Thank you to NetGalley and to Victory Editing NetGalley Co-op | Tenacious Teacup Press for allowing me to read this -earc!


Two Spinsters and a Murder Mystery. . . is. well. It existed? It was a book I read. I will admit this is possibly because I queerbaited myself, but when I read the synopsis, my brain immediately went to "sapphics". There were no reviews at that point, so I figured I had hope. I knew the chances were little, but I still thought it might be gay? I later showed it to others who also made the same assumptions.

Reader, it was not. One character I guess might be on the aroace spectrum with all the interest she's shown, as he is also into Math and has Ambitions of Running A Bank, which. . . . I guess the nerdiness bit feels aroace. It's the stereotype for that now, after all. But yes, certainly straight. There was a moment I thought we were going to even find out her reverend father would be secretly marrying queer people. . . and then the text went on to explain that (white, cishet) marriages can also be disgraceful, with older man/younger woman, pregnancies, and so on.

I found it fairly difficult to tell the brothers apart, and Louisa-Margaretta's habit of going off on Judith's hypothesis, saying that "of course this cannot be true" only to find out her next POV chapter that it was felt fairly annoying in that it did mean Judith was always correct and right. Nor would i say the two really despised each other-- it was more like a status-based dislike (Judith) and an irritation (Louisa-Margaretta).

thanks to NetGalley for the eARC

⭐️=2.75 | 😘=1 | 🤬=1 | ⚔️=2.5 | 14+

summary: the title says it all? two spinsters—one wealthy, one a rector’s daughter—have to solve a mystery in Regency England.

thoughts: the mystery is pretty good—classic cozy historical mystery shenanigans; we love to see it. however. however!! this should have been gay!!!!!! I can’t emphasize enough. with a title like “Two Spinsters and a Corpse” sapphic Regency shenanigans is inherently implied?? so please explain to my why in the final chapter of this novel one of the heroines professes interest in MARRYING HER COUSIN. you’re telling me we get incest and NO GAYS???????? shameful.

the mystery was still good though.

What a fun murder mystery. In Two Spinsters and a Corpse, we’ll find out if they can solve the mystery in time. What a fun read.