Lady Phoebe Renshaw is worried about her sister. She knows Julia is in love with Leo but she is marrying Gilbet Townsend who is wealthy, but decades older than her. Gilbert's sister Phoebe doesn't seem to like either Golbert or Julia and his secretary is weirdly possessive. Phoebe was surprised that the honey.oon was to be aboard a yacht and is aghast that Gilbert's best friend is slated to accompany the newlyweds on their honeymoon. There are many things that are off about the scenario. It gets worse when Julia has a spat with her husband that evening and flees the boat. But she decides that she has to return. The next morning, her husband is found dead in the water and Julia is the main suspect. It will be up to Phoebe and the family maid cum surrogate mother Eva to figure out what is going on.
This was a good book by Maxwell but I am enjoying her other series just a little bit more.

Three stars
This book comes out January 29
ARC kindly provided by publisher and NetGalley

Lady Julia resigned herself to marrying Gil Townsend in order to save the family estate but she didn't murder him. We know that and so do her sister Lady Phoebe and her "maid" Eva. This is another delightful outing for those last two, who are the epitome of the intrepid amateur detectives, albeit in 1920s UK. Who did murder Gil, making Julia a bride and a widow on the same day? There is a good cast of suspects and you might well like one of them for it more than the others (even if that one turns out not to be the villain.). No spoilers but this has some good twists. It's real charm is in the characters, who get better. Phoebe's love interest has also strengthened this time around. Thanks to Netgalley for the ARC. Can be read happily as a standalone.

Delightfully full of period (between the wars) details, this novel has great upstairs/downstairs interactions between the lady and her maid. Changing times and mores are clearly reflected in the interplay of the many characters in this engaging historical murder mystery. Although the end clearly sets up follow-up stories, the murder mystery is tidily solved by the last page.

I voluntarily read and reviewed an advanced copy of this book. All thoughts and opinions are my own.

3.75 stars

Another entertaining entry in the unlikely but readable Lady and Lady's Maid series. Lady Phoebe Renshaw and her odd family find themselves in the midst of turmoil when her sister Lady Julia becomes a bride and a widow all in the same night.

The family dynamic is tangled, and the impoverished but blue blooded clan has mixed feelings about Julia's marriage to a much older and very wealthy man. Julia has made it clear that she is marrying for money. Her grandmother and younger brother Fox believe she is fulfilling her family duty, but Phoebe and sister Amelia are troubled.

And when the groom is found murdered hours after the wedding ceremony, it doesn't take long for the police to focus on Lady Julia as their prime suspect. So once again it is up to Lady Phoebe and her maid Eva to find out the truth and track down the real killer.

This series, set in the 20s, is nicely written and plotted. The close and fairly equal relationship between Eva and the family seems implausible but that is not a barrier to enjoyment of the story and the well-developed characters.

Thanks to the publisher and to Net Galley for providing me with an ARC in exchange for my honest review.

I love Alyssa Maxwell’s forays into the Gilded Age in the United States as well as her escapades with Phoebe Renshaw and her lady’s maid, Eva.

This latest installment opens in April, 1920 at Cowes, Isle of Wight with Phoebe and her family dressed and ready to attend, her elder sister’s, Lady Julia’s wedding to a much older man, Viscount Gil Townsend. Phoebe and her younger sister Amelia are troubled by the match and try to convince Julia to call off the wedding. Unfortunately Julia’s reply consists of some ill-chosen words that will come back to haunt the Renshaw family.

This is another mystery with many twists and turns, familiar faces, unlikeable characters and It is once again left up to Lady Phoebe and Eva to stumble into the melee and try to untangle all the evidence that could have Lady Julia facing the gallows. Anyone who has read this series knows that this duo is up to the challenge and it is another great addition to the series.

Thank you NetGalley and Kensington Books for a copy.

A Murderous Marriage, the latest in the Lady and Lady’s Maid series by Alyssa Maxwell, starts with an unfortunate wedding. Phoebe Renshaw’s sister Julia is marrying the Viscount Annondale, a man much older than herself. She doesn’t love him, of course; it’s just necessary to save the family fortunes. The gossip begins immediately, the bride soon regrets her decision (not soon enough, for many reasons, that may become apparent in a later book), and thus the scene is set for disaster, as such things usually are. Will anyone be surprised by the first victim? Thus, Phoebe, Eva Huntford, her maid who is much more than a maid, and the rest of the book’s characters find themselves in the midst of a murder investigation. As Phoebe says, “Trouble has a habit of looking for me.” Luckily, for us readers of mysteries, historical and otherwise, truer words were never spoken (or written).

