investigation which I am looking forward to reading more in the next books. The other case, which takes more a central stage in the story, is that of the death of a young woman which the police still hasn’t decided if it’s murder, accident, or suicide. Her elderly and quite eccentric neighbour is convinced that the woman was murdered and she wants Annie and Fletcher to prove it.

I really enjoyed this novel and not only because there are a lot of talks about books and also about one of my favourite authors, Agatha Christie. The characters are quite interesting and well-developed: there is some romance in the background as well as close friendships and a sense of community. The mystery was also immersive: a list of suspects, to-kill-for motives, and quite a few twists and surprises. A Very Novel Murder is a well-written, intriguing, and engaging read and I am looking forward to reading more (bookish) mysteries to solve.

A huge thank you to Storm Publishing and NetGalley for providing me with a proof of this immersive novel.

Ellie Alexander is the bestselling author of more than forty cozy mystery novels. Her books have been translated into Spanish, Italian, Russian, and Japanese, reaching readers worldwide. She is the founder of the annual Ashland Mystery Festival and a frequent guest at library programs and author events throughout the Pacific Northwest and beyond, including the popular Northwest Authors series and independent bookshops across the region.In addition to her fiction, her essays and articles have appeared in publications such as Mystery Scene Magazine, The Oregonian, and Portland Family Magazine. As a writing teacher and coach, she helps aspiring authors shape their stories and navigate the path to publication with clarity and confidence.A proud Pacific Northwest native, Alexander often sets her mystery series against real backdrops from Portland’s hipster neighborhoods to the charming Shakespearean hamlet of Ashland. She now lives in Sunnyvale, California, where she’s been swept away by the stunning coastal communities and sun-drenched small towns, which of course have found their way into her new series.

Publication: 11th November 2025 (paperback), 23rd January 2026 (eBook) – Storm Publishing

When Dakota Green’s best friend asks her to be the maid of honor, she expects champagne toasts and bouquet tosses—not a dead priest in the holly bushes of The Rose Palace estate. But in Aubergine, Virginia, something borrowed and something blue might just include a corpse or two.

A winter getaway in the Blue Ridge Mountains should be wonderland bliss for pre-wedding festivities. Instead, it’s a blizzard of suspicion as the groom’s Texas relatives arrive with secrets as deep as the falling snow.

Just when Dakota thinks she can’t handle one more wedding disaster, the officiating priest takes a fatal plunge from the fourth floor, with a bullet through his heart andDakota’s boyfriend Sheriff Charlie Strong becomes the prime suspect.

With Charlie behind bars and the wedding hours away, Dakota must clear his name while ensuring her best friend gets her perfect day. Between a gun-wielding father of the groom, a scandalous romance and a bride who refuses to postpone, Dakota faces her greatest challenge yet. Can she unmask a killer before the wedding march? Or will this matrimony end in mayhem?

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A Bride’s Guide to Happiness and Homicide is the third book in the Dakota Green series. Since I haven’t read the first two books in the series I can say that it can be easily read as a stand-alone. The protagonist, Dakota Green, is a veterinary student who has not only stumbled on a few murders, but she has also been involved in the solutions of the cases.

Dakota lives in New York where she studies in veterinary school, but she is now back in her hometown, Aubergine in Virginia, for the wedding of her best friend Lacy. Weddings can be difficult, but this one is on a whole another level. For starters, the groom’s mother is not exactly thrilled with her son’s choice of a wife and has invited his ex-girlfriend to the wedding. Also, officiating the wedding is a young priest who seems to be in a quite intimate relationship with the groom’s mother. And, while his family is pressuring him to cancel the wedding and return home to Texas to manage the family ranch, it is clear that there is something else going on, especially when the young priest turns up dead.

A Bride’s Guide to Happiness and Homicide was quite an enjoyable, immersive, and quick read (I read it in one evening). The author gives a bit of background about the protagonist’s story in the previous books, from the death of her mother to the discovery of her real father and her newly found stepsister, and while she tries to figure out who is the killer and save her best friend’s wedding, Dakota must also find time to decide about her future, whether to accept the fellowship in San Diego (and keep long distance her relationship with the handsome sheriff) or return home and open her own veterinary surgery.

There is suspense, there is laughter, and there is even a bit of romance and I can’t wait to read more books in the series.

A huge thank you to Storm Publishing and NetGalley for providing me with a proof of this novel.

