Overall Rating: ⭐⭐⭐⭐
Mystery Level: ❓❓❓

A Most Agreeable Murder by Julia Seales centres on Beatrice Steele who is not your conventional debutante. According to her town, she lacks the true mark of being an accomplished lady. Her needlework is subpar and has no musical or artistic talents. However, she does habour a deep fascination with true crime cases featured in the newspapers.

As the eldest daughter of the Steele family, it is her duty to keep her family unmarred from scandal. Beatrice decides to keep her morbid fascination under wraps. She even attempts to put it behind as the autumnal ball approaches.

Her personal mission is soon discarded when the guest of honour at the Ball, Mr. Edmund Croaksworth drops dead. Finally Beatrice is able to put her knowledge to use when she is paired together with Inspector Vivek Drake to solve the murder.
***
I really enjoyed the two leads. They were evenly matched in their chemistry, banter and how well they suited one another both as a team and romantic partners.

Beatrice really is that Regency true crime girlie. I liked the way Julia Seales had written her. She was very relatable and fun to read. It was very interesting to see how her relationships with every character and her family play out throughout the book.

Vivek Drake had me excited as an Indian girlie. It was really nice to see an Indian man as a HR hero. I loved the way he was written as this no-nonsense dectective and still had a lot of heart. I loved his exchanges with Beatrice. His backstory also moved me and I wish we had gotten more.

With the book itself: the writing style was easy to get into and could read through them in a few days, the pacing was good and the mystery definitely takes you on a rollercoaster ride.

While as the book went on the secondary cast did grow into their own characters, I didn't really enjoy them in the first half of the book. They all felt like a copy of an existing Austen character. Initially it felt more like a mystery of matching the neighbours to an Austen character than focusing on the actual mystery. It was rather distracting. It made the book at times feel like a parody of putting those classical characters into a murder mystery rather than it being it's own story.

Overall, I enjoyed this novel and I'd recommend this to all the mystery fans who also love HR though I will say this is more of a mystery. That being said, the secondary storyline of Beatrice and Vivek's romance was great. Happy reading everyone!

Thank you to NetGalley, Orion Publishing Group and Orion for for an advanced copy of this book in exchange for my honest review.

I didn’t know quite what to make of this story. It had quite an odd collection of characters and many possible culprits for the murder. The story was told in a quirky way with odd insets about diary entries and scenes from a play. I did like the main character of Beatrice, she was clever and usually had a smart retort. It did have a satisfying ending and I’m assuming it’s the first in a series and I would be interested in seeing how this develops. I received a copy and have voluntarily reviewed it All thoughts and opinions are my own.

Really,really enjoyed this very funny murder mystery. The character of Beatrice, and indeed all the cast are really well written and the plot and dialogue is great. Very different and thoroughly enjoyed, Thank you to NetGalley and the publishers for giving me access to this really great story.

This is very much a book of two halves - the first half has a 'Pride and Prejudice and Zombies' vibe but with no zombies just a lot of frogs, and the second half was a bit Agatha Christie which sort of worked.

It was quite amusing, although Daniel and his aphorisms was really irritating, and most of the characters were satirical stereotypes although they did gel so that was OK.

I did enjoy it but felt it could have done with an edit as it felt a bit overlong, and Mary's 'issue' was never cleared up.

It took me a while to get into this. I wasn't expecting it to be quite so tongue in cheek as it is, but once I had settled into the style and satire I found myseelf enjoying it very much.

The story is a familiar one. A family with three daughters, an heir waiting impatiently to inherit and leave them homeless, the arrival of a rich single man and his enigmatic and haughty companion, a ball. You know how this goes, right? But wait, there is also a famous detective dominating the headlines and our heroine has a passion for crime leading to the Holmes/Austen/Horrible Histories mash up I didn't know I wanted.

Beatrice Steele is reluctantly waiting for her childhood friend to propose because what else awaits her? The Steeles live in Swampshire,a small rural society where decorum (especially lady's decorum) rules. Any breach of the rules and the offender is banished to France. An interest in crime is a definite breach of the rules so Beatrice hides her passion, but when a murder takes place at a neighbourhood ball she can't resist putting her skills to the test - and pit her wits against the enigmatic and haughty Inspector Drake.