The wedding has taken place aboard the groom’s yacht, a convenient place for a killing. Julia, beautiful, stoic Julia, head high, accompanies the police to the local lock-up. Everyone has her already tried and convicted of the murder of her husband, of course. Except her family. And the reader, who knows she didn’t do it. So, who did? The spinster sister? The groom’s best friend? The over-familiar (female) secretary? The unknown someone who sent threatening letters to the groom – and the best friend? Or perhaps the young lord who’s been in love with Julia for years? This book is set in 1920, which means everyone has gone through World War I. Since Lord Annondale was very much a man of business, Phoebe begins to suspect that something in his past, perhaps from the war or even before, may be a motive for murder. It’s up to Phoebe and Eva to find out, and they do, in a sort of reverse “upstairs downstairs” fashion. Amateur detectives usually get in the way in a way they shouldn’t, but mystery books would be very short if they didn’t, and A Murderous Marriage is no exception, as Lady Phoebe and Eva crisscross Cowes looking for reasons to free Julia.

Ms. Maxwell has Phoebe partake in a lot of introspection in this book, as she ruminates on her family, especially her sisters and their personalities and motivations. People grow and get better, too. Like Fox, the young brother, who’s difficult to take at times. It’s Fox that comes to the rescue at the end, luckily enough.

Fans of historical mysteries that appreciate books whereby everyone seems to “fit in” to the time and place depicted (no modern anachronisms) should be happy with this series. I also like the little touch of costume description that readers receive; it’s easy to picture what everyone is wearing, something I like to find in the books I read. And I definitely like Phoebe and Eva, and look forward to reading more of their adventures.

Thanks to the publisher and to Net Galley for a copy of the book in advance of publication, in exchange for this review.

Overall an enjoyable cozy historical mystery set in 1920. The main characters are pretty well written even if there was not a huge amount of character growth in this book. A solid next entry and I will certainly be continuing this series when the next book comes out!

Great story! Gets better each time I read it. Wonderful characters. Looking forward to the next book.

This mystery series is well written but the unpleasant characters of the main family (the Renshaws) eventually wear the reader down in this, the second story. I saw little development of the two main characters, Lady Phoebe Renshaw and her maid Eva, and had no sympathy for anyone in the family. Since I thoroughly enjoy Maxwell's Gilded Newport series, which has a main character that is fully realized and appealing, as well as a fascinating surrounding cast, I know that this series can be enhanced.

Another great book in the series. I'd say it is my favorite in the series thus far, but I've probably said that after reading others in the series. Very good story and I'm really getting to understand the characters. Left with a cliffhanger that I can hardly stand that I'll probably have to wait an entire year to read the next in the series. Since it appears they come out about the same time each year. I do wish the Phoebe and Owen story would progress at a faster pace. Overall, the series is still great.

Because of their failing family fortune Lady Julia Renshaw has been pressurised into marrying for money. Marriage to wealthy and very much older Viscount Annondale takes place at Cowes in April 1920. The marriage breakfast is on the Annondale's yacht with all the suspects on-board when Annondale goes missing. Circumstances lead Inspector Lewis to arrest Lady Julia for murder. It is left to Lady Phoebe and her maid Eva to solve the puzzle.
An enjoyable cosy mystery.

Set in 1920 in England two years after the end of WWI, Julia Renshaw is getting ready to marry...to a man decades older than her a viscount and wealthy industrialist. Not for love of him, but for love of money. When he is found dead, she is accused of murder. So who did the dastardly crime? Was it his personal secretary, was it the man's best friend, we haven't a clue (or do we)? However, since there are no other suspects it will be up to Julia's sister, Amelia and Phoebe to solve the murder. Interestingly enough, it is not only the mystery that stirred my imagination, but the description of the class system which also peaked my interest.

This is the first book I have read by Alyssa Maxwell, even though it is the fourth in a series. It won't be my last novel by Ms. Maxwell, I loved it.

My thanks to Netgalley for the advanced copy of this book in exchange for an honest review.