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I enjoyed the characters and the story. I didn't care for the narrator. I found her performance of Lady Violet too strident and a little too imperious for the 25-year-old widow. She also sounded older than the young woman. Her voice began to wear on me. I will read the next book in the series.

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A light yet intriguing mystery with likable characters

Excellent narration. I enjoyed the three main characters very much and would be happy to spend more time with them going forward. The plot—investigating a series of petty thefts at a house party—felt light but the stakes were raised when an innocent man was set to be hung for the crimes unless the real perpetrator could be discovered. While I figured out parts of the scheme on my own there were additional pieces I didn’t manage to put into place until the reveal. I have unanswered questions about the backstories and interactions between the main characters that I presume will be revealed in future books. The very end of chapter 12 was clipped off in a way that made me wonder if I had missed just the end of a word or substantially more.

Great central characters, thin story

I love the author and the interactions of the central characters is delightful, but the story is forced and unpleasant leading to a highly improbable ending. I won't return it, but I won't read it again.

Plot synopsis: Violet, the heroine, is invited to a house party where a series of thefts leads to the host's unpleasant family secrets. Violet solves all in the last two chapters after a lot of boring improbable plot that fails to make you care about anyone involved other than the 3 central characters.

Example: A beaten, naked man shows up at a ball; no one is overly concerned. No one wonders how he got in. A few hand waves later, he is a valet. Really??

Loved the book so much I’m binging the series!

This narrator is perfection. The heroine sounds even better than I imagined her, the male voices are distinct from one another while still sounding male & the French character has just enough accent without being difficult to understand. Best of all, I forget I’m listening & get completely lost in the story without being thrown out.

And what a story! Historically accurate without anachronisms and wonderfully complex characters that suck you right in. An excellent mystery, the tension builds, and these people act like grown ups who’ve actually dealt with life and loss and disappointment. The descriptions are wonderful without getting in the way of the story, so that I feel like I’m enjoying the food with them (or not, in the case of the stale bun), smelling a man’s distinctive cologne or feeling the heroine’s impotent fury.

I absolutely adore this series and I’m binging as fast as the audiobooks are released & I can afford extra credits. I can tell I’ll be relistening simply because the world and people drawn by this author is so rich that I’ll want to experience it more than once. I love that she’s written a strong woman who can be resourceful without being any less a lady in every sense of the word. And the male characters are so intriguing. Strong without being overbearing & very much true to the time period. Fabulous entertainment & don’t be surprised if you find you’ve driven past your exit if you’re listening in the car.

Fun!

This could have been a fabulous book, but it seemed rushed and lacked plot. I did enjoy it, though!

Looking forward to the next in the series!

What a fun little story by one of my favorite authors!
Great narration by Ms. Potter!
I am looking forward to the next book in this series! Thank goodness we only have to wait till next month!