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    A Lady's Guide to Gossip and Murder
    A Lady's Guide to Gossip and Murder
    A Lady's Guide to Gossip and Murder
    Audiobook7 hours

    A Lady's Guide to Gossip and Murder

    Written by Dianne Freeman

    Narrated by Sarah Zimmerman

    4/5

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    About this audiobook

    Though American by birth, Frances Wynn, the now-widowed Countess of Harleigh, has adapted admirably to the quirks and traditions of the British aristocracy. On August twelfth each year, otherwise known as the Glorious Twelfth, most members of the upper class retire to their country estates for grouse-shooting season. Frances has little interest in hunting-for birds or a second husband-and is expecting to spend a quiet few months in London with her almost-engaged sister, Lily, until the throng returns.

    Instead, she's immersed in a shocking mystery when a friend, Mary Archer, is found murdered. Frances had hoped Mary might make a suitable bride for her cousin, Charles, but their courtship recently fizzled out. Unfortunately, this puts Charles in the spotlight-along with dozens of others. It seems Mary had countless notes hidden in her home, detailing the private indiscretions of society's elite. Frances can hardly believe that the genteel and genial Mary was a blackmailer, yet why else would she horde such juicy tidbits?

    Aided by her gallant friend and neighbor, George Hazelton, Frances begins assisting the police in this highly sensitive case. Too many suspects may be worse than none at all-but even more worrying is that the number of victims is increasing too. And unless Frances takes care, she'll soon find herself among them . . .
    LanguageEnglish
    PublisherHighbridge Company
    Release dateJun 25, 2019
    ISBN9781684417612
    Author

    Dianne Freeman

    Dianne Freeman is the acclaimed author of the Countess of Harleigh Mystery series. Her debut novel, A Lady’s Guide to Etiquette and Murder, won both an Agatha Award and a Lefty Award and was nominated for the prestigious Mary Higgins Clark Award from Mystery Writers of America. She spent thirty years working in corporate accounting and finance and now writes full-time. Born and raised in Michigan, she and her husband split their time between Michigan and Arizona. Visit her at www.DiFreeman.com.

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    Reviews for A Lady's Guide to Gossip and Murder

    4/5

    134 ratings13 reviews

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    • 5/5
      I’ve been binging these audiobooks while crocheting the last few days and I love them. Can’t wait to listen more to more :)
    • 5/5
      Another good one. Series getting better as it goes along.
    • 4/5
      A Lady's Guide to Gossip and Murder
      4 Stars

      When a murdered acquaintance is found in possession of notes indicating that she has been blackmailing members of the ton, Lady Frances Wynn, Countess of Harleigh, finds herself recruited to help in the investigation. Frances is eager to assist, especially as her cousin Charles, who was courting the victim, is the prime suspect.

      Despite the rather anachronistic style and characterization, this is nevertheless an entertaining cozy historical mystery series. Unlike many cozy heroines, Frances is very likable and manages to become involved in the cases without being excessively nosy. Moreover, she also avoids the often ubiquitous TSTL moments that plague these heroines.

      The mystery surrounding Mary Archer's murder is satisfying although it is easy to guess the reason for the notes in her possession and the motive for the crime (even though it takes Frannie and company much longer to realize the truth). The culprit is also rather obvious but the climax and resolution are exciting nonetheless.

      The romance between Frannie and her sexy neighbor, George Hazelton, is progressing nicely and it is clear that they will ultimately marry. The question is how long it will take George to convince her to take a chance on love after her disastrous first marriage.

      One final note regarding the audiobook - it is interesting to note that there are two separate versions of the series, one narrated by Sarah Zimmerman, an American, and the other by Karen Cass, a Brit. Both do an admirable job, but as I began with Zimmerman, I decided to continue on with her as well.

