July 26, 2021
Murder hits all too close to home for Lady Adelaide Compton in Robinson’s sparkling fourth and final paranormal mystery set in 1920s England (after 2020’s Just Make Believe). One morning, in a suite at a fashionable London hotel, Addie’s formidable mother, Constance, Lady Broughton, is discovered “wearing only a bloodstained peignoir,” standing over the body of Edmund Moreton, the Duke of Rufford; in her hand is the murder weapon engraved with her exalted family’s monogram. Lady Broughton is promptly arrested and put in jail to await trial. While Rupert Compton, Addie’s dead but not departed husband, uses his ghostly abilities to infiltrate stately homes on the trail of gossip and clues, Addie turns to tall, dark, and handsome Scotland Yard Det. Insp. Dev Hunter for help in finding the real killer. Charming characters and spirited dialogue propel a plot in which the course of the gently simmering romance between Addie and Dev matters more than the sleuthing. Cozy fans will be sorry to see the last of Addie and company. Agent: Laura Bradford, Bradford Literary.