Darkly funny with a huge affection for the source material A Most Agreeable Murder is a fun read. Recommended.

I gave A Most Agreeable Murder 3.75 stars

Feisty, passionate Beatrice Steele has never fit the definition of a true lady, according to the strict code of conduct that reigns in Swampshire, her small English township--she is terrible at needlework, has absolutely no musical ability, and her artwork is so bad it frightens people. Nevertheless, she lives a perfectly agreeable life with her marriage-scheming mother, prankster father, and two younger sisters-- beautiful Louisa and forgettable Mary. But she harbors a dark secret: She is obsessed with the true crime cases she reads about in the newspaper. If anyone in her etiquette-obsessed community found out, she'd be deemed a morbid creep and banished from respectable society forever.

At the autumnal ball, Beatrice is just holding things together when Croaksworth drops dead in the middle of a minute. As a storm rages outside, the evening descends into a frenzy of panic, fear, and betrayal as it becomes clear they are trapped with a killer. Contending with competitive card games, tricky tonics, and Swampshire's infamous squelch holes, Beatrice must rise above decorum and decency to pursue justice and her own desires--before anyone else is murdered.

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This felt like a mix of a Jane Austen and Agatha Christie novel. I really enjoyed it, especially all the extra bits between the chapters and at the end, such as recipes, letters and manuscripts.

I came for the mystery but stayed for the humor. This book feels very satiric when it comes to the nature of society for women at that time.

The mystery was good as well. Since everything is solved within a 24 hour-period, a big portion of the book is dedicated to crime-solving. Sometimes it could get a bit tedious though, but overall a great book that I highly recommend.

This book comes out June 27.

Thank you, Net Galley and Random House for the ARC in exchange for my honest review.

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A Pride and Prejudice and Emma retelling with murder: what more do you want? I had so much fun reading this novel. It is absurd, entertaining, and suspenseful and I couldn’t put it down.

The protagonist of the story, Beatrice Steele, has a secret. In a corner of her house, hidden from her family, she collects newspapers that feed her obsession for true crime and a well-known London detective to whom she regularly sends clues and ideas about his current cases. However, tonight is an important night as there is a ball to attend to and she must be on her best behaviour to improve her sister’s chances to attract the attention of eligible bachelor Edmund Croaksworth and so save her family’s future. When Edmund drops dead in the middle of a dance and a storm stops everyone from leaving or coming, Beatrice puts her detective skills to use and tries to figure out who is the killer with the help of a disgraced and grumpy detective.

A Most Agreeable Murder is a unique and unexpected novel. Starting from the weird setting of Swampshire, a village in the English countryside consisting of several mansions and one terrible swamp. And then there is the quirky and bizarre cast of characters. You will recognize characters from Jane Austen’s novels, who are represented in a more ridiculous and hilarious way. Beatrice Steele is the perfect Elizabeth Bennett, smart, witty, and curious by nature, while the grumpy detective is the perfect Mr. Darcy who refuses to dance at a ball.

A comedy of manners with Agatha Christie vibes, A Most Agreeable Murder is an enjoyable and delightful read that will make you laugh out loud and keep you on the edge of your seat at the same time!

First off, this is not a typical historical murder mystery! It reads almost like a paraody in places, witty and charming while also poking fun at gothic motifs that you would expect from this period and setting.

Beatrice Steel is struggling with her dual-identity: maintaining the outward impression of being a refined Lady while also being OBSESSED with murder and serial killers. She spends hours pouring over newspaper articles on recent murders while pretending to her family that she is daydreaming over a (non-existant) gentleman. When disaster strikes during a ball and a murder occurs, she springs into action to find the killer. A long evening is ahead of the assembled party as a storm rages outside, trapping them all inside with a murderer on the loose.

I loved the blend of Regency pomp and grisly detective-work in this novel and the mystery itself was well written as well. I would say that if you aren't a fan of farce or absurdist comedy then this one won't be one for you. But if that's your thing, you will LOVE taking a trip to Swampshire!

This is an enjoyable read. There is a sense of fun and much humour as well as a decent plot line that attempts with some success Jane Austen and Agatha Christie. There are plenty of twists and turns as befits a good whodunnit and of course a decent HEA.

