BOOK REVIEW: Death Comes to London by Catherine Lloyd

I’m using my holiday break to do some marathon reading and decided to dive right in to book two of the Kurland St. Mary Mystery Series: Death Comes to London by Catherine Lloyd.

Disclaimer: I received this book free from Netgalley. This did not influence my review.

I was particularly eager to read this book after having so enjoyed Death Comes to the Village. I wanted to see what would come next for the hero and heroine. And now I’m hooked and a bit unhappy that there isn’t a book three yet for me to grab.

Miss Lucy Harrington is finally getting her wish to go to London. Although a bit old for a London Season of her own, she will be accompanying her younger, more beautiful sister Anna, as well as her friend Sophia–a Waterloo widow. All three will be looking for husbands, but only Anna will be newly launched. Fortunately for Anna, she will be able to rely on an aunt and uncle (an earl and countess) to present her to society. Lucy intends to keep to the background as a companion, but nevertheless hopes to enjoy her stay and meet someone. What she does not expect is that Major Robert Kurland will upset her plans.

Robert has no intention of following her to London. He thinks her idea of searching for a husband is quite ridiculous. However, she is scarcely gone when he receives a summons from the Prince Regent. It seems his heroism at Waterloo has not gone unnoticed. He is to be honored with a baronetcy. There is no way to decline such an honor. And, he recognizes that he is going to have to resign his commission because, although he has been slowly healing from his injury, he will never again be suited for battle. So, a trip to London is in order.

Their paths cross, of course. Almost immediately, Robert is monopolizing Lucy’s time, almost inadvertently. And then, before too long, a shocking death occurs in their social circle. When it begins to seem that the death may be murder, they find themselves joining forces once more to solve a crime. Or two. Or three.

The mystery is interesting and, once again, Lucy and Robert make an appealing duo. The relationship veers between friendship and budding romance. As a series, it makes sense not to develop any romance too quickly, so it’s fortunate that their working relationship is so strong. Again, there is a pleasant supporting cast and a variety of suspects so that even though you’ll probably figure out whodunnit fairly easily, it’s still an entertaining read to go along with them as they piece together the clues.

This is a highly enjoyable cozy mystery. While this story could likely stand on its own, I recommend reading book one first to get the full flavor of the relationship of these two sleuths.