I wasn’t sure what to expect from this book but I ended up really enjoying it. I loved the wit and sass from the main character, as well as her growth throughout the novel. I felt like the writing was well done and the plot was a good one. There were a couple of awkwardly written scenes but for the most part the novel flowed well and I enjoyed it.

A Brazen Curiosity (Beatrice Hyde-Clare Mysteries #1) by Lynn Messina
Potatoworks, 2018
Crime Fiction (Historical Cozy); 176 pgs

Beatrice is a heroine after my own heart. Shy and bookish, more invisible than not, Beatrice Hyde-Clare was taken in by relatives at a young age after her parents' untimely death. She is now 26 years old with no marriage prospects in sight--nor necessarily expected. While visiting her aunt's childhood friend and her family, Beatrice stumbles on the dead body of one of the other guests while searching for a book in the library. Also in the room is the insufferable Duke of Kesgrave. After shooing her off to bed to maintain propriety, the duke promises to take care of everything. Beatrice is shocked and none to happy to discover the Duke of Kesgrave has not been too honest about the situation. As a result, she sets out to find a murderer.

I had such fun reading A Brazen Curiosity, my first by Lynn Messina, but definitely not my last. Beatrice is not only smart, but she is also a character I found I could really relate to. Someone who is used to always doing the right thing, never stepping out of line, and yet ever observant. Like for Bea, the Duke of Kesgrave grew on me the more I got to know him. While there is no romantic match in this book for the two characters, I wouldn't mind seeing it in the future. They work well together, and I enjoyed their sometimes barbed and often playful banter. Some of the side characters in this novel are real dunces, I have to say. How anyone would so readily accept a man hit on the back of the head with a candlestick as a suicide, I do not know, but I suppose people will believe what they want to believe. Even so, this is a great little mystery and I am eager to read more in the series.

Twenty-six-year-old Beatrice Hyde-Clare is far too shy to investigate the suspicious death of a fellow guest in the Lake District. A spinster who lives on the sufferance of her relatives, she would certainly not presume to search the rooms of her host’s son and his friend looking for evidence. Reared in the twin virtues of deference and docility, she would absolutely never think to question the imperious Duke of Kesgrave about anything, let alone how he chose to represent the incident to the local constable.

And yet when she stumbles upon the bludgeoned corpse of poor Mr. Otley in the deserted library of the Skeffingtons’ country house, that’s exactly what she does. (via Goodreads)

A Brazen Curiosity is every bit a Regency romance and then some. Messina manages to keep the Regency period style language throughout the entire book; from Beatrice’s interior monologues to descriptions of the ongoing action. Readers who are familiar with the rambling style of many Regency novels will find the language familiar, those who are not might find it a bit off-putting. Personally, I found the overly purple prose endearing at some times and annoying at others.

Also like many novels of the era, there is a romance threaded through the story. And like many Regency novels, it is a slow burn romance. Beatrice starts the novel day-dreaming about throwing various food items at the Duke, and by the end she still day dreams about pelting him with various foodstuffs but they have also both started to develop feelings for one another. There are no kisses, they don’t even hold hands. It is the kind of extremely slow build up between two individuals that I absolutely adore.

On the whole, I enjoyed reading A Brazen Curiosity. The quibbles I have are incredibly minor, especially when considering that what I didn’t always enjoy was something that is generally viewed as the mark of many original Regency era novels. As I said earlier, readers who enjoy books written in this time period will be familiar with this rambling writing style and will have little issue with it.

As of this time there are two other novels in the series and while I haven’t read them yet, I will be adding them to my list.

This is one of the hilarious mystery novels I've read in a long time!

The setting takes place at a small castle where family and friends are staying for a social. The heroine is of course, a 26 year old spinster who's staying with her aunt until married. One night, unable to sleep, she goes to the library only to stumble over a dead body and a Duke standing over the body. This is the start of finding out who the real killer is and the hilarious banters and scenes between the heroine and the broody and arrogant Duke as she uses her wits.