Kristen is a USA Today Bestselling Author, a teacher, and a certified book coach. She has lived coast to coast, but with her extended family in north Alabama, her roots run southern deep. She teaches high school English and writes in local coffee shops near her home outside of Houston. In her free time, she likes to visit parks with her three children, watch quirky films with her husband, and attempt to keep pace with her rescue lab-mix.

Publication: 8th May 2025 – Scholastic UK

Wardrobe? Couture. Classmates? London’s Elite. Parties? Scandalous. It’s girl meets boy … with a royal twist.

After the death of her mother, Ruby is thrust into the glittering world of London’s upper-class. At Clairmont Hall, the corridors are ruled by the Elites – a group made up not only of London’s richest but actual royalty. Princess Caroline is rumoured to be dating the dazzling duke, Xavier.

Ruby realizes infiltrating the Elites might be the key to finding out who her father is. He has to be one of her mother’s high school friends – but which one? As secrets begin to unravel, Ruby agrees to fake date Xavier in the bid for Clairmont Queen, but she’s not sure her feelings are strictly pretend. And Ruby swears he’s been sending a few glances her way…

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I love Katy Birchall’s romance novels, they are hilarious and immersive and I am always looking forward to reading the next one, so I was really excited to get into her YA novels.

Hot Young Royals is set in the world of royalty and aristocracy with its exclusive schools and parties, villas in Italy, masquerade balls, intrigue, and secrets. The protagonist, seventeen-year-old Ruby Carter, knows nothing about this world, having grown up in the English countryside with only her mother, not having anything to do with her aristocratic side of the family, until her mother dies and she goes to live with her aunt Tabatha in Central London. Determined to find out the truth about the identity of her father and her mother’s past, Ruby infiltrates the Elite, the group of nobility at Clairmont Hall, which includes not only the future Queen of England, but also a broody and handsome duke. As Ruby slightly lies her way into the group, she will have to figure out the lengths to which she will go to discover the truth and if she is ready to face the consequences.

Hot Young Royal was such a fun and intriguing read. My favourite character was the outspoken and brazen Lady Tabatha, who managed to make me laugh out loud even in the most serious moments. I also liked the character of Ruby, who I found a strong and authentic (but also flawed) character, and his romantic interest, Xavier, is just adorable and I enjoyed how both their stories (on their own and together) develop.

Hot Young Royal is a witty and entertaining read, well-written and with a wonderful cast of characters, and I am keeping my fingers crossed for a sequel!

A huge thank you to Scholastic UK and NetGalley for providing me with a proof of this novel.

Katy Birchall is the author of several young adult and teen novels, including The It Girl series, the Hotel Royale series, the Morgan Charmley: Teen Witch series and the How Not to be a Vampire Slayer series. She is the co-author of the middle-grade Lightning Girl series, Star Switch, Girls Rule and the Luna Wolf books with Alesha Dixon, the co-author of the Ella Jones series with influencer Lucy Edwards, and co-author of the Find the Girl YA series with Lydia and Lucy Connell.

She has written a retelling of Jane Austen’s Emma for the Awesomely Austen series and the Netflix spin-off novel Sex Education: The Road Trip. She is also the author of several romantic comedies for adults including The Secret Bridesmaid, The Wedding Season and The Last Word. She writes romantic fiction for young adults under the name Ivy Bailey, romantic-comedy under the name Katrina Logan, and romantic sports fiction, including Match Point and Ride the Wave, for adults under Katherine Reilly. She has also written the non-fiction book How to be a Princess: Real-life Fairy Tales for Modern Heroines.

Katy lives in London with her husband, daughter and rescue dog.

Publication: 28th November 2025 (eBook); 4th December 2025 (paperback)

1812 London

Up-and-coming novelist Jane Austen joins forces with London’s most esteemed investigative duo – the infamous Dora Fitz-Pennington and disgraced son of a Viscount, Jacob Sandys – to solve the brutal murder of a French count and his opera singer wife. The killer took his own life immediately after the crime – but who sent him and why?

As they find themselves swept up in London’s shadowy underworld, can Dora and Jacob uncover the truth without jeopardising national security, and with the promises they made to each other still intact? And will their unique love story end up in the pages of one of Austen’s novels?

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In the year we are celebrating the 250th anniversary of Jane Austen’s birth, there are more book adaptations of her novels than ever and I can’t get enough. However, the reason I picked up The Austen Intrigue by Julia Golding is not because it features my favourite author in the role of an amateur detective, but because, having read the author’s previous novel, The Wordsworth Key, I couldn’t wait to see what new adventures were waiting for Dora and Jacob.

