Apologies for this review not coming in time for publication day, I only received my copy a couple of days before hand, so I didn’t quite have time to read it.

When I saw the cover and title for this book, it appealed immediately. The blurb only added to my interest.

I very much enjoyed this book. It is the story of Lady Katherine Bascomb, who has (thankfully) been widowed and regained her independence. She cowrites an article for her newspaper about a series of murders, and so becomes entangled with both the investigation, and Andrew Eversham. Both the mystery and the romance were satisfying, and I very much hope there will be a sequel. I would love to get to know this cast of characters much better.

If you’re looking for a murder mystery, and a historical romance, this book fills both requirements admirably. And has a lot of fun doing so!

I was given a free copy of this book, my opinions are my own.

It has everything; murder, intrigue, romance, action, mystery etc. It was nice to see a historical book written in such a way to reflect the real attitudes and beliefs of people at the time, whilst also having a realistic heroine who was courageous and intelligent. The detective was also great for his attitude and honesty. The mystery side of things was well written as you honestly didn't manage to guess whodunnit until the last 3 chapters. I would definitely recommend to others as it was a really enjoyable read

I got this read on the 9th of November, and it was archive on 10th so I didn't get to read on time. 😭
But I will still leave a review. I enjoyed this read. Not so much as I hoped, but still was got. I just loved Kate and Caro, and it was little refreshing to read a book about two heroines from 19th century who speaks and acts like this.
Liked the mystery part, but the romance part I loved.
All in all. 3.5 stars.

If there’s one intersection of genres that I love, it’s historical romance mysteries. Firstly, the historical setting provides the perfect amount of yearning (because of the social norms of the time), and secondly, mystery seems to me a perfect vehicle for advancing a romance. Two individuals having to work together to solve a problem? Falling in love along the way? Nothing can compare.

In A Lady’s Guide to Mischief and Mayhem, London is being terrorised by the Commandments Killer, an individual who is going around killing those who have broken one of the Ten Commandments. When Katherine, a crime reporter, realises that the police have failed to interview a key witness, she takes it upon herself to do so, while criticising the lead detective for not doing it. When he is taken off the case, and an innocent man is subsequently arrested, Katherine decides to leave London for the Lakes, in the hopes of finding some way to help him, since it was her information that got him imprisoned (which, you know, seems a bit privileged. Oh, oops, you’re arrested, I’m heading north. But alright). However, the murders follow her and, when another body is found, this time in the grounds of the house she is staying at, she is forced to work with the detective she got demoted to find the killer.

I’m going to split this review into two sections: the romance and the mystery. Mainly because I had...wildly different feelings about the both of them, let’s say. First, the romance. Despite occasionally feeling that the pacing was a little off for it (namely, how fast they fell in love), it was a romance I was rooting for throughout. I wanted to see Andrew and Katherine work things out, although, like I said, it all happened quite fast. Sort of parallel to the romance was the potential for romance between Caro and Val, which makes me very excited for what the second book may bring. Overall, then, the romance and characters are what made me enjoy this book as much as I did. And, really, were the reason I wanted to read it, the mystery was just a bonus.

Speaking of the mystery — and I don’t know if this is a product of my having read/watched way too many — but the culprit was blindingly obvious. The first scene following the discovery of the body, where everyone was properly introduced as characters, I picked out who did it. In part, it was that obviousness, but there was also, assuming the culprit to be one of the cast, no one else it could conceivably have been. I’m not saying this is bad writing or whatever, because clearly I wasn’t here for the mystery, but it did make said mystery lose any tension.

And then the reasons behind the murders? I didn’t quite get the leap of logic that lead to murder, and I’m not the biggest fan of the “actually they were just a bit nuts” trope. And why the murders started in London when the real location was centered on where they ended up in the Lakes was lost on me. Because they could? I don’t know, all I’m saying is that the whole mystery felt a bit loosely plotted.

But, as I said, I didn’t really come for the mystery, I came for the romance. And as a romance book, it has a couple you can root for and it’s a whole lot of fun to read.

This book sounded *so* good and then it just... wasn't. Mostly that can be attributed to the writing which was stilted and sounded as if the author spent way too much time consulting a thesaurus. I had to read around words to get to the story, which was decent but not enough to keep me reading. If writing style isn't a make-or-break issue for you then you might enjoy it, but it wasn't for me.

An example (and yes the entire book is written like this):

"And from the spectacle the police put on today, I doubt they're prepared to listen to the exhortations of the two ladies whose interview provided the very ammunition to arrest Clark."

It's just... wordy, in a way that constantly breaks any tension.

I did like the way Katherine owns a newspaper and is determined to write about the murders for women, but her extreme naivete in thinking she can do so without having any effect on the investigation is a little unbelievable.

Also the chemistry with Andrew - who was conducting the investigation, at least until her story promts his superiors to take him off the case and arrest the wrong man - was nonexistent. The moment they encounter one another again he starts getting sidetracked by lustful thoughts when he's supposed to be interrogating her? It was awkward and weird.

*Thanks to NetGalley and Little, Brown Book Group UK for providing an e-arc for review