I received an ARC of this book from NetGalley and the publisher in exchange for an honest review.
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This novel is about Frances Wynn who is pulled out of her temporary independence from her in-laws by an anonymous letter implicating her in her husband's death.

I am not a huge fan of murder mysteries but the blurb of this novel really pulled me in. I was immediately attracted to the prospect of a murder mystery set in Victorian England, one involving a female member of the upper class no less.

This is quite a short novel, only about 270 pages or so, and yet it packs quite a lot of events into it. The plot is complex and very, very well developed as we make progress through the pages. The blurb merely mentions the bit about Frances being implicated in her husband's murder, but that's only the tip of the iceberg. The author managed to balance and do justice to several plot developments that the blurb does not mention at all. I don't mention this as a negative point. In fact, I think this is something that works in this book's favour. Readers come in with the expectation of a typical murder mystery but are exposed to quite a complicated plot. The pacing is impeccable for a book of this length and all events are given a sufficient amount of attention in terms of time.

The setting is only described briefly and never in long info-dumps. One of the strong points of this author, in fact, is her ability to seamlessly 'show' rather than 'tell', resulting in even the setting becoming revealed to the readers slowly and naturally rather than being shoved in their eyes. The same I will say for the plot. Frances' journey of trying to prove her innocence is very well told and every step of the investigation is explained for the readers' sake. I found this a tad unnecessary at times, but it was quite helpful at others.

At first, I was a little disappointed with the characters but they reveal themselves slowly as events unfold around them. Frances herself is 'shown' to be a very headstrong, clever and passionate woman, all of which are qualities that are frowned upon for a woman of her class. I found her and her female companions' attitudes admirable and refreshing. There was a distinct lack of the author shoving any heavy feminism into this and that was a relief.

The ending was definitely a surprise and I was relieved that it was unpredictable. I was very satisfied with how the events were unveiled and how the investigation progressed in the midst of the social events and obligations of the upper class folk. I really enjoyed the humour in this book and the insights into other characters from the perspective of Frances were handled very well.

There are only a couple of reasons why I gave this 4 stars out of 5. The first is that I wish Frances emotions had been conveyed a little bit better in the beginning of the book. Her remorse at her husband's death could have been given more attention even at the cost of a few extra pages as the length of the book is quite short, to start with. The same should have been done to a few other characters such as George and Lily's suitors.

Overall, this was an excellent debut novel and I'm looking forward to reading other works by this author.
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Short review on Litsy

ARC by NetGalley
This novel is about Frances Wynn, pulled out of her brief independence from her in-laws by a letter implicating her in her husband's death.

The pacing in this short novel was excellent and no words were wasted in info-dump passages. The murder investigation became very complicated but was handled very well.

I wish Frances' and Lily's suitors' emotions had been shown a bit better and more. Overall, a great debut novel.
4/5 stars

I received a copy of this book from the publisher for an honest review. A Lady's Guide to Etiquette and Murder is a Victorian set historical mystery with a hint of romance. In April 1899, Frances, the elder Countess of Harleigh is done with morning for her husband Reggie and is determined to take charge of her own life after exchanging her father's money for a title to make her mother happy . Frances finds living with her in-laws unbearable and secretly made arrangements to move to her and her young daughter into their own establishment in London. Frances soon finds herself at odds with her brother-in-law of control of her fortune, chaperoning her younger sister, facing the possibility that her husband's death wasn't what it appeared, and involved in trying to solve a crime spree.

This was a 3.25 star read for me which rounds down to 3 stars. The book is a good start to a series and perfect for those who enjoy Rhys Bowen's Lady Georgiana series and similiar titles, but those who like complex or darker mysteries (like Sherry Thomas books) may want to pass this book. There are a couple of threads that may or may not be connected and aren't fully resolved until the end, but I was able to guess early on part of the mystery. That said, I found Frances and the supporting cast to be interesting characters that I look forward to getting to know better; I will definitely be looking for the next title in the series to see Frances continue to grow into an independent woman and see what develops between her and her neighbor George.

I've missed Downton Abbey so very much. Thankfully, the witty and fast-paced "A Lady's Guide to Etiquette and Murder" has helped fill the aching void. When American heiress Frances Wynn becomes a widow in 1899 after the death of her philandering Earl of a husband, she decides to risk British society gossip by living independent of her dead husband's money-grubbing family. Deception, romance, and scandal ensue, keeping this reader enthralled until the very end. This smart, tightly-written mystery kicks off what is sure to be a winning series.

Dianne Freeman’s debut novel, A Lady’s Guide to Etiquette and Murder, is a witty romp of a Victorian mystery. The heroine, Frances, is a recently widowed and coming out of mourning for her dead rake-of-husband. She is surprisingly perspicacious and her struggles with propriety and her journey to independence is delightful. There is an understated chemistry between her and the hero, that is smoldering before bursting into flame. The mystery is well-plotted and full of twists. Freeman does an excellent job of capturing London in the heyday of the late nineteenth century with its culturally ingrained social mores.