Act Like a Lady, Think Like a Lord: A Mystery

by Celeste Connally

London, 1815. Lady Petra Forsyth, daughter of the Earl of Holbrook, has made a shocking proclamation. After losing her beloved fiancé in an accident three years earlier, she announces in front of London’s loosest lips that she will never marry. A woman of independent means - and rather independent ways - Petra sees no reason to cede her wealth and freedom to any man now that the love of her life is gone. Instead, she plans to continue enjoying the best of society without any expectations.

But when ballroom gossip suggests that a longtime friend has died of a fit due to her “melancholia” while in the care of a questionable physician, Petra vows to use her status to dig deeper - uncovering a private asylum where men pay to have their wives and daughters locked away, or worse. Just as Petra has reason to believe her friend is alive, a shocking murder proves more danger is afoot than she thought. And the more determined Lady Petra becomes in uncovering the truth, the more her own headstrong actions and desire for independence are used against her, putting her own freedom - and possibly her life - in jeopardy.

• ISBN10: 125086755X
• ISBN13: 9781250867551
• Publish Date: 11 December 2023
• Publish Status: Active
• Publish Country: US
• Imprint: Minotaur Books,US
• Format: Hardcover
• Pages: 304
• Language: English
• URL: http://melia.co.uk/page/detail/?k=9781250867551

Reviews

[annieb123]

Originally posted on my blog Nonstop Reader.

Act Like a Lady, Think Like a Lord is the first Lady Petra historical mystery by Celeste Connally. Released 14th Nov 2023 by Macmillan on their Minotaur imprint, it's 304 pages and is available in hardcover, audio, and ebook formats. Paperback format due out from the same publisher in 3rd quarter 2024. It's worth noting that the ebook format has a handy interactive table of contents as well as interactive links and references throughout. 

This is a very well written engagingly constructed mystery with an intelligent female protagonist set in the Regency era. There's a fair bit of period-accurate misogyny, skullduggery, and the disposal of "inconvenient women" which will raise any modern reader's hackles. Protagonist Petra is a woman of means who has eschewed marriage after the loss of her fiancé, so she has time and resources to investigate when her friend goes missing. 

Most of the positive portrayals in the book are female, and there are precious few redeeming qualities in most of the men in the book. There's also a slow-burn romance angle, so readers who enjoy some romance with their historical mysteries will enjoy that aspect.

The unabridged audiobook has a run time of 11 hours 15 minutes and is capably narrated by Eilidh Beaton. She has a clear, light, upbeat voice - not RP English, and quite modern sounding, but not distractingly so. She does a good job delineating the characters and it's not difficult to keep them straight during the read. 

The first of a continuing series, the sequel is due to be released by Minotaur in 4th quarter 2024. 

Four stars. This would be a good choice for public library acquisition, gifting, home library, as well as a solid recommendation for a mystery bookclub discussion. 

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

[chymerra]

Important things you need to know about the book:

Pace:  The pace of Act Like a Lady, Think Like a Lord varies throughout the book. It starts slow (which allows the author to explain backstories and build up the world), goes to medium towards the middle of the book, and then amps up to fast.

Series: Act Like a Lady, Think Like a Lord is the first book in the Lady Petra Inquires series.

Trigger/Content Warning: Act Like a Lady, Think Like a Lord has trigger and content warnings. If any of these triggers you, I suggest not reading the book. They are:

• Forced Institutionalization (graphic, off and on page)
• Confinement (graphic, off and on page)
• Emotional Abuse (moderate, on page)
• Mental Illness (minor to moderate, on and off page)
• Misogyny (moderate to graphic, on and off page)
• Gaslighting (moderate and graphic, on and off page)
• Death (moderate, off page)
• Domestic Abuse (minor, off page)
• Homophobia (moderate, on page)
• Physical Abuse (minor, off page)
• Kidnapping (moderate, on page)
• Murder (minor, on page)

Sexual Content: There is sexual content in Act Like a Lady, Think Like a Lord. It is not graphic, and the author doesn’t linger on it.

Language: There is mild swearing in Act Like a Lady, Think Like a Lord. There is also offensive language used in Act Like a Lady, Think Like a Lord. But, the offensive language is appropriate for the era. The book takes place in Regency England, where women were property and homosexual relationships were illegal.

Setting: Act Like a Lady, Think Like a Lord is set entirely in London, England.

Tropes: Sworn Off Relationships, Friends to Lovers, Love/Hate Relationship, Reunion Romance

Age Range: I recommend Act Like a Lady, Think Like a Lord to anyone over 21.

Plot Synopsis (as spoiler-free as I can get):

After the death of her fiance, Lady Petra Forsyth declared to Society that she would never remarry. Five years later, she has kept her word. But, when her former best friend, Duncan, returns to London, Petra starts feeling things she hasn’t felt in years. But she doesn’t get time to explore her feelings when she finds out that a friend had passed away from melancholia a few weeks before. Not believing what she heard, Petra starts looking into her death. What she uncovers shocks her to the core. Her friends are being sent to a private asylum by their husbands and left there under the care of a cruel doctor. The more she investigates, the more she uncovers. But Petra is also in danger. Her independent actions and headstrong ways have her in the sights of the doctor. Can Petra find a way to free her friends and keep herself out of the asylum? Or will she end up locked in there?

Main Characters

Lady Petra Forsyth: I liked her. Her character was a breath of fresh air in the Regency romance genre. She didn’t even bother trying to fit into the mold that Regency women were forced to conform to. She was opinionated and headstrong. She was also scandalous because she intended to stay single. I loved it! Once she realized something nefarious was going on, she decided to see her investigation through to the end.

My review:

I enjoyed reading Act Like a Lady, Think Like a Lord. Mysteries and Regency romances are my two favorite genres to read. So, when I realized that this book combined the two, I was thrilled. I was hooked once I started reading this book and got a grasp of Lady Petra’s character. Lady Petra was very unconventional for the era, and as I said above, she was a breath of fresh air.

The main storyline of Act Like a Lady, Think Like a Lord follows Petra as she investigates the “death” of a friend and, ultimately, the forced institutionalization of her friends by their husbands. The author did take some liberties with how accepting the ton was and with a few historical events surrounding Prinny. None of those bothered me, and the author did include an explanation in the author’s note. I liked how the mystery unfolded and how Petra solved it.

The romance angle was very subtle at first. Petra was very angry with Duncan for various reasons, mainly because they argued shortly after her fiance’s funeral, and he left. But the more Duncan showed up, the more Petra noticed him. As the book went on, her feelings grew, and she realized they were there all along. But the author was wise in keeping all the lovey-dovey stuff until the end of the book. That way, the focus was on Petra and what she looked into.

The mystery angle was well written. I liked that the author did lay all of her cards out at the beginning of the book. We knew who the bad guy was and about the husbands forcing their wives into asylums. But the author only connects the two in the middle of the book, and then it was a race to find the asylum, free the women, and figure out why the bad guy did what he did. I was delighted with how the author wrapped up this storyline. What happened after the paper printed the girls’ names was very fitting.

The end of Act Like a Lady, Think Like a Lord was interesting. The author wrapped up the romance and the mystery angles in ways I enjoyed. But there was an exciting twist that raised my eyebrows. The author cleverly wrote this twist into a cliffhanger. While I was irritated with the cliffhanger, I loved the twist. It got me wanting to read book 2.

Many thanks to St. Martin’s Press, Minotaur Books, NetGalley, and Celeste Connally for allowing me to read and review this ARC of Act Like a Lady, Think Like a Lord. All opinions stated in this review are mine.