This was such a delightful book to read.



The only thing that bothers me how she's kept being called plain, mousy and dull by everyone in the book. Its enough to bring her down. She's classy, intelligent, strong willed and humorous.



I received this ARC from Potatoworks Press through Net Galley in exchange for my unbiased and honest review. Thank you!

I loved the Miss Marple-esque vibe this book gave. I loved the heroine and I loved the murder mystery, cluedo type setting. Anything in a period setting and I'm there. I loved playing detective alongside the characters and getting my little grey cells working.
The writing was great, light and not too serious. Great read for a rainy day.

Lynn Messina’s A Brazen Curiosity follows Miss Beatrice Hyde-Clare, a twenty-six-year-old spinster, who lives on the kindness of her relatives. During a house party in the Lake District, she finds fellow guest, Mr. Otley ,bludgeoned to death in the library. While usually an example of deference and propriety, she takes matters into her own hands to investigate the murder. I was provided an e-ARC by Potatoworks Press via NetGalley in exchange for a fair and honest review. 

A Brazen Curiosity is a quick paced period piece. While Messina maintains period style language throughout, she manages to meld the exposition and background in seamlessly without slowing down the forward moving plot line. Once started, A Brazen Curiosity moves very quickly from meeting our heroine, Miss Beatrice Hyde-Clare, to learning just how much she despises the Duke of Kesgrave and then the finding of poor Mr. Otley’s body during a late-night attempt to find reading material (an agricultural leaning biography would have been appreciated). 

Miss Beatrice Hyde-Clare knows what kind of woman she is, and more specifically, what kind of woman she is not. That, however, does not stop her from becoming exactly the kind of woman she didn’t think she could possibly be: impertinent and outspoken, to a duke nonetheless.  

Overall, A Brazen Curiosity is a sweet enjoyable read. It's not overly angsty for the topic, but manages to be fun and maintain a sense of humor. The Duke of Kesgrave provides a great Darcy-esque character. Though even Miss Beatrice Hyde-Clare isn’t entirely convinced he’s looking at her only to find fault. Unfortunately, that doesn’t put a halt to her secret fantasy of throwing food at his smug face. I am definitely looking forward to reading the next two books in this series.

Cozy Mysteries: A Brazen Curiosity, First in Series by Lynn Messina

Steam Level: Simmering
Happily Ever After...almost
First book in a series
Source: Amazon
Rating: 3.5 out of 5 stars*

As I’ve mentioned, I love a good romance series. A Brazen Curiosity by Lynn Messina is the first in a delightful murder mystery series starring the plain, shy-turned-witty spinster, Beatrice Hyde-Claire and her handsome-but-irritating co-detective, the Duke of Kesgrave.

I’m going to be brutally honest. I almost stopped reading this book. The build-up took such a long time and the internal monologues were endless. But things finally started to speed up once Ms. Hyde-Claire, we’ll call her Bea, discovered a body in the library right along with the Duke of Kesgrave. Let the witty banter and laugh-out-loud shenanigans begin!

The relationship between Bea and The Duke was lovely. The Duke quickly discovered that there was much more to this shy, awkward spinster and Bea found that The Duke was not just the pedantic and prosy aristocrat he pretended to be. Both hero and heroine had more depth and new nugget of their personalities were revealed slowly and with subtlety.

I’m giving this book 3.5 stars only because of the slow build-up and endless internal monologuing. Messina does a fantastic job of creating lovable and fun characters, but she definitely could have cut down on the internal monologuing. That said, I eagerly devoured the 2nd and 3rd in the series and completely loved all of the characters...even the ones I loved hating. Like the Aunt. Ick.

Next in the series: A Scandalous Deception...same lovable characters, less monologuing and another murder to solve.
Final in series: An Infamous Betrayal...wonderful wrap up and our happily ever after at last!

