I received this ARC via Netgalley and Kensington Books, in return for an honest review. While not the first book in this series, it is easily read as a stand-alone. Set in the mid-Victorian(?) era, it tells the story of Major Sir Robert Kurland and his wife, Lady Lucy. Lucy was the vicar’s daughter who ‘married up’ in to the local gentry. They have one son and Lucy shares that she is now expecting. With that, they decide to hire an additional nursery maid who is the cousin of the current one. Since Polly comes highly recommended and is both pleasing in appearance and manner, Lucy thinks things should go well. Not so fast. Polly becomes the target of affection for multiple males on staff and in the village, resulting in a few physical altercations and increasing tensions. Robert is about to take drastic measures with all of them when Polly disappears and is found dead. Lucy and Robert believe it is necessary, as Polly’s employers, to find as much as they can about what happened and why. I liked this book, not having read any others in the series. It takes a ‘usual’ mystery and adds several interesting twists, doing a good job of addressing the story in a unique way. The author does a good job of delineating each character and their voice in the story. I look forward to reading the next in the series.

3.75 stars

This is a nicely done historical mystery series, set in a small English village and featuring the once irascible but now a bit mellowed Sir Robert Kurland and his excellent wife Lucy, daughter of the local vicar. The pair are quite domesticated now as parents to a small boy, particularly with Lucy expecting again. But they have an unusually (and perhaps not quite realistic) equal relationship and there's a fair amount of jousting for position which is quite fun to witness.

They decide to add nursery staff and take on the cousin of their nursemaid Agnes. The new nanny, while more than satisfactory with their son, is spectacularly beautiful and soon creates havoc with their male servants and even men in the village. Fistfights erupt, jealousy appears, and Sir Robert is quite exasperated. And then the young woman disappears and her body is discovered in a field. It doesn't take them long to discover she was not related to Agnes at all but had assumed a hidden identity because she was scared of someone or something in London and needed a place to hide out.

In their other investigations, Lucy has had an equal role, but Sir Robert is very protective of his pregnant wife, sometimes to her annoyance. The search for the murderer leads them back to London and to the highest social circles.

This is an engaging and enjoyable series. Thanks to the publisher and to Net Galley for providing me with an ARC in exchange for my honest review.

These books took a bit of a dive a couple of books back, but Lloyd is back up to snuff in this one! I'm quite happy how she manages to have her main characters have a nice life...with years in between cases and still weave murder mysteries that are plausible in. Well done!

Thank you Net Galley. A delightful cozy mystery. I greatly enjoy the Kurland mysteries. They are perfect for weekend reading. This installment is very well done. Lucy's character has developed very well. Highly recommended.

It has been a little over a year since the last book in this series, Death Comes To Bath, and I was beginning to suffer from anxiety pangs waiting for this one. This is an absolutely delightful series and this book was a terrific addition. It has been wonderful watching Robert and Lucy’s relationship grow and mature. Robert has mellowed – at least a tad – from the taciturn curmudgeon we first met and Lucy has settled a bit as well. At the end of the last book, Lucy was expecting their first child after suffering two miscarriages. In this book, we meet the captivating Ned who is now almost three years old. NOTE: The book blurb says eighteen-month-old, but the ARC I read said he was nearly three.

Robert never thought he wanted children – those noisome small creatures who would be constantly underfoot. Then Lucy came into his life – and then there was the wondrous addition of Ned to the family. Robert is now totally besotted with both his wife and his son. How could life get any better? He quickly finds out when Lucy tells him that she is now expecting their second child in a few months. Their calm, peaceful routine quickly gets turned on its head when Lucy hires another maid for the nursery. Lucy is tiring quicker and can’t do as much and with a new baby in the nursery, they’ll need more staff. Luckily, their current nursery maid, Agnes, has a cousin who is looking for a position. Lucy is delighted when Agnes recommends Polly because she is very well pleased with Agnes.

The chaos sets in almost immediately. Polly excels in the nursery and Ned quickly comes to love her – as do all of the single males within the household and the village. While Polly does nothing to encourage the men – actually she does quite the opposite – they still come to fisticuffs on a regular basis. Robert is at the point of firing all of them – and then Polly comes up missing. When her lifeless body is found, Robert and Lucy quickly set out to find the murderer.

This book has more twists and turns than a rollercoaster. Is Polly more than she seems? Is she even who she says she is? Polly is Agnes’ cousin but … Agnes is plain and Polly is breathtakingly beautiful. Who is the hostler who began working at the Inn at the same time Polly arrived in Kurland St. Mary?

