Thank you to Netgalley, the publishers and the author for giving me a free copy in exchange for my honest review. I really enjoyed this book! I totally did not predict who the killer was so it was a nice surprise when it was revealed. I really enjoyed the friendship between Louisa-Margaretta and Judith and while I did see at least one review wishing they got together, I personally thought the ending was really nice as it is (and trust me, I'm ALL for a sapphic story). I thought the book was well-paced and had a cozy element to it. It was a nice historical fiction read in the sense that it gave off the proper vibes from that time period but the language did not feel stuffy. Overall, I really enjoyed this book and will be reading more from the author!
5/5 stars

This book is a mystery set in the Regency period in Britain. This isn't a puzzle mystery. The heroines didn't work together, just investigated on their own and then told the other why their guess was wrong. They initially simply chose the person they least liked from the possible suspects. In the last quarter of the book, they did find clues but the author refused to give the reader even a hint of what they were until the big reveal. Neither heroine was skilled at thinking on their feet or logically thinking things through.

The heroines weren't likable as both were very self-centered and determined to dislike everyone. They had to justify meeting together and so called each other 'friend' enough that both eventually decided that the other was maybe tolerable. Neither was really a spinster, either. Louisa-Margaretta intended to elope with a Jewish man that her parents refused to allow her to marry, but she hadn't had an opportunity to run away yet. Judith showed no marked interest in any of the potential suitors at the Christmas house party, yet at the end, we're told she's interested in one of the men.

The historical details were generally okay, though some things made little sense (though I can't explain without spoilers). There was no sex or modern bad language. As I prefer mysteries where I can guess whodunit and which have likable heroines, this series clearly isn't a good match for me.

I've given this book 3 stars - I really like the concept and feel like it was really promising! However, I think the book needed refining in certain areas. A rather big one to note is that Judith's friend is first introduced as 'Letty', then referred to as 'Lucia' for the rest of the chapter, and later comes back as 'Letty'.
I also felt like there were probably a few key sentences that were missing and left it hard to follow in places. I appreciate the author wasn't giving us all the information up front in order to keep the mystery until the end, but I think things were missing that meant when it all tied up together I was quite confused as to how the two heroines had figured it out. What made Judith think to check the registers, for example? How did Judith even know about the snuff boxes? At no point is there any indication that what was shared over the family time that morning with Louisa-Margaretta was later shared with Judith, so it seemed a bit odd that she suddenly knows enough to think to check the nursery. How on earth did that lead them to realise that it was Theo?
I also felt all the characters were introduced in very close succession, but not all together, which made it much more difficult to piece together who was who and how they were related.

All in all, I really like the idea of this book, but found the execution difficult to follow at times. The joy of a book for me is getting lost in the world, but the writing style meant that I was consistently having to return to previous pages as things didn't feel like they flowed well. But maybe it's just that this sort of book isn't for me!

Thank you so much for the opportunity to read it.

I really wanted to love this but I struggled to get through it. The pacing felt all over the place at times and the story was hard to follow with the story going off on a tangent sometimes. I did enjoy the setting, but it didn’t hit the Bridgerton x Agatha Christie vibes that I was expecting

Two Spinsters and a Corpse by Eve Tarrington.

Two young women meet each other while trying to avoid dancing at a ball and find themselves overhearing events, which result in a murder. They join forces to piece all the clues together and unmask the killer.

I was really looking forward to reading this book as I like historical crime novels, but it was a very slow burner.

To begin with, I had to keep going back and checking previous pages as I kept getting confused about which character was which and what their relationship to the other characters was.

I did eventually get into the book and started enjoying it, but the end was a bit rushed, and I’m still thinking who the visitor at the end is.

I would have liked a more detailed account regarding Louisa-Margaretta’s time in London as it was dealt with in a couple of sentences but not really dealt with at the same time.

All in all, it is a fairly enjoyable read, but more character back stories are needed. I would read another of the series now that I'm up to speed with the characters.

For fans of cosy crime or historical crime novels.

Thank you to Net Galley and Eve Tarrington for my opportunity to read the book.

#TwoSpinstersandaCorpse #NetGalley

Two Spinsters and a Corpse by Eve Tarrington

I had high hopes for this book because I love historical mysteries set in the UK, but this book was a disappointment. From the beginning, I felt like I was just dumped in the middle of some very unhappy young women’s lives. It was hard to follow along with the characters because most had the same last name and were referred to by their full name every time. I know that might have been historically accurate, but it made it very hard to follow and made much of the writing seem very formal and clunky. There was not one character in the book that was likable, maybe if there had been more character development, but it just wasn’t there. The ending was slightly better than the rest of the book, but even it felt very abrupt.

