Backlist review! It took me two and a half years, but here I am finally.

Thanks to Netgalley, Catherine, and Kensington for an advance copy of Death Comes to the Nursery.

Lucy and Robert are adjusting to newborn life and loving it. It's a nice change from solving murders like they have been doing. Even better, Lucy is expecting baby #2! Her nurse recommends a cousin to help out as she will soon need an extra set of hands around the house. However, when the newest nurse Polly arrives, things turn upside down. Other employees are at each others throats and she's causing gossip in town. Worse still, her lifeless body turns up, Lucy and Robert find themselves once again smack in the middle of a mystery.

As is the case with most cozies, this is part of a series but it is not necessary to start at the beginning. Despite this being the 7th installment, I did not feel as though I did not know the characters and still found myself invested in them.

I really liked the historical aspect, I don't read a lot of cozies, and I'm not sure I've ever read one that was 19th century. There's something kind of dreamy about 19th century English countryside that got me immediately interested in the story. I also liked Lucy and Robert's relationship. It was sweet and he was protective without being controlling or overbearing.

The story itself was okay, it wasn't something that I will remember in time and I just felt like it could've been done in a way that was a little more realistic. I don't know that I believe a couple of this stature would go slumming it in London to get answers, especially while one party is pregnant? I also felt like there should've been more suspect searching rather than trying to nail down who they thought did it.

Great cozy mystery. Death Comes to the Nursery was an easy and fun read that has well-crafted characters. A pleasure to read and one I highly recommend.

*received for free from netgalley for honest review* Pretty good cozy mystery, this is the first book from this series i've read but i liked the story and characters so i plan on reading the prior books :)

Another fun entry from a reliable author. I enjoyed meeting up with Robert and Lucy again (I've read all the prior books so by this point, they feel like old friends!). I enjoyed the mystery, even if I thought it was a little predictable, and the plot was fun and interesting. My thanks to the publisher for providing an ARC via netgalley in exchange for my honest review!

Right from the beginning as the characters are introduced, I correctly guessed who the murder victim would be. Catherine Lloyd very artfully suggests several potential murder suspects. Which one did it and why? The process of finding out create an interesting read. The book was a little slow here and there. However, the information provided during these periods was essential to the story. This was the first book by this author I have read. From the little snips about various characters, I need to back track and read the proceeding books. I loved that the names of some of my favorite authors were used, Lady Lucy Kurland - Lynn Kurland, Anna Harrington, Lucy's sister- Anna Harrington and Dermot Fletcher - Donna Fletcher, coincidence or purposeful? It was fun to look for each one. Like a good murder mystery, we don't find out the whodunit until the end.

Princess Fuzzypants here: New nursery maid Polly is trouble from the outset. Not that she does anything wrong but she is so beautiful it seems almost every man falls under her spell and become besotted. She attempts to keep them all at bay but when she does not return from her half day off, Lucy and Robert fear the worst. They are right. Her battered, strangled body is found in a ditch and that is when things really turn topsy-turvy. Polly is really not Polly and in the effort to discover her true identity, the Kurlands are sent on a merry chase from their home village to the streets and mansions of London back to their estate.
Someone is violent and dangerous and will not stop at just one body to keep his secret. But is he the lowliest of the low or a peer of the realm? It seems our Polly knew them both intimately. It makes for a riveting book as the layers of deceit are pulled back one by one and when Polly’s true identity and the reason for her escape are clear, it proves first impressions are not always true. And some of the powerful are willing to use whatever resources they have to protect their own.
The story was a page turner, with fascinating characters and atmosphere and mysteries within mysteries. I enjoyed it. Five purrs and two paws up.

Not my usual style of cozy. Enjoyed how story was told. Lucy and Robert investigate the missing nanny and find that other women have been murdered to cover up the identity of the killer. Lucy is an excellent partner for Robert to solve this mystery and together they solve this and bring a family secret into the open.

This was the first book i have read in this cozy mystery series and the mystery was the thing and it was very good, and kept me guessing till nearly the end. I do recommend this book, however this is not a standalone. Having read the previous books I feel would add to the storyline.

Received this from Net Gallery! I love the writing and the stories from this series! This is the latest one of Lucy and Robert and their extended family and the servants and the village town people of another mystery crime that finds them having to solve! I really have enjoyed watching these people go on with their lives,it's been a great read where you getting to know these people so well the way it is written. I like that you can read All in order of just pick one up to read and your not lost on what has happened before. Back in old England you will feel the time and learn to love the characters ,they All have such a personility!! Sometimes I think it's a little drawn out, but other than that,it is such a great read!! I hope there will be more!!!

