Rating: 4 out of 5.

This is a good cozy historical fiction mystery. This is book 7 in the series, but this is the first one that I’ve read. Despite that, I didn’t feel that I missed out too much by not having read the other books. The author did a good job of weaving in important facts about events that happened in previous books to give this one context. So, you can pick this one up and enjoy it without having read the other books in the series.

Amory and Milo are living in Thornecrest, their country home in a small village in England. Amory is enjoying the last few weeks before the baby arrives, and Milo is going back and forth to London for business. Amory’s quiet time is shattered when a young woman arrives on her door step alleging that she is married to Milo.

Amory doesn’t believe that Milo married another woman, and this is confirmed when he returns to Thornecrest. That mystery is soon solved with the arrival of another guest at Thornecrest, but a new mystery occurs when Milo’s stable hand Bertie is found dead during the Springtide Festival.
With no shortage of suspects, Amory defies Milo’s orders not to investigate the murder, and starts her sleuthing. With one red herring after another dispelled, Amory finally solves the mystery and has her baby.

I enjoyed Amory and liked the way her brain worked. Milo didn’t play a huge role in this book, but I didn’t care much for him. Perhaps if I’d read the previous books I would understand their relationship a bit more, but I thought he treated Amory pretty shabby. The village characters are your typical quirky, stereotypical characters. This was a quick and easy read, but it moved a bit slowly for me, and I’m not a huge fan of books told in the first person. Overall, however, I enjoyed the story.

Thank you to NetGalley and Minotaur Books/St. Martin’s Press for giving me a free copy of this book in exchange for an honest review.