I really enjoyed this book despite not having read the first one. I really liked the characters, and the very nice switch between Phoebe and Eva.

The book was very well written and I had no clue who the murderer was until it was revealed in the book.

The second book in the series was great! I'm sure I'll be reading it more than once. I love to hear them speak.

Alyssa Maxwell knocks it out of the park with another pitch perfect historical mystery!

An interesting historical mystery with a variety of characters.
Typical for its time period, the division between classes is pronounced and essential.
Well done and fun to read.

A fun read. This is a British murder mystery with all the requisite pieces: Private (they call it Public) School, rich people running around doing snobbish things, servants outsmarting the supposedly smarter upper class people, and someone knocking off a person in their way. No language issues and the story moves along at a decent pace. It was a pleasant time reading it and trying to figure out "who-dun-it."

Although I received a copy of this book from the publisher via netgalley, all opinions remain my own.

This historical mystery has just a dash of romance in it, all very proper though. This book is very true to the time period and I was able to feel how life was. The heroines of the story were so different from each other but were really great together. The connection between them, very strong A lady and her house maid helping to solve mysteries. This is book two in a series, but you wouldn't know that with how the story flows. I loved that I could read this book without having read book one. Although having read book two, I want to read the first book now! Really enjoyed the mystery in this book as well. Kept me guessing over and over "who dunnit" and at the end, it was believable but still surprising.

each someone else a lethal lesson.

Dollycas’s Thoughts

Lady Phoebe and her maid Eva are caught up in the middle of another murder investigation. This time the headmistress of the local Haverleigh School for Young Ladies dies at a luncheon Lady Phoebe organized. Everyone is pretty tight lipped with the authorities so Phoebe and Eva step in to talk to the girls and the staff in hopes of pinching the poisoner as quickly as possible.

Alyssa Maxwell has penned a mystery with many suspects, the staff, the board, and even the students. Seems the headmistress had a few secrets and has ruffled a few feathers. Again our amateur sleuths are pushing the boundaries for women in this time period but Constable Brannock is happy to have their assistance.

Lady Phoebe is a strong main character and Eva is a great sidekick. They have built a trust over the years that suits them very well for these investigations. We meet several new characters from the Haverleigh School for Young Ladies. Funny, girls then were the same as girls now, sans the cell phones and social media. Friends, cliques, bullies, every school has them even back in 19oo’s.

The story is full of detailed clues and descriptions of time and place. The characters are very fleshed out and unique. The pace has a really nice flow. I would call the plot complex, it had me changing my mind on the killer right until end.

The author takes great care to bring in necessary details from the previous book, Murder Most Malicious, but does not reveal any spoilers. So this book reads well on its own while allowing readers to go back to read the first one.

This is a strong addition to this series.

I fell instantly in love with this book. Lady Phoebe is the perfect fix to me missing Lady Mary from Downton Abbey. It fits the genre of cozy mystery so perfectly, you feel cozy just reading it! I couldn't put the book down.

Princess Fuzzypants here:
We just finished watching Downton Abbey again before I read this book. I found I was casting the characters from the series into the characters of the book. It's a good sign since I liked both of them.
After WWI life has changed for everyone. Perhaps the British aristocracy changed the most where they tried to hang on to the traditional ways in a world was no longer the same. Some, like our heroine, Phoebe, embraced the changes and wanted to be a modern woman. She is ably assisted investigating murders by her lady's maid, Eva. When the headmistress of the Girl's school with whom Phoebe and her family are associated is poisoned during a luncheon meeting, Phoebe and Eva are enlisted by the local constable to help interview the students and staff. Their investigative skills and intuition help reveal the murderer and save other victims.
The book is filled with interesting characters and conflicts, riven with atmosphere of a bygone time and place. The journey back in time is enjoyable and the suspense is maintained to the end.
It is a book best appreciated with tea and scones. I give it five purrs and two paws up.

Lady Phoebe and her Lady’s Maid Eva are back with another murder mystery to solve.

During a charitable lunch for war veterans held at Phoebe and Eva’s old school, a devious murderer strikes, killing the headmistress with poisoned cake. Devastated for the pupils, and determined to help out again, Phoebe starts her own investigation into the affair. As she unearths secrets of family ruin, arson and bribery the suspects pile up, but will they be able to crack the case?