Lucy and Robert end up making a trip to London in order to discover more about Polly and how she came to be in their household – and who she really is. As they learn her real identity, they have to find out what happened to the real Polly – and what caused the girl they know as Polly to run away from London. Of whom or what was she afraid?

I highly recommend this book. It is very well-written, fast-paced, well-plotted, and filled with characters you’ll love. Well, except for the villains of course – and I was very happy that they got their punishment! You will probably figure out who the murderer is before the end of the story, but, even if you do, it doesn’t detract from the story at all.

I voluntarily read and reviewed an Advanced Reader Copy of this book. All thoughts and opinions are my own.

The seventh in the Kurland St. Mary historical mystery series, this book takes place in Kurland St. Mary as Lady Lucy decides to hire a new member of their staff in the form of another nursery maid. Initially Sir Robert questions the need for another nursery maid, and Lady Lucy responds by explaining that she is expecting a second child. He immediately tables his objections, since pregnancy has not been easy for Lady Lucy. Lady Lucy promptly hires a young woman who ofers her an introductory letter indicating she is the cousin of their current children’s nurse.
The new nursery maid is excellent in her new position, but problems arise as she is constantly having to reject the interest of the male staff who are all taken by her exceptional beauty. While she gives them no encouragement, Sir Robert voices his concern because two of his most trusted employees have come to blows over the young woman. When he explains to her that she will be kept for the rest of the quarter, but will need to look for employment elsewhere, her reaction seems to be one that indicates that will be “long enough,” although neither Sir Robert nor Lady Lucy can figure out why the young woman has come to the country.
Throughout the first few chapters there are sufficient hints and responses to let the reader know there is something suspicious about the new nursery maid. Is she who and what she purports to be? Are there reasons she has come to the country? Is she running from something or someone? These are all questions that run as an undercurrent to the story of daily activities at Kurland Hall.
The murder that occurs creates even more questions about the nursery maid. In pursuit of answers, Lady Lucy and Sir Robert travel to London to make inquiries, and then return to Kurland Hall only to find problems and suspicious people have followed them back to their home. None of this will come as a surprise to the experienced reader as most of the book is predictable, from the identity of the nursery maid to the identity of the murderer.
The book is well written, even if there is little suspense for the regular reader of mystery fiction. It will most likely entertain readers who have developed an interest in the series. The book stands alone and there is no requirement to having read earlier books in the series to follow the story: however it may not hold enough interest as a stand-alone to inspire readers to become involved in the series itself.
My thanks to Kensington Publishing and NetGalley for providing me with an Advanced Digital Read copy of the book in exchange for an unbiased review.

4.5 Stars

This is the seventh book in the Kurland St. Mary mystery series by Catherine Lloyd.

Just when I think I have heard of every cozy mystery series in existence, another great one pops up and lands at my feet.

This is a historical cozy set in what I believe is Victorian England. You probably need to go into this knowing that particular fact since not everyone is a historical cozy lover.

I can’t believe they have gotten to book seven before I’ve ever even heard of this series. What a little gem this is. It wasn’t just the main characters that capture your attention in this; it is the whole community of people.

Basic premise is that a young woman comes to town to work in Lucy’s nursery staff. She isn’t all that she appears, unfortunately. She is quite a beauty and the men are falling all over themselves to gain her favor but she ignores them. Then she ends up dead in a ditch and one of the men of the manor is bludgeoned and dumped at his family’s estate. Lucy and her husband investigate who exactly this woman was and why she would end up dead.

Based on the title, I feared the dead body might have been found in the nursery and I was happy to see that misconception was wrong.

I think I was entranced by the setting just as much as the mystery in this one. Great story that keeps you guessing until the very end.

If you love a good cozy mystery, definitely check this one out. You won’t be disappointed.

I received this as an ARC (Advanced Reader Copy) in return for an honest review. I thank NetGalley, the publisher and the author for allowing me to read this title.

Just lovely, perfectly hits the sweet spot for me; historical setting, intriguing mystery, a bit of a comedy of errors, a strong willed woman who is not overly insistent on doing things she shouldn’t, and a husband who doesn’t always agree but loves and trusts his wife enough to let her get her way. I did take a star away because there was too much a comedy of errors, it was starting to get a bit grating.

