Murder at Kensington Palace (A Wrexford and Sloane Mystery): 3

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He became the prime suspect after detectives reviewed the evidence and his name came up among several others put forward after appeals to the public. The defence argued that he was incapable of such a sophisticated killing, which involved detailed planning and specialist bullets. As always Penrose's research on emergent technology during the Regency days is solid and fascinating. Penrose’s other great strength, other than the yummy romance, is the love of friends and family Charlotte and Wrexford built around them: “She had somehow gathered a mismatched circle of friends around her during the past few years. They had become very dear to her. Once again, she was aware of how frighteningly vulnerable she felt because of it. A solitary existence was far safe, uncomplicated by the complexities of emotions. Danger now held more consequences than the question of her own measly survival. The boys depended on her … ” Ah, the boys, Wrexford’s beloved “Weasels” (how tender is it that he has found them a tutor? how loving is Charlotte’s heart-weakness for them? teaching them to draw, muttering motherly threats about “no jam tarts,” which McLennan affectionately bakes for them, hugging them and giving them a world of love and care and knowledge where they had none). Raven and Hawk are funny, smart, and vulnerable in how much they love Charlotte and both love and are in awe of Wrexford. In the end, the most winning aspect of Penrose’s wonderful series is the conclusion Charlotte and Wrexford come to together and apart, that love is primary, makes life worth living, and deserves our greatest care and protection. And why I await the next book in the series as I do Raybourn’s, Harris’s, and Ashley’s. With Miss Austen, we find, in Murder At Kensington Palace, “a mind lively and at ease,” Emma. Charlotte needs to find out more because the public has an “insatiable appetite for scandal and depravity,” and who better “to trumpet all the juicy details” than A. J. Quill. Lilly, one of Charlotte’s army of spies on the street, told the boys she heard the news directly from a gardener who discovered the corpse.

As usual I had an idea who the murderer was and as usual I was wrong. I like this. I hate it when I can guess too early on who's done the deed. Tall, golden-haired, and gifted with faces that mirrored the fine-boned masculine beauty of a Botticelli painting, they were fast becoming the darlings of the Royal Institute for both their boyish charm and scientific acumen since arriving from the North to take up residence in London several months ago.

The 'Aunt Heap'

A thoroughly satisfying read on in so many ways, MURDER AT KENSINGTON PALACE by Andrea Penrose is a well-plotted mystery that takes place during the Regency period. It is filled with unconventional Regency characters crafted so well it is easy to picture them as you read and compels you to care about their success. These characters are complex, with a deep commitment to seeing justice done and caring for those people who become part of their world.

I thought that Griffin (from Bow Street) was dumber than he needed to be. He is still very much a one-note character, IMO. Its complex story line and authentic historical details bring the early days of the Industrial Revolution vividly to life. Bound to fascinate readers of C.S. Harris and even fans of Victorian mysteries.”Charlotte’s alter-ego, the artist A.J.Quill, reappeared but not much as I would have liked to have seen. Another character, similar in scope to Charlotte, was introduced. I would guess this person becomes one of the earlier-mentioned player’s sounding board and possible romantic interest in future stories.

Frequent trips to the theatre, daily rides in the gardens and her favourite dog Dash punctuated Victoria's early days. Escape Rating A-: I got into the Wrexford & Sloane series because it is an amazing readalike for the Sebastian St. Cyr series without being the same at all – which I know sounds contradictory but bear with me. Although Wrexford gets top billing in ‘his’ series, it’s not his journey. Instead, this story is told from the perspective of Mrs. Charlotte Sloane, a widow living in genteel poverty who makes ends at least wave at each other by penning satirical drawings and publishing them under the nom-de-plume A.J. Quill. It’s clear that she grew up in different circumstances, but when the story begins neither Wrexford nor the reader know exactly what those circumstances were or why she left them. Charlotte’s life is about to change – totally – not from her desire, but from a need to save the life of her closest childhood friend, her cousin Nicholas. Charlotte will sacrifice most anything, even her hard-won independence, to free her cousin, but the decision fills her with trepidations. Can she do it? What if she makes the sacrifice and she’s still not successful?I liked several of the new characters, especially Cordelia and Charlotte’s aunt Lady Peake. I hope we see more of them in future books. Third in the series. A good but not great mystery, which for me is how this series tends to go. I was going to give this 3 stars (my usual, default rating), but after writing my thoughts out, I've demoted it to 2.

The murder of a peer, Lord Chittenden, under disturbing circumstances in Kensington Palace Gardens after a Royal Society soirée ("which, along with the Royal Institution, was the leading bastion of London’s scientific minds.") occurs" Naturally Wrexford is a member! Charlotte's in her role as Pheonix, an elusive underbelly inhabitant comes into play, but in this situation a new persona will be called for. One that gives Charlotte second and even third thoughts. One she doesn't want to adopt. Reading these books is always such a delight. There is clearly this romantic tension between Wrexford and Charlotte Sloane, but it doesn’t overtake the prime focus of the books which is the murder mystery.

She's not that bright about anything else either, TBH. It is completely impossible for me to believe that she's been so sucessful in life and in her art, given how idiotic she is in every aspect of it that we see. It's fine for the author to tell us how brilliant she is, but when all we see is her acting like a numbskull, it becomes both unbelievable and annoying. Andrea Penrose added more secondary characters that surrounds the life of Earl of Wrexford and Charlotte Sloane in this third installment of her historical mystery series, Wrexford & Sloane. I enjoy this author's obvious love of time and setting. She has a good grasp of some of the expressions and details of the period. But she makes her characters do things because she wants them to for the sake of her plot instead of making them come alive.