These sweet murder mystery novels manage to avoid anything too dark, gory or morally ambiguous. The innocence of the characters and the clear lines between good and evil make them a very easy read. At times this can come across as slightly twee, especially as all servants are happy in their positions and almost worship the family they work for, but overall it is a refreshing change from the disturbing thrillers that flood the market year after year. The historical setting of 1919 England makes for a fabulous backdrop and it will be interesting to see how the characters develop as their world of strict social rules, class division and patriarchy begins to crumble. This is the second in the ‘A Lady & A Lady’s Maid Mystery’ series, and although it can be read as a stand-alone there are references to the first book, as well as reoccurring characters, that make it preferable to read them in order.

Thank you Net Galley. A fun cosy mystery, perfect for bedtime or any time you want a lighter mystery read. Not having read the first book some allusions were lost on me but it did not hinder my enjoyment of the book. Strongly recommended.

This is the second book in the A Lady and Lady’s Maid Mystery by Alyssa Maxwell. I have read both books and suggest reading them in order. While there is nothing in this book which works as a spoiler for the first one, there is a growth of the characters that will be enhanced by reading the books in order starting with “Murder Most Malicious”.

The story picks up where the first book ended. It is just following the end of World War I (set in 1919), and Lady Phoebe and her maid, Eva, are just getting over the events that caused them so much grief in the last book. There is to be a special luncheon at their local school for young ladies, Haverleigh. As it turns out, both Lady Phoebe and Eva attended the school for a period of time, so it is near and dear to both of their hearts.

Lady Phoebe’s family are still heavily involved in the school (young Lady Amelia still attends) and they have used it as a vehicle for setting up aid to families who are in need following the war. The school is hosting an event which is designed to bring the aid effort to the attention of the local ladies to further its reach. The young ladies who attend the school have been tasked with making lunch for the attending dignitaries. Something goes awry with the meal and someone dies. Can it possibly have something to do with the food or with one of the young ladies who prepared it?

I enjoyed reading the second book in the series. I was able to solve the mystery somewhat before it is unveiled in the book, thanks to the clues the author provides. I’m okay with solving a mystery early. I much prefer that over an ending that is merely dropped on the reader without rhyme or reason.

The pace in this novel has picked up over that of the first one. In the first book, the reader is introduced to the characters and, by necessity, the reading is a tad slow. I like the place where this book ends and it certainly has made me look forward to the next in the series.

I was provided a digital advance reader copy of this book by the publisher via Netgalley.

Eh... I've read better. Many, many better ones, actually. I didn't find any of the characters interesting or engaging, and many of them were just plain annoying. I found the interactions between characters somewhat stilted and unrealistic drawn. The omniscient third person narration was especially distracting, as viewpoints would frequently jump back and forth between characters. It frequently happened that I would be reading a scene narrated from Phoebe's point of view, then all of a sudden, I was getting insight into Eva's thoughts, which made me wonder for a second how on earth Phoebe knew, until I remembered that it was continued use of poor storytelling tactics. I read this book on and off over the course of a couple weeks and had to force myself to pick it up each time. I might not have rated this book quite so low (if it hadn't been for the fact that I *just* completed another historical mystery involving a lady and her maid (A Quiet Life by TE Kinsey), which was superb. This one fell woefully short by comparion.

I enjoyed the first in this series, though I had some issues with it. This second book is, I think, an even stronger work. The author is working in one of my favorite times and places (England between the wars), and has done her research well. Fans of the first couple of seasons of Downton Abbey will probably enjoy this, and will be able to bring the visuals from that series to mind to add color to the setting. Ms. Maxwell has done her research, and presents the period well, and I was not struck by any anomalies or anachronisms.

I noted in my review of the first book that I had some trouble with sorting out characters in the beginning and with the POV switches between Lady Phoebe and her maid, Eva. Both of those problems were gone this time (and might have been more my problem than the writer's in the first book). I had forgotten most of the details of Murder Most Malicious, but the author provides enough context that it would work to start with this one, though I always advocate reading a series in order if possible. The author focused well on a few characters, and that I think is a strength, as anyone who really matters is well-drawn, to the extent of the understanding of Phoebe and Eva (so the male leads, as it were, are a little opaque, because the girls are still trying to figure them out). The suspects are nicely developed, and get more so as Phoebe and Eva come to understand them better.