A throughly enjoyable read, with entertaining dialogue and characters. I found myself laughing at the witty heroine and the absurd things the secondary characters would say. Looking forward to reading the rest of the series as soon as possible!

Thanks to NetGalley and Potatoworks Press for this digital review copy.

Lynn Messina indulges in a Lake Country house party murder in Regency times. Beatrice Hyde-Clare, a poor relation, finds the body and engages with Duke Kesgrave to find the murderer. An abundance of red herrings leads to a confusion of suspects. The dead man had been working a hibiscus scam and fleecing the local gentlefolk of their funds. Whodunit?

“The sad spinster and the handsome duke” bicker and fight until they do not, in Lynn Messina’s first Beatrice Hyde-Clare historical mystery/romance novel, “A Brazen Curiosity.” Here they begrudgingly work together to solve the murder of the unfortunate Mr. Thomas Otley, a man of business who turns out to have not been too much of an honest man.

What’s fun is following Beatrice’s trains of thought, and there are many. The author uses her creativity in good stead in this regard. The language is of the time, always the hallmark of a good historical mystery. That a woman, and a young one at that, could possibly help to solve a murder is thoroughly examined and explained (she’s even accused of the crime at one point!), which is why I can say that the language and situations remain true to Regency times.

I also applaud the true humor in how Miss Hyde-Clare goes about her business when it comes to her fellow house-party members, especially as it relates to His Grace the Duke of Kesgrave. Beatrice and Damien Matlock, Duke of Kesgrave are suitably unimpressed by each other as the book begins, but soon the inevitable happens -- a mutual admiration society springs up. So if the plot is nothing out of the ordinary and the conclusion pretty easy to spot (at least other than the identity of the murderer), it’s still an entertaining journey.
There’s an “all parties assembled in the drawing room” at the finish, but considering the book follows a conventional pattern, this isn’t amiss. Everyone is present as His Grace, with Miss Hyde-Clare’s help, exposes a murderer. What that murderer is revealed, it becomes a story of old grievances and injustice, and because we are reading a story featuring “the upper crust” of English society, the identity of the killer is truly quirky and astonishing. And then -- will justice be served? Perhaps not.

Soon, the party breaks up, all those in attendance heading off to their respective homes. Luckily for us readers, Beatrice and Kesgrave have forged a connection, and we will want to see how their story plays out.

Thanks to the publisher and NetGalley for a copy of the book, in exchange for this review.

“A Brazen Curiosity” is a delightful concoction of cozy mystery, social satire, witty banter, and Regency-style food fights. Well, the food fights only take place in the heroine’s imagination, but they are delightful all the same. This book made me laugh so much, the whodunit was clever, and the writing was great. I can’t wait to read the rest of the series.

Thanks to NetGalley and Potatoworks Press for this digital advance review copy.

This book as well as the two that follow are available in paperback and in the Kindle store (free for Kindle Unlimited subscribers).

Book 2: A Scandalous Deception (https://www.goodreads.com/book/show/41090541-a-scandalous-deception)

Book 3: An Infamous Betrayal (https://www.goodreads.com/book/show/41140543-an-infamous-betrayal)

My Thoughts

Lynn Messina! Sign me up! You are becoming my ‘go to’ for a fun getaway. Light and easy reads is what you deliver time and again. I adored this book! Lynn has proven herself to be a truly witty and very clever author of Regency genre. I mean a ‘posthaste’ nap sounds inviting to me!

“Aunt Vera, having decided it was her niece who had ruined the mood, rather than Mr. Otley’s corpse, reiterated her demand that Bea take a nap posthaste.”

This book is indeed a lot of fun and ticks so many boxes - historic details, an escape to the country, a murder to be solved, a little romance and all tied together with humour. You will love Beatrice, our main heroine and an old maid at 26! The way she does a character analysis on those gathered at this country retreat is wonderful, with her desire to throw food at them in abomination truly hysterical. However, there is also that touch of sadness about her situation and she recognises that which makes the reader truly feel for her.