Catherine Lloyd immerses us in another Regency mystery in Kurland St. Mary as Death Comes to the Nursery. Lady Lucy is a mother of a three year old son and expecting another child. Her husband Sir Robert Kurland has approved another maid but she is very beautiful and soon very dead, strangled and left in a ditch. She is not who she called herself but an actress who fled London in fear of her life. Whodunit? Sir Robert and Lady Lucy visit her London relatives in pursuit of the murderer. Red herrings abound. Danger lurks. Read on.

The plot is pretty good but I cannot say the same about the story. The characters are just okay. I wish Lucy-Robert were better at sleuthing - I did not like the fact that they were bent on proving the 'accused' guilty rather than looking for more suspects.

Also, their findings and talk gets repetitive at times and this could have been avoided. The story starts on a good note, falls flat in the middle and ends well. I didn't find the characters captivating nor did I like their sleuthing style.

Death Comes to the Nursery is a part of the Kurland St. Mary Mystery Series. Lady Lucy and Sir Robert hire an attractive young girl to become a nursery attendant for their 18-month-old son. The problem with employing such a beautiful woman is that men begin to flock to her to the point of fighting for her attention. Because this is a mystery, nothing is as it seems, and Lady Lucy and Sir Robert follow the clues and end up investigating the seedier side of the theater scene in London. This is a light enjoyable mystery with a touch of cozy!

I obtained this book through Net Galley and have left an honest review.

1825, Kurland Hall. As Lucy, Lady Kurland is expecting her second child and she is delighted when Agnes, her current nursery nurse recommends her cousin Polly Carter to help in the nursery. But Polly's ways bring trouble to the Hall and Village of Kurland St. Mary, ending in her body being discovered in a ditch on the Estate. Sir Robert and Lucy investigate.
Another entertaining and well-written histroical mystery which is not fully resolved until the end. The cast of characters in this series are very likeable and it is a joy to read about them.

This is one of my favorite historical series set in the Victorian period. After six books, this one may just be my favorite in the series. Lucy and her husband, Sir Robert are the happy parents of a toddler and soon little Ned with have a sibling. Another child will require more staff so Lucy starts to look for an additional nursery maid. When Agnes mentions that her cousin Polly would be a good choice the decision is made and Polly joins the family. She brings chaos with her and soon every male with a pulse is paying a lot of attention to her Some even come to blows over her. Sir Robert is at his wits end and knows he has to find a solution, fast, before his peaceful home devolves into a shambles. Before he can put into action any plan he may have, Polly is found murdered. So who would want the new nursery maid dead? Then the questions lead Lucy and sir Robert to London and plenty of surprises await them there. If Polly wasn't Polly, who was she and what became of the real Polly?
A wonderful twisty puzzle full of red herrings and surprises, well fleshed out characters and a very satisfying conclusion. I have thoroughly enjoyed every book in this series and I already have the untitled #8 on my list of must read mysteries.
My thanks to the publisher Kensington and to NetGalley for giving me an advance copy in exchange for my honest review.

Death Comes to the Nursery by Catherine Lloyd. 4 stars

This is the 7th book in the Kurland St. Mary series. I read the previous book, Death Comes to Bath and found it an enjoyable read. When this one came up for review I requested an ARC. I was not disappointed. Lucy and her husband Robert are living a quiet life in the part of England. They send for a cousin of Agnes, their current nursery maid to help take care of their Ned their 2 year old son. Polly Carter, Agnes’s cousin is extremely pretty girl from London and causes some distractions among the male workers on the estate. After finding Poly’s body strangled, a mystery unfolds and Robert and Lucy are on the case. I found the mystery interesting and the villain a surprise. This book felt like it had a modern crime disguised underneath a historical facade. I look forward to the next mystery in this series.

Thank you Netgalley and Kensington Books for this ARC.

What a wonderful addition to Catherine Lloyd's A Kurland St. Mary Mystery series. The mystery was intriguing. I thought I had it figured out and the story line left me in the dust. Lucy and Robert are imperfect and believable, both as humans and as pertaining to the time period. There is always so much brewing with the surrounding cast of characters that I feel confident that much more will happen in the future. I can't wait for more.

I received a complimentary copy of this book from the publisher via NetGalley. The opinions expressed in this review are entirely my own.

I love this series and I stalked NetGalley until I saw the ARC listed. I was not disappointed. Robert and Lucy are just wonderful as characters and they really seem to be coming together as a couple.

