The Body in the Garden by Katharine Schellman (Book Beginnings & Friday 56)

 

Title: The Body in the Garden

Author: Katharine Schellman

Publication: 7 April 2020

Format: Kindle ebook

Amazon Description

London 1815. 

Though newly-widowed Lily Adler is returning to a society that frowns on independent women, she is determined to create a meaningful life for herself even without a husband. She's no stranger to the glittering world of London's upper crust. At a ball thrown by her oldest friend, Lady Walter, she expects the scandal, gossip, and secrets. What she doesn't expect is the dead body in Lady Walter's garden.

Lily overheard the man just minutes before he was shot: young, desperate, and attempting blackmail. But she's willing to leave the matter to the local constables--until Lord Walter bribes the investigating magistrate to drop the case. Stunned and confused, Lily realizes she's the only one with the key to catching the killer.

Aided by a roguish navy captain and a mysterious heiress from the West Indies, Lily sets out to discover whether her friend's husband is mixed up in blackmail and murder. The unlikely team tries to conceal their investigation behind the whirl of London's social season, but the dead man knew secrets about people with power. Secrets that they would kill to keep hidden. Now, Lily will have to uncover the truth, before she becomes the murderer's next target.

Ramble-y Teaserish Stuff

Another one with 4 pages of notes and quotes .... but I'll actually behave and follow the rules of the link-ups .... or not. It's so hard when there's much worth sharing! Like this blip from the 7% mark which made its way onto my Facebook feed:

It was then that I knew that I had another keeper on my hands ... and was grateful that I already had the third in the series sitting on my NetGalley shelf (and the second has since been obtained).

It doesn't seem to make much sense to give a story recap because you can just go up and read the Amazon description at the beginning of the post. It does leave out just how much fun it is while still being full of mystery and intrigue. 

The "roguish navy captain" is Jack, the best friend of Lily's late husband -- and the main character in today's "56" (along with young spitfire Jem, who he pays for odds and ends and keeping watch and whatnot). I'm keeping my fingers crossed that a romance between Lily and Jack isn't pushed at some point. For one thing, I kind of have my eyes on someone else for Lily ... in case she decides she needs someone. Mostly, though, Jack and Lily remind me a bit of Catriona McPherson's Dandy Gilver and Alec Osbourne ... which makes me want to immediately go and figure out where in that series I left off and pick it up again ... or start from the beginning because they were that good if memory serves correctly and I know that it's been several years since I last did so. 

I checked the blog ... yes, this one ... the last Dandy I rambled about was in September 2015 and was the fifth in the series ... and there are now 15. Yikes. 

Anyway. The Body in the Garden is a great beginning to what I hope will continue to be a great series ... and one that I hopefully don't lose track of like I apparently have a huge tendency to do. 

I have a little bit left to read and I'm still not entirely sure whodunnit since my main suspects keep getting crossed off the list most heinously. I really need to know so it's publish this, finish the last 20%, and then it's on to book 10 of the year (GoodReads claims this to be book 10, but I started one before January 1st so they count that for my 2022 Challenge, but I don't ...). 

Next up should be some fluff and then another book hangover and then maybe I'll be able to squeeze in some Dandy after all. Maybe next week. Or next month. Or before 2023.

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As always, Friday 56 (share a blurb from the 56th page or 56% mark) is hosted at Freda's Voice 

& Book Beginnings (share the first few sentences) is at Rose City Reader