“The difference between who she perceived herself to be and who she actually was was vast, and if she had any fight left in her, she would resent how easily she’d succumbed to everyone’s low expectations, including her own.”

Bea found herself wanting to hurl a dinner roll at him just to elicit a lecture on the throwing arch of flour-based projectiles.”

So when a murder occurs in the library late one night, Bea sees this as her opportunity. This has a good ol’ game of ‘Cluedo’ written all over it - Mr So and So, in the library with the .... what is there not to appreciate? As Beatrice and the Duke put their heads together in an attempt to reveal the murderer, the complexity of the clues is such, that you will not see the culprit until the final reveal.

“Beatrice couldn’t believe they were debating decorum while the dead body of Mr. Otley cooled before their eyes.”

I cannot recommend this book highly enough (and I am off to search up the remaining two in the series) for an all round entertaining read. It is a fun mystery, filled with an array of stereotypical, yet enticing, characters from that era with many a laugh out loud moment.

“I had quite a lot of tea.”
“Bea!” her aunt exclaimed, appalled at this display of outrageous behavior. “We just talked about this. Ladies do not admit to any biological functions.”
“Yes, Bea,” Flora said, smirking. “Weren’t you listening? It was in the section on hygiene.”
“Of course, I remember,” Bea lied smoothly. “The hygiene section was a favorite. I do particularly love disavowing my own physiological processes.”

A Brazen Curiosity by Lynn MessinaI wish I had known when I started this book that it was part of a series. I have read Lynn Messina before and thoroughly enjoyed her books, so I couldn't understand why the romance was so ploddingly slow. The hero and heroine spend barely any time together. But the beginnings of a flirtation between a plain spinster and a pedantic duke are in this story. I wish we had seen more but I understand the need for a slow burn to make it through at least two more stories.

Beatrice Hyde-Clare is unfortunate to meet the Duke of Kesgrave in the middle of the night when she's looking for a book. She doesn't notice him until after she's picked up the candlestick from the floor. The candlestick that has obviously been used to murder the man the Duke is now standing over.



Three stars

This book came out September 15

This Regency cozy mystery surprised me a lot. While I find that Regency romances and mysteries are usually "much of a muchness," without much to really distinguish one from another, the witty banter in this one took it to the next level for me.
Beatrice is a 26-year-old spinster who lives with her aunt and two cousins. They are all making a visit to family friends. Late one night Beatrice can't sleep, so, as anyone would, she heads off to the library for a suitable book. While there she stumbles upon A BODY (gasp!) AND who else should be standing over it but the Duke of Kesgrave, the one member of the house party that she absolutely despises, and always wants to throw food at.
Beatrice is a shy, uncomfortable sort of girl in society, but this unexpected turn of events leads her to doing things she would never have dreamt of in the pursuit of justice. I enjoyed her blossoming personality. And I really enjoyed the standoffs between her and Kesgrave. This is a very funny book that had me chuckling more than usual.
Not that it's without its flaws. Scenes of dialogue tend to stall while too much time is being spent narrating Beatrice's thoughts, and it seems that whoever she's talking to is just silently standing around while she ponders things. A bit unnatural. But a forgivable flaw in such a funny book with characters that I really want to revisit.
I am happy to note that two more books in the series were released at the same time as this one, so I will be able to continue Beatrice's adventures without delay.

Poor orphan twenty-six year old Beatrice Hyde-Clare is invited along with her aunt and cousins to a house party at Lakeview hall in the Lake District. The home of Lord Skeffington and his family. The pedantic, condescending Damien Matlock, Duke of Kesgrave evokes her ire. But is he the killer when she discovers him towering over a dead body. She decides to investigate.
An enjoyable fun read, a well-written Regency murder mystery with main characters which do grow on you as the story unfolds.