I usually read my ARCs in order of their publication date. But Death Comes to the Nursery was burning a hole in my Kindle. I just couldn't wait until mid-January to read it. So a bit of a Christmas present to myself, I read it over my holiday break. My anticipation was not in vain. I loved the book.

I fell in love with Lucy and Robert last summer when I picked up Death Comes to the Fair. I was disappointed that my library only had 3 other books in the series as I was hoping to go back and read them in order. Instead, I'm reading them out of order but that's okay. They can be read relatively easily as stand-alone novels.

Lucy and Robert have had a bit of a rocky relationship. Not because they don't obviously love each other (because they do), but because they are both strong-willed individuals. In Death Comes to the Nursery it felt like there were finally understanding each other. Each knows that can't change the other's mind but they can try to alleviate the worry they cause one another. In cozy mysteries, characters can often become stuck as a certain character type. I like that the characters grow and change in this series. In the earlier books (particularly book 1 - Death Come to the Villiage) I couldn't stand Lucy's father, but even he has grown and changed as a character - thanks to Robert's Aunt Rose.

Robert and Lucy are pretty progressive for the time period but in a believable way. They still adhere to many of the social norms of the period. But you know there are had to be individuals who led the way in ushering in change. As leaders of the county, it makes sense they would be these agents of change.

The mystery is a really good one. I love when there are a lot of possible suspects and motives. Even characters we have grown to love are possible suspects. Like Robert and Lucy, you can't believe one of their own could be the killer but it is impossible to deny the possible motive they had.

If you are one who has been waiting the long year between book 6, Death Comes to Bath, and book 7, I can assure you that it is well worth it. I'm glad that I haven't been able to get my hands on the whole series yet so that I can continue enjoying this couple while waiting until book 8 comes out.

My review will publish at Girl Who Reads on Friday, Jan. 24 - https://www.girl-who-reads.com/2020/01/death-comes-to-nursery-by-catherine.html

I am never disappointed by this series! Death Comes to the Nursery shows Sir Robert to be highly involved in his household's conflicts as they may affect the welfare of his beloved young son Ned. A beautiful nursery maid is the center of the storm as the male employees of the household all seem to be rivals for her affections. Lucy is hesitant to hire her but the nursery maid is good at her job and young Ned adores her. The Kurlands discover she is not who she claimed to be when she disappears and is found murdered. In a fun switch of attitudes, Sir Robert races about half-cocked while Lucy maintains a cool head while they investigate. There are plenty of suspects, motives, and deceit in this convoluted mystery.

Polly seemed like the perfect nursemaid to help her cousin Agnes in the nursery at Sir Robert and Lucy's home. Lucy is thrilled that she's pregnant with her second child (she had a hard road to having Ned, her son) and she's happy that Polly has settled in so well with Ned. Polly's beauty, however, has made her the subject of lots of male attention and then- so sadly- she's found dead, in a ditch no less. Sir Robert and Lucy decide to pull out their old investigative skills and set out for London where they discover that Polly is actually Flora, an actress who was also the mistress of a wealthy man whose son also had a thing for her. And what happened to the real Polly? Thanks to net galley for the ARC. It's a nicely twisty historical mystery with good characters that, while part of a series, would be perfectly fine as a standalone.

Delighted by the quiet uproar of raising their newborn, Lady Lucy and Major Sir Robert Kurland could not be more pleased at the prospect of welcoming another into their home. But their preparations are soon overshadowed by a baffling case of murder.
Once known to all in her village as the rector’s daughter, Lucy is now a mother herself—to a wonderful eighteen-month-old son, Ned. Upon discovering that she is expecting a second child, Lucy and Robert are delighted. In anticipation of the new arrival, Lucy is set on expanding her nursery staff. When Agnes, her current nurse, recommends her cousin, it seems like the perfect solution.
But trouble arrives along with the new nursery maid from London. Polly’s flirtations provoke fisticuffs in the servants’ hall and tumult in the village tavern, and on her afternoon off, she fails to return to the Kurland Estate. When a farmer finds her lifeless body in a drainage ditch, Lucy and Robert fear foul play.
This is the first book I’ve read by the author & it certainly won’t be the last. This is the seventh book in the series & whilst I found no difficulty with the characters it did make me want to go & read all of the earlier books, so yet again my to be read list grows. A very well written book with strong characters & very well paced. I was gripped from the start & read it in two sittings as I couldn’t put it down. I loved everything about it
My honest review is for a special copy I voluntarily read