I was given a copy of this book by NetGalley in exchange for a fair and honest review.

Regency Period - During a ball at Wycliffe Castle, home of the Haddingtons, rectors daughter Judith St Clair, and Louisa-Margaretta Haddington are hiding in the library when they overhear a conversation. Later Miss Matilda Ross is discovered dead in the library. They decide to investigate believing she was murdered.
Overall an entertaining cozy mystery but I couldn't really take to the two main females or many of the other characters.
An ARC was provided by the publisher via Netgalley in exchange for an honest review.

I had high hopes of this book, however they fell flat. It’s a slow book with few thrilling moments to keep you interested. I found there be a lot of fluff that I didn’t find engaging. Maybe it’s my personal fault, since I prefer more exciting, suspenseful books. If you prefer a longer more drawn out, cozy mystery this might be for you!

Thank you to Victory Editing and NetGalley Co-op for this is e-arc !!!

⭐️⭐️⭐️⭐️/5
😘- no spice
🤬- little to no language
⚔️- mentions of people being found dead. Not descriptive though.

“Two Regency era spinsters, one quiet and one quarrelsome, try to catch a killer before Christmas in this new historical mystery series”

This was one wild ride!!! It took me a little bit to get into this book because the first bit is learning about our leading ladies, but I thoroughly enjoyed this read though!

It has a strong undercurrent of religion being that Judith is a rectors daughter. The author did well to be respectful even when the characters had different beliefs.

And the characters are all so solid and interesting!! The mystery was intriguing and the story progressed well!!

The only thing that kept this from a 5 star for me was how long it took me to really get into it. HOWEVER, I really think it’s a me thing and nothing to do with the book or the author, (I’m a mood reader)

I am enjoying this book, and appreciate the opportunity to review it!

Thanks to the author, publisher and NetGalley for the ARC.
All opinions are my own.

Regency era stories are famous for all the things that must not be spoken of in polite society. Etiquette and pedigree were everything. The lady of the manor was so proper she renamed the Christmas “kissing ball” (mistletoe) the “praying ball.”

Miss Haddington and Miss St. Clair have little in common but the shared knowledge that a shocking death was murder, not suicide. They team up to catch a killer and forge a friendship along the way. I confess I had a little trouble keeping family connections straight. All’s well in in the end and the final scene seems to set up the next installment.

✨ Should have been gay ✨

The title drew me to this book. Bridgerton meets Agatha Christie in a regency based who done it murder mystery. Sign me up.

Set in the countryside of Derbyshire, two families have recently moved to the village. A wealthy family, the Haddington’s with their daughter Louisa-Margaretta and the Rector and his family, employed by the Haddington’s.

Our unlikely duo are Judith the rector’s oldest daughter and Louisa- Margaretta. Both determined to be spinsters and shun the marriage market they are our two spinsters who are both smart, opinionated women. Which is always refreshing to read especially in this time period. The characters are both sharp-tongued despite how they ought to act as young ladies and the attention to detail for the era and inclusion of faith was a nice touch to ground the story in more depth. (Imagine Eloise Bridgerton but with no social skills investigating a murder.)

This context provides the familiar plot and story with a new backdrop which is enjoyable. As the two women try to solve the untimely death of a member of the house.

The ending clearly setting up for future series and adventures for the two spinsters to tackle, this is a clear introduction to their characters.

I did however find the pacing a bit off and the explanations of reasoning and conversations seemed to jump around a fair bit. This meant that at times I felt it was difficult to follow the timing of what was going on. As the story was simple enough that wasn’t too much of an issue. However it did feel we rushed to conclusions or judgments awfully quickly at times without laying the ground work.

There was also a side plot of romantic prospects, although this is not the main focus of the book so do not expect a romantic recency book with murder just to be clear.
However I did expect a bit more romantic build up, the ending in that regard felt rushed. I could have forgiven it for not having any romantic conclusion because it is a series but the rushed conclusion then disregarded that theory.

Most of all what I felt it missed was a clear opportunity to make the characters gay. A sapphic murder mystery recency book with these two gritty women would have really made this story sing, if romance was focused on more.

Either way an easy read and I am sure a fun series to continue.