This husband and wife team seems to be way over their heads when it comes to investigating a crime on their own watch. They bumbled their way through every search for clues until their naiveness almost did them a fatal blow. The murderer was a step ahead of them all the time and they hadn’t a clue. The story was well written, with characters that did justice to the storyline. This husband and wife sleuthing team were just not captivating enough me.

The Kurland St. Mary mysteries are some of my favorite cozies. They are reliably good, if a bit predictable. These books are like a comfortable chair and I look forward to the new releases all year long. I love the characters, and their evolution throughout the series, but this installment feels a bit stale. The pace is too slow in the middle, even with an interesting premise, and the characters are playing their too established roles. However, the conclusion is action-packed and more than makes up for the arduous detecting scenes. Fans of the series will nonetheless enjoy this newest story. I look forward to the next!

Thanks to NetGalley and the publisher for my copy.

Delighted by their active toddler, Lady Lucy and Major Sir Robert Kurland prepare to welcome a new child into their home. To expand her nursery staff, Lucy hires Polly, her nurse Agnes's cousin. While Polly is highly competent, her flirtations provoke fisticuffs in the servants’ hall and tumult in the village tavern. Then one day, Polly fails to return to the Kurland Estate. A farmer finds her lifeless body in a drainage ditch, and Lucy and Robert learn that their new nursery maid was not who they thought she was.
The couple decides to discover the truth. Their search leads them to the London theater world and into danger. But the real threat strikes all too close to home. Will Robert and Lucy solve the mystery before it's too late?
"Death Comes to the Nursery" is a mystery that kept me guessing. It is well-written and includes many twists and turns. In several places, I thought I had the mystery figured out only to be surprised - that's good writing!
While this book is #7 in a series, author Catherine Lloyd seamlessly weaves in references to past books so that readers aren't confused.
A clean and fun read, this book is entertaining. I didn't want to put it down!

I really like the Kurland St. Marys mysteries and the main characters, Lucy and Robert. This addition to the series delivered a well-plotted and character driven delight. While some of their actions were a bit hard to swallow in regards to their young child, this couple is a joy to follow and each book just gets better. I am looking forward to many more stories in this series. Thank you NetGalley for the advanced copy for review.

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

The mystery-solving couple, Lady Kurland (Lucy) and her husband, Robert, have a new murder to solve in Death Comes to the Nursery, the latest novel in the series Kurland St. Mary Mysteries by Catherine Lloyd. (This series is really best read starting at book one. Although this novel could stand alone as a mystery, the significance of the relationships among the characters would be unclear without the backstory.)

Lucy and Robert had finally been blessed with a child in the last book. Now Lucy is pregnant again. More help is needed in the nursery. Lucy interviews a young woman named Polly for the position, and, although put off by Polly’s extraordinary beauty, agrees to give her a trial. Unfortunately, men at Kurland Hall and in the village fall all over themselves and even come to blows while trying to ingratiate themselves with the new nursemaid. Lucy and Robert are both annoyed by the trouble Polly inadvertently (or purposefully?) stirs up. Worse trouble awaits. The woman goes missing and is found dead.

Once again, the couple become sleuths. A coarse, belligerent newcomer, hired at the local tavern, is the prime suspect. But two employees at Kurland Hall, men who had fallen under Polly’s spell, are also under suspicion. When Lucy and Robert learn that Polly was not who she claimed to be, they set off for London to uncover her past.

The cozy mystery series continues to entertain. It wasn’t difficult to guess the culprit, but it was interesting to see how he was eventually unmasked. This is an addictive series!

This is a very good Victorian series. Lucy, the rector's daughter is now married to Sir Robert Kurland, and is pregnant with her second child. Their son, Ned, has a nurse named Agnes, and they are looking for another nurse for the new baby. Agnes recommends that they hire her cousin, Polly, which they do.

The new nurse is very attractive, and they find some of the male servants and young men in the ;ub are fighting over her. She is soon found dead in a drainage ditch, and Lucy and Robert have another murder to solve. The soon find that she was not Agnes' cousin, but a friend of Polly, who was frightened for her life, and wanted to leave the city. Lucy and Robert go to Lucy's uncle in London to try to find out the background of their dead nurse. They do find that she was an actress named Flora Rosa, and that she had been set up as a mistress for a wealthy aristocrat whose son had been in love with her. The aristocrat refused to talk about Flora with Robert, but Robert got some information from the two sons, and they went home without as much information as they wanted.

When the aristocrat and his two sons arrive to visit the vicar, things begin to happen, and danger comes to Kurland Hall. The ending is quite exciting!