Witty, humorous and mysterious. I was hooked and couldn’t put it down! A Most Agreeable Murder is a thoroughly enjoyable read that I would highly recommend to readers who enjoy murder mysteries mixed with historical fiction and humour.. I laughed out loud so many times at the ‘polite society’ rules and at so many of the little remarks the murder obsessed main character Beatice made. I would love to read more with these characters and would devour a series with Beatrice and Drake solving crimes together.

'If you grew up reading Jane Austen and Agatha Christie (or are a fan of the more recent Bridgerton and Knives Out), you will adore A Most Agreeable Murder’ - with that description of course I would want to read it! Add in the cover and title and you’ve got yourself a deal!

Did it deliver you ask? Of course it did! I enjoyed the writing style and it did indeed entertain me.
I loved this book! Maybe it’s the most agreeable book 🤣

Many thanks to the author publisher and Netgalley for a free ARC of this ebook.
Although this book really wasn't my cup of tea at all I do appreciate how well it was written and how it would appeal to many. It's all very farcical and full of over-blown characters, however there is wit and good will in abundance. I found it all a bit too much, hammy and overdone, a bit like slapstick comedy.
I'm happy to give it 3 stars.

I wanted to love this so much. Instead, what I got was a clumsy, cringey, often rather dull attempt at a murder mystery that seems to have real contempt with both its genre and its setting. I was forcing myself through it - and that's no way to read books.

'A Most Agreable Murder' tries to do too much in one novel. Badly structured, it follows an amateur crime enthusiast finally getting the chance to solve a murder - but is also, apparently, a comedy novel satirizing the Regency novel. Do one or the other! Because together, there was nothing to take seriously. The tone would swerve wildly from comedy (I will admit, I did chuckle at a few lines but it got increasingly less funny as the book went on) to serious crime caper as the main character interviewed people. As a main character, Beatrice was nothing particularly original. I think with a different author, this could have been a really fantastic book, but it has debut written all over it.

I should've guessed from the structure. Most of the book takes place over one night, which means individual scenes (the writer is a screenwriter and unfortunately, it showed) ran for far, far too long, were very dialogue heavy and leaned heavily on exposition through conversation than showing us things. I didn't particularly care who had caused the murder - the murder, I might add, that didn't happen until about 40% in. The structure of this book is all over the place. If you were a seasoned murder mystery reader, you'd have put this down very quickly.

There is one thing I keep coming back to - and it is what infuriates me as a reader from the UK and makes me worry for the planned film adaptation. For the most part, the dialects in this book are fine. But it's the repeated use of the word 'pants' to mean trousers that just inspired complete rage within me. It speaks to a complete ignorance of research - this is such a basic part of our lexicon. US English and UK English are very different. I even Googled the origin of pants to make sure I wasn't overreacting - I wasn't!

If you're American, if your standards are low, you'll probably like this book. It's pulpy and ridiculous and some people like that. But it just made me angry.

This book is such a fun! I really liked the idea and the way it was written is great. It was witty, ironic and well written. It was a great read to enjoy and I liked the characters quite a lot. They were sometimes a bit stereotypical, but I think that was on purpose. Also the story shows resemblance to many other stories, but exactly that’s why it was such a fun read.
I can only highly recommend this book!

A unique and enjoyable novel where all is not as it seems! It is a Regency 'farce,' which challenges all accepted norms of behaviour, particularly those of women, and is more 'prejudice' than 'pride,' injected with literary, poetic and dramatic influences. It is brilliantly bonkers! The plot stays on track despite this, making us both laugh and grimace at the actions of the characters, particularly their verbal battles with each other. The plot takes a meandering trail leading us to guess the identity of the murderer, only to find we have been led up the garden path. The characters in this comedy of errors are a mottley crew, with Beatrice at the helm attempting to worm out the secrets and motives of those around her, accompanied by Drake, her new partner in crime.
I have really enjoyed this very unusual murder mystery, and look forward to reading about the further adventures of Beatrice and her ambition to become a female sleuth! It was a pleasure to review this wonderful novel for NetGalley!

