Murder at Midnight by Katharine Schellman

September 18 – October 13, 2023 Virtual Book Tour

Description

Regency widow Lily Adler is looking forward to a quiet Christmastide away from the schemes and secrets she witnessed daily in London. Not only will she be visiting the family of her late husband; she will be reunited with Captain Jack Hartley, her friend and confidante, finally returned after a long voyage at sea.

But secrets aren’t only found in London. Jack’s younger sister, Amelia, is the center of neighborhood scandal and gossip. She refuses to tell anyone what really happened, even when an unexpected snowstorm strands the neighborhood families together after a Christmas ball. Stuck until the snow stops, the Adlers, Hartleys, and their neighbors settle in for the night, only to be awakened in the morning by the scream of a maid who has just discovered a dead body.

The victim was the well-to-do son of a local gentleman–the same man whose name has become so scandalously linked to Amelia’s.

With the snow still falling and no way to come or go, it’s clear that someone in the house was responsible for the young man’s death. When suspicion instantly falls on Jack’s sister, he and Lily must unmask the true culprit before Amelia is convicted of a crime she didn’t commit.

My Thoughts

This is the second book I’ve read in the series and was pleased to find the same skillful writing and attention to detail. The author continues to develop the characters, and pays special attention to Lily who once again defies the conventions of the time.

The love triangle introduced earlier in the series is resolved here in what was an unexpected but not disappointing way. Lily’s ability to get along despite the constraints of the time placed upon women, particularly widows, sets her up as a daring role model for other characters.

Schellman’s work has been compared to Deanna Raybourn and Tasha Alexander, both giants in the historical mystery genre. She more than meets the expectations here. I’ll be recommending this to fans of historical mysteries for a very long time.

Praise for Murder at Midnight:

“Delightful . . . Historical mystery fans will devour this holiday treat.”
~ Publishers Weekly

“A plummy period whodunit with a colorful collection of suspects.”
~ Kirkus Reviews

Perfect for fans of Deanna Raybourn and Ashley Weaver, when a body is found shot to death after an unexpected snowstorm, Lily Adler quickly realizes that some people will stop at nothing to bury their secrets.

Book Details:

Genre: Historical mystery
Published by: Crooked Lane Books
Publication Date: September 2023
Number of Pages: 320
ISBN: 9781639104321 (ISBN10: 1639104321)
Series: A Lily Adler Mystery, 4
Book Links: Amazon | Barnes & Noble | BookShop.org | Goodreads | Penguin Random House

Book ShortLinks:

Amazon – https://amzn.to/3DbYQKQ
Barnes & Noble – https://bit.ly/3OdZePh
BookShop.org – https://bit.ly/3pMTpPo
Goodreads – https://bit.ly/3pOPMIM
Penguin Random House – https://bit.ly/3NV6YUU

Author Bio:

Katharine Schellman is a former actor and one-time political consultant. These days, she writes the Lily Adler Mysteries and the Nightingale Mysteries. Her books, which reviewers have praised as “worthy of Agatha Christie or Rex Stout” (Library Journal, starred review), have received multiple accolades, including being named a Library Journal Best Crime Fiction of 2022, a Suspense Magazine Best Book of 2020, and a New York Times editor’s pick in June 2022. Katharine lives and writes in the mountains of Virginia in the company of her husband, children, and the many houseplants she keeps accidentally murdering.