The Kurland St. Mary Mysteries are gems in the historical cozy landscape, and I have happily read each entry. Some time has elapsed since the last book and, in the seventh, Lucy and Sir Robert are the parents of 18-month-old Ned and are expecting their second child, necessitating hiring more help in the nursery. "Help" comes in the form of a beautiful young woman called Polly claiming to be the cousin of Agnes, the current nursery maid.

"Polly" has many secrets, and one of them winds up getting her killed. Suspects include two of Lucy and Robert's trusted employees as well as a shady character from the village that Polly was last seen arguing with. The couple's investigation takes them to London where more suspects emerge and those who knew the murdered woman are strangely reluctant to share information that might help in the investigation.

As always, the mystery is well written and not fully revealed until book's end. My only qualm is that Lucy and Robert leave Ned in Agnes' care while they investigate, even after discovering that she has been dishonest with them by accepting a bribe to help deceive them about Polly's identity. Really? I can't believe that such devoted parents would do this.

Nevertheless, I enjoyed the book and spending time in Kurland St. Mary again. I look forward to the next visit.

Full Disclosure--NetGalley and the publisher provided me with a digital ARC of this book. This is my honest review.

I loved this book. Read quickly and in one sitting because I couldn't put it down. The fact it's part of a series didn't detract from my enjoyment - and I'm thrilled there are other stories by this talented writer that I will be able to read. I thought this story was well-paced and nicely written, the mystery kept me guessing, and the characters were authentically drawn.

Thank you to NetGalley and to the publisher for the opportunity to read this in exchange for an honest review.

This is book 7 in the series. It is the first book I've read by this author and thought the book was great. I never felt lost in regards to what was happening with the characters even with jumping in the series with this book. I will be going back and looking for the others, luckily my library has a some of them.
The characters were interesting and their relationships were believable.

Thank you to the publisher, author and NetGalley for my eARC in exchange for an honest review. So glad I found this series.

I jumped at the chance to read this ARC because I was curious to see how Robert and Lucy had settled into parenthood and to see what happened with Anna and her suitor from the previous book.

The mysteries in this book were really well laid out. First of all, who is Polly? There were various men fighting for her affections, and she was keeping them all at bay, but them fighting over her meant they really didn't know her at all. Discovering that Agnes accepted money to pretend that this woman was Polly, her cousin, also casts doubt on their ability to trust those around them with their son. Once they are able to figure out who Polly is, how to find out who killed her? Was it someone from the life she left behind or someone in their village? Death Comes to the Nursery keeps asking how well we really know those around us, and how much of our knowledge is based on assumption. Perfect questions for a mystery that keeps you on your toes.

As they investigate who Polly is and who could have killed her, it shows the continuous growth of the characters throughout, making this book was one of the best in the series. It's nice to see a married couple who appreciate the predictable parts of each other as they are surrounded by unpredictable scenarios. Death Comes to the Nursery is a perfect historical cozy for those looking to curl up and read for the afternoon.

Although the first book I’ve read in this series, I didn’t feel confused about the characters or missing important parts of the backstory. It read successfully as a standalone.
Newly hired nursery helper Polly Bishop is very beautiful and all males around her are completely besotted through no fault of her own. Failing to come back after her half day off, Robert, Lucy and their entire household look for her wondering why she would leave, and where was she?
An interesting mystery, and I look forward to reading more books in this historical series.

#DeathComestotheNursery #NetGalley Pre-order now as Christmas gift!
Catherine Lloyd's Kurland St. Mary series is a winner, this 7th book so far might be the best as the mystery was so eventful. ( I did figure out that Bert was Flora's brother) Very fast paced with added suspects, more than one intended victim bringing in most of Lucy's extended family.

OH! When the last book ended Lucy's was expecting the couple's first child; as this book opens that child, Ned, the apple of everyone's eye is almost 3 years old. Lucy is interviewing a prospective assistant nursery maid, and tells her husband of another expected child.

Their joy turns to anxiety with the new hire, who is very beautiful but looks nothing like her cousin Agnes the current nanny. The beautiful Polly is a flirt and soon has multiple men flocking around her which causes staff and family problems. The biggest problem occurs when Polly ends up deceased in a neighboring field and Lucy and Robert Kurland learn that she was not Agnes cousin but an impostor.

Polly-who- was -not-Polly's death happened early in the book, and a series of crimes, violence and murders continue until the very end. So very enjoyable and recommended to all historical mystery fans.