The Body in the Garden (Lily Adler Mysteries, #1)

by Katharine Schellman

A SUSPENSE MAGAZINE BEST BOOK OF 2020

Perfect for fans of Tasha Alexander and Rhys Bowen, Katharine Schellman's debut novel is sure to delight.

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.

• ISBN10: 1643853562
• ISBN13: 9781643853567
• Publish Date: 7 April 2020
• Publish Status: Active
• Publish Country: US
• Imprint: Crooked Lane Books
• Format: Hardcover
• Pages: 336
• Language: English
• URL: https://penguinrandomhouse.com/books/isbn/9781643853567

Reviews

[annieb123]

Originally published on my blog: Nonstop Reader.

The Body in the Garden is the first book in a new series by Katharine Schellman. Released 7th April 2020 by Crooked Lane, it's 336 pages and available in hardcover, audio, and ebook formats.

This is a nice historical mystery set in Regency London and introducing a well rounded cast of characters and featuring young widow Lily Adler, recently arrived in London from Hertfordshire and still in semi-mourning for her late husband. The mystery is well written around a framework of real history which gives it some verisimilitude.

The author is adept at her craft and it doesn't read like a debut novel at all. The plotting is well structured, the narrative arc and tension are well engineered with a satisfying denouement. The dialogue isn't ever clunky or cringe-worthy (and for modern Regency fiction, that's saying something). I'm looking forward to the development of this promising series.

Four stars. Highly recommended, especially to fans of the genre.

Disclosure: I received an ARC at no cost from the author/publisher for review purposes