Wry, Amusing, Satirical..
A ball at a country house, an eclectic group, a murder - and a lady, well sort of. Beatrice Steele actually struggles with her role of being a proper lady - she really has none of the correct traits. It certainly doesn’t come naturally and worse than that, she has an obsession. With true crime. When the Autumnal ball arrives and an unexpected death occurs, Beatrice comes into her own. Fun and frothy, amusing and sweet, wry and bitingly satirical, this is rather a joy.

Beatrice Steele has an obsession with true crime that she must keep hidden from her family because she's a lady and they must behave in a proper manner. Beatrice and her family attend an autumnal ball in hopes to find a match for her sister Louisa but the night descends into chaos when an attendee drops dead.

This was a great murder mystery with a great helping of humour. Imagine Bridgerton mixed with Cluedo. I enjoyed all the characters even the bad ones Beatrice being my favourite.
Thank you to Orion Publishing for the eArc copy.

This was a very enjoyable read. Seales overtly steals from many writers, e.g. Austen, Christie, and Holmes, to create a mash-up comedy novel. The writing is very straightforward and easy to read. I enjoyed spotting characters modelled on the aforementioned authors. The heroine, Beatrice clearly has elements of Elizabeth Bennett/Catherine Morland. There is a Darcy, Mrs Bennett, Jane Bennett, Wickham, Mary Bennett, Emma Wodehouse and Miss Bates plus a really repulsive Mr Collins. And in London, there is a hint of Holmes and Watson. all have different names, of course,(except Mary).

And like Christie, it is a murder that takes place in a house where no one can leave, but because of the weather! There are a lot of jokes. A couple of Americanisms annoyed me, especially 'pants' for trousers. Really does not go with Georgian England.

I would recommend this for a light summer read. I read a copy provided by NetGalley and the publishers.

Thank you to the publisher and NetGalley for this eARC of 'A Most Agreeable Murder' by Julia Seales.

This book has such high potential!! Intriguing and perfect for this time of season, 'A Most Agreeable Murder' is a budding murder mystery. I'll be honest, I'm very particular with this sort of genre so my rating means zilch but I feel like there's multiple people this story would be perfect for.

Um...I have mixed feelings about this one. Before starting it I thought I would fall in love with it. After starting it I thought I was going to hate it. Upon finishing it, I liked it well enough?

I'll get to the good things first: Beatrice was a great main character. The thing that made this book was the banter between Beatrice and Inspector Drake. I loved the mystery solving aspect and I always love when an unlikely duo has to work together to solve a crime. This was also a locked house mystery as it all takes place over one night. Drake was probably the most interesting character in this book. An illegitmate son of a gentleman and an indian woman, exiled from polite society, also happens to have lost an eye at some point due to circumstances that aren't really explained. I would have read a 'non comedy' book about him. He was clever and a really fun love interest.

But the thing I didn't like about the book is very hard to actually seperate from the rest of it. The comedy elements did NOT work for me unfortunately. They were ridiculous. I understand that's the point, that they're extremely exaggerated on purpose, but I don't think they added anything to the story. In fact I think this would have been funnier if it had been more of a dry sense of humour, sarcasm, etc. That would have felt more in keeping with the Jane Austen inspiration.

I get that this was a parody and some times it was funny. But I'm not a 12 year old boy so I don't find whoopee cushions funny. The apparent paranormal elements of werewolves were just stupid and came out of nowhere. It was all just too on the nose. One of the antagonists, Mr Grub - aka our pride and prejudice Mr Colins insert - was so over the top disgusting that at one point I found it almost difficult to read about (think snot, drool and feces.) Like, the author didn't need to do this. I can tell she is a talented writer, these elements I think actually eclipsed that and took things into the absurd. Perhaps the comedy will work for some people but it wasn't for me. I also don't feel that the blurb truley represents the tone of this book. It makes it sound like a lot of similar period mysteries which is what drew me too this in the first place. It doesn't tell you that it's essentially a slapstick comedy.

The ending makes me wonder if this is going to be a series as there is a certain element that didn't get resolved in this book which disappointed me. Overall it was a fun and enjoyable read, but the comedy elements let it down. I would read more from the author if they wrote something a little less surreal. But again I think this will work for some people, and perhaps sometimes we have to admit a certain style just isn't for everyone.