      In sum, this is a fun series and I look forward to more of Frannie's investigations.
    • 4/5
      I find this Lady Harleigh mystery series truly charming and delightful. The protagonist is smart, resourceful, clever and rather kind at heart. Many of the characters introduced in the first book in this series continue on in this one. As their relationships to one another evolve, we readers develop stronger attachments to them all. The business partnership between Lady Harleigh and George Hazelton grows stronger with each case and the slow romantic burn between them keeps us wanting to know what happens next. In this story, Frances, aka Lady Harleigh, is again sponsoring a young "American Princess". This time it's Lottie with her clumsiness and two left feet. Thankfully, Lottie has other redeeming attributes which play into the story. Meanwhile, Mary, a casually acquainted friend of Frances and fellow young widow is discovered dead in her home surrounded by reams of secrets regarding the members of the upper crust. Is there something among all this fodder for the gossip mill which brought Mary to her demise? It is certainly way more information that Frances' would ever like to know about her friends and acquaintances. However, the local constabulary has requested her assistance in the investigation and really, how could she say, "no"? Ms. Freeman has again spun a wonderful tale, poking fun at the social mores of British aristocratic behavior. The suspects pile up quickly providing the reader with lots of red herrings. The character development is good throughout and the mise-en-scène effectively carries the reader to London's streets of a hundred years ago. Well done, Ms. Freeman!
    • 4/5
      I enjoyed this follow up to A Lady’s Guide to Etiquette and Murder, but found certain plot points in the beginning irritatingly obvious, which, in turn, had me dragging my heels to finish it. Once the characters had the ‘ah-hah’ moment I’d had almost immediately, the story become more interesting. I liked the little twist at the end; it wasn’t totally surprising, as the story could have worked either way, but it added a bit of zing.I look forward to the third book.
    • 3/5
      Lady Frances is hoping to relax from the rigors of the season with her sister Lily but a friend, Mary Archer, is murdered and George Hazelton, her friend and neighbor and maybe something more?) is enlisted in the investigation into the possibility that the motive was blackmail. George thinks that Frances may be able to help and so he hands over numerous coded papers to see what she can figure out.I enjoy this series because of the setting and the characters. The mystery was fun but the ending, not a surprise.
    • 4/5
      August 1899 and widowed Lady Frances hopes to spenda fewquiet months in town with her sister Lily, and her protegee Miss Charlotte Deaver. Then she is informed of the death of a friend, Mary Archer. Mrs Archer has been mrdered. George Hazelton, her neighbour has been asked to investigate the suspicions of blackmail by Mary. To this end he recruits Frances to help.
      An enjoyable well-written mystery, quite a fast paced story, with it lively feel, with some delightful characters.
      A NetGalley Book
    • 4/5
      Frances is feeling her way into her newly established place in London society. She's doing a little matchmaking when her friend Mary turns up dead, and her cousin Charles is a prime suspect. George is called on to help figure out the mystery and enlists Frances' help. It's an enjoyable romp through a cozy mystery and the relationship between Frances and George continues to develop.
    • 4/5
      Fun, quick read. I thought this book was better than the first one in the series. Frances' cousin is suspected of murdering a woman that he had been dating and had met through Frances. She enlists her neighbor, George, to help in finding out who did murder Mary and clear Charles. While the investigation is ongoing, Lily (Frances' younger sister) has been busy with making her wedding plans and her friend Lottie, who is a fun character, is helping Frances while falling for Charles.
    • 4/5
      The time is coming for the Shooting season to start and the upper class to retreat en-masse from London. Frances Wynn has no plans to join them. She's looking forward to more time to herself and less events. However she's caught up in a murder mystery when her friend Mary Archer is found dead. She had been dating Frances' cousin Charles.and he's a suspect when many notes are found in her house that look like blackmail material. Investigating to keep the charming Charles out of trouble and to keep her reputation as a matchmaker is not easy but she does find it engaging, realising that some of her skills and the skills of those around her are well suited to it. Her galant friend George Hazelton is also involved again and their relationship continues to progress.I'm enjoying this series. Frances is a great character who is aware of her status and problems and works with them in a quite convincingly period way.
    • 3/5
      Lady Frances has a penchant for matchmaking: most recently she matched her cousin w/ a widow.... but when the widow is murdered her cousin who recently broke off the relationship is likened as a suspect.Lady Frances & her neighbor George investigate the widow & find she had a stash of cryptic notes about her neighbors... When the local newspaper editor is also found murdered, it is discovered that the widow was writing the local gossip column by Miss Information and had threatened to expose shady investment dealings involving her brother-in-law, the local banker.Interesting and fast reading!
    • 3/5
      Though American by birth, Frances Wynn, the now-widowed Countess of Harleigh, has adapted admirably to the quirks and traditions of the British aristocracy. On August twelfth each year, otherwise known as the Glorious Twelfth, most members of the upper class retire to their country estates for grouse-shooting season. Frances has little interest in hunting—for birds or a second husband—and is expecting to spend a quiet few months in London with her almost-engaged sister, Lily, until the throng returns.

      Instead, she’s immersed in a shocking mystery when a friend, Mary Archer, is found murdered. Frances had hoped Mary might make a suitable bride for her cousin, Charles, but their courtship recently fizzled out. Unfortunately, this puts Charles in the spotlight—along with dozens of others. It seems Mary had countless notes hidden in her home, detailing the private indiscretions of society’s elite. Frances can hardly believe that the genteel and genial Mary was a blackmailer, yet why else would she horde such juicy tidbits?

      Aided by her gallant friend and neighbor, George Hazelton, Frances begins assisting the police in this highly sensitive case, learning more about her peers than she ever wished to know. Too many suspects may be worse than none at all—but even more worrying is that the number of victims is increasing too. And unless Frances takes care, she’ll soon find herself among them . . .

      This was interesting and suspenseful to the end! It was fun to read about how the British aristocracy might handle something like this, especially from an American point of view.

      *Book received from NetGalley in exchange for an honest review*
    • 5/5
      Frances Wynn, the Countess Harleigh, has been occupied introducing her friends to those searching for love. When one acquaintance is murdered, this lady is determined to solve it. With George Hazelton at her side, she follows clues contained in gossip to learn the truth.Having read the first book in the series, I was delighted to see what Lady Harleigh would do next. She has her younger sister's engagement to be concerned with and her daughter’s interest in jumping fences too young to be concerned with. Her cousin didn’t take to the widow as she expected, and now the widow is dead and her cousin is a suspect. She has her hands full but manages to find time to manage it all with grace and intelligence.The pace was paced well enough that I was interested from start to finish. Though we stay with Frances through the story, the rest of the cast was enjoyable as well. Particularly Mr. Hazelton, who may or may not work for the government. He lets Frances be involved with his work, despite his concern for her safety, all because he wants her to know how important she is to him.I would recommend this to readers of historical mysteries, who enjoy a smidge of romance with their mystery. I received a free copy from NetGalley for reviewing purposes.