It's worth a comment on the narration, which is third person limited throughout, but alternates point of view chapter by chapter between Phoebe and Eva, with occasional shifts between scenes in the same chapter. The author has handled this well, and there are cues given each time the shift takes place, to keep it clear. I enjoy seeing the different ways the two young women view other people--they are very much influenced by their stations in life, even as each tries hard to see beyond those limits. There is a very nice thread of early feminism as well.

And what of the mystery? It is solid, with a number of convincing suspects and lots of secrets, lies and motives. I saw my way to a very small part of the truth early on, but missed the perp and a lot of the complexity of motives. Most of the lies and secrets tied in to the murder one way or another, but just enough didn't to keep it believable--not every lie comes from a fear of being implicated in murder.

My Recommendation:
This is shaping into a strong cozy series, and anyone who enjoys the classic British country house mystery will enjoy it. Also recommended to fans of Downton Abbey, the 1920s in general, and mysteries that showcase developing relations of all sorts, not just romance (so far, the romance is pretty secondary, with signs that it will ramp up in future).

I received this book for free from Netgalley. This did not influence my review.

I started the year off with a cozy historical mystery-- Book two in the series A Lady and Lady’s Maid Mystery: A Pinch of Poison by Alyssa Maxwell. I enjoyed the first book, Murder Most Malicious, so I was happy to see where these two amateur sleuths went next.

Lady Phoebe is the Lady half of the pair, the middle granddaughter of Lord Wroxley. Eva Huntsford, her lady’s maid, is the other. The two are good friends despite the difference in their social standing and have teamed up before to solve a murder. This time they have teamed up to work on a charity drive to raise awareness and collect goods for war veterans and widows in the towns surrounding the Wroxley estate. The local girls’ school (once attended by both Phoebe and Eva, and now attended by Amelia, the youngest granddaughter) is the sight of a celebratory dinner. After speeches, during dessert, the headmistress drops dead, the obvious victim of poisoning.

Once again, the inept Chief Inspector is called in, fortunately accompanied by Constable Miles Brannock, a man who helped solve the first murder and who is attracted to Eva. Also shortly appearing on the scene is Lord Owen, an old family friend and eligible bachelor whose interest in Phoebe is more than friendly.

There are plenty of suspects, but Eva and Phoebe can’t accuse women or students simply because they are unpleasant. The sleuths must discover a motive and look for proof. The constable is glad of their help since it would be awkward for him to have to question well-bred females. As Phoebe and Eva investigate, they learn those in the school are hiding a multitude of secrets, some poignant, some suspicious, and some dangerous.

The mystery is interesting and the women are independent-minded and clever. The male supporting players are content to step back and let the women take the lead, and the two prove up to the task once again. Eva is the more sensible and empathetic. Phoebe forges ahead with an ingrained authority and self-confidence, but has an irritating habit of immediately betraying any confidence related to her.

The books are light and readable. The characters are not particularly deep but if you’d like a cozy mystery with a Downton Abbey-esque flavor, give the series a try.

I am in love with this series and this author. Book two in this series and another fantastic read. Alyssa Maxwell had made these cigarettes so real - excellent character development (they're so human, with both good and not so good traits), a wonderful time era/setting to place the story in and an interesting murder mystery to solve.

I am really enjoying getting to know these characters more - especially the dynamics between the three sisters (the youngest, their brother, if away at school when this book takes place), they're grandparents and the relationship between the girls Lady's Maid and each sister.

I definitely recommend this series and this author.

**I would like to thank the publisher/author/Netgalley for the opportunity to read this book in exchange for an honest review**

Sophisticated cozy set in 1919 starting Lady Phoebe and Eva, her maid. They have witnessed a death at her sister's school, and decide to help investigate as it seems poison might be the cause for the untimely demise. IMO, Eva is the "star" of this book. She and Phoebe alternate narrating the chapters, but I felt she had the "meatier" role. The mystery has a few twists to keep you thinking and guessing. This is book 2 of the series, and is well-written with more depth and personality added to the characters. I am definitely looking forward to the next book and what investigations are in store for Phoebe and Eva!

**Many thanks to NetGalley and Kensington Publishers for the opportunity to read a digital ARC for review purposes**

Good, cozy mystery. I highly recommend! Thanks! Enjoy!