The Austen Intrigue is the fourth book in the fantastic Regency Secrets series featuring former actress Dora Fitz-Pennington and Dr. Jacob Sandys. Partners both in life and work, Dora and Jacob have many challenges to face in this new gripping novel.

On the personal side, Jacob’s aristocratic family is still trying to interfere in his relationship with Dora, but he is determined to marry her, despite even her reluctance. On the professional side, their investigative agency is thrown into the investigation of a double murder which could have diplomatic and international repercussions. Dora and Jacob are hired by Henry Austen and his bank to investigate the murder of a French comte and his wife. They know who the killer is, but they want to know the reason behind the murders and to help them find it, Henry’s favourite sister, Jane, joins them in the investigation.

The Austen Intrigue features engaging characters, witty dialogue, a suspenseful mystery, and political espionage and I loved how the author blended historical facts in the story (the Napoleonic wars are an important part of the plot) as well as themes of class differences and the role of women. I read this novel in two days and I can’t wait for the next one!

A huge thank you to One More Chapter and NetGalley for providing me with a proof of the novel.

Julia Golding is a multi-award winning writer for children and young adults. She also writes under the pen names of Joss Stirling and Eve Edwards. Well over half a million of her books have been sold worldwide in more than twenty different languages.

Publication: 25th November 2025 – Kensington Books

This latest Regency-era mystery from USA Today bestselling author Vanessa Kelly finds Jane Austen’s clever Emma Knightley (nee Woodhouse) as an amateur sleuth, navigating shocking changes in her family—while meeting her match in a deadly adversary . . .

Emma’s spirits are elevated after she and husband George Knightley host a joyful holiday celebration at the Hartfield estate. But it’s instantly a bitter January when her father makes an unexpected announcement—he and Miss Hetty Bates have decided to marry. Not only must Emma relinquish her role as mistress of the household, but also accept the reality that the excitable Miss Bates will become her stepmother . . .

More unwanted news arrives during an extravagant betrothal ball at Donwell Abbey, the grand Knightley estate where Emma and George will soon permanently reside. Nearly every villager in Highbury revels in the dazzling affair—except Emma’s hardworking lady’s maid, Prudence Parr. To Emma’s horror, Prudence is found dead, sprawled across the stones of the library terrace . . .

The woman’s tragic fall is quickly ruled a terrible accident and whispers circulate around personal troubles leading up to her untimely demise. But Emma’s instincts tell her that something far more sinister is at play. Now, Highbury’s matchmaker-turned-sleuth vows to outwit a cunning criminal before an innocent man loses his freedom—or Donwell Abbey plunges into a darker mystery . . .

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I was delighted to return to this wonderful series that sees Emma Knightley turning into an amateur detective to solve mysterious murders. I do love Jane Austen, I do love cozy mysteries, and the author manages to create intriguing and engaging plots that keep me so engrossed that I usually read these novels in one sitting.

In Murder in Donwell Abbey, the second book in the series, Mr. Woodhouse manages to shock his entire family when he announces his engagement to the family’s long-time friend, Miss Bates. And even more shocking, he wants to throw an engagement party at Donwell Abbey. However, the party ends in tragedy when a young maid, well-loved by everyone, is found dead. While the local constable is convinced that it’s a suicide, Emma is sure that the young woman was murdered and finds an unexpected ally in Miss Bates.

Murder in Donwell Abbey is another witty, charming, and entertaining novel and I enjoyed it even more than the first book in the series, Murder in Highbury. We see Emma both struggling with the fact that she will no longer be the mistress of Hartfield and excited that she and Mr. Knightley can now move to Donwell Abbey permanently. And while the peace of Highbury is disrupted by the presence of smugglers and Emma is busy helping Miss Bates organizing the wedding, she is determined to find out the truth about what really happened to her maid.

Murder in Donwell features the right dose of mystery and humor with a pinch of romance (between Emma and Mr. Knightley which I found adorable). The story is well-written and well-developed and the characters are familiar and intriguing. I can’t wait for the next novel!

A huge thank you to Kensington Books and NetGalley for providing me with a proof of this gripping novel.

Vanessa Kelly is a bestselling author of historical mystery and historical romance. She has won multiple awards, including the prestigious Maggie Medallion for best historical romance. She is a USA Today, Barnes & Noble, BookScan, and Amazon bestseller several times over. To date, her books have been published in eleven languages. After receiving her MA in English literature from Rutgers University, Vanessa spent several in the Ph.D program at the University of Toronto, studying women authors of the 18th Century. She worked as a researcher for many years, and currently resides in Ottawa, Canada, with her husband. Visit her at VanessaKellyAuthor.com.