Thank you netgalley and the publishers for providing me with an e-arc in exchange for an honest review

I really enjoyed this book! I had never really understood the concept of a ‘cozy mystery’ before, but I think this book would qualify. Having the story take place during the Christmas holidays definitely provided a cozy, warm backdrop as the two main characters work to solve a murder. I enjoyed getting to know each of these two women and their different personalities and backgrounds. They start off a bit standoffish with each other, but it’s fun to see them start to bond and eventually realize they’re truly friends.
Also, I loved the style in which this book was written, in almost an ‘old-fashioned’ way. It really put me directly into the time period of the story and made me feel like I was reading an author of Jane Austen’s time or something similar. I look forward to reading more by this author!

A cosy murder mystery set in the countryside.

It was an easy mystery read. I think for me the problem was I just didn’t gel with any of the characters and I didn’t really care about those that had been murdered which made getting behind the mystery of who killed them difficult.

That said I did enjoy the pace of the story. I was also more interested in what happened with the ill fated romance of Louisa Margaretta that ended with her being relocated to the Derbyshire countryside, than the murder.

If you like cosy mysteries I would expect you would enjoy this book.

Thank you to NetGalley, Eve Tarrington and Victory Editing NetGalley Co-op publishing

Loved loved loved loved so much this book. I gave it 5 stars because I loved this story so much. The characters were immaculate, super well put together.

“Three drops. This means a death in the family” . . .

Two polar opposite Regency Era Spinsters and a murder mystery — Just by the title I was sold! Judith and Louisa-Margaretta have little in common, but form a strange friendship (or partnership) when they are convinced a death is truly a murder.

Overall I did enjoy this book quite a bit along with the writing style. The setting and premise were spot on, I do however strongly believe that Judith’s character was much more developed than Louisa-Margaretta. I also think the ending was a bit sudden. But still, it was a quick, enjoyable read.
This is an ongoing series and I look forward to reading what more the author has to offer.

Thank you to both NetGalley and Victory Editing NetGalley Co-op for an ARC of this title

It’s still a good read no 🌈🌈 sadly
🌟🌟🌟
As others have mentioned, I might’ve allowed my own ‘preferences’ to bias me on where the book was headed or implied…. Spinsters, the cover… etc. sadly, this isn’t a sapphic romance. Luckily, it’s still a cozy mystery.

I kinda found it a bit.. dry maybe? Again, still a good read but def had to reread certain parts or found myself skimming through pages and feeling like I wasn’t missing much.

Perhaps I had set myself up for failure with what I thought would happen lol

Def a cozy read for mystery readers tho!

A different style of Who Done It type Murder Mystery , which I would have given Five Stars too if it hadn't stall part way through & then seemed to stall before it got going again , but I will be interested to see what future books in this series will be like! #NetGalley, #GoodReads, #FB, #Instagram,#Amazon.co.uk, #<img src="https://www.netgalley.com/badge/8a5b541512e66ae64954bdaab137035a5b2a89d2" width="80" height="80" alt="200 Book Reviews" title="200 Book Reviews"/>, #<img src="https://www.netgalley.com/badge/ef856e6ce35e6d2d729539aa1808a5fb4326a415" width="80" height="80" alt="Reviews Published" title="Reviews Published"/>, #<img src="https://www.netgalley.com/badge/aa60c7e77cc330186f26ea1f647542df8af8326a" width="80" height="80" alt="Professional Reader" title="Professional Reader"/>.

Two spinsters, Judith, a rector's daughter, and Louisa-Margaretta, the daughter of a wealthy family, have little in common except the desire to avoid their families' matchmaking attempts. They seek refuge in the library during a ball and become witnesses to a murder. The young ladies find common ground as they seek to learn the truth about who committed the crime.

Though I generally enjoy historical mysteries of the Regency era, this one was a bit slow paced. Judith applied a lot of brain power to figuring out the mystery, but Louisa-Margaretta's character was less well developed. Her jumping on a horse and chasing a suspect during a snowstorm seemed exceedingly out of character and poorly thought out. What would she do by herself if she caught up to him? I felt the ending was too abrupt, with both girls changing their minds rather suddenly about potential suitors.

Thank you to NetGalley and the publisher for the ARC. All opinions are my own.

This book didn’t capture my attention and I had a difficult time getting into it. The story seemed really slow and I was able to skip entire chapters without it affecting my comprehension of the story.