I just finished reading A Deception at Thornecrest by Ashley Weaver and it was wonderful! Amory Ames is the expecting her first baby with her husband Milo, when a visitor claiming to be Milo's wife shows up at the front door. Not long after another stranger also shows up and shortly after a local friend is found dead and secrets in the village start to unravel. Amory is an amateur detective who sets about trying to find the secrets and solve the mystery of who committed the murder.

Although the author has written more than one murder mystery featuring Amory Ames, this is the first time I have read one of her books and wasn't aware that this was the most recent in a series. I don't think that made one bit of difference!
I am a fan of historical fiction and murder mysteries and this easy enjoyable read was perfect. I really enjoyed the development of the characters, ALL of them, not just the main characters. The plot was engaging and page turning. I completely enjoyed reading this book and will now go back and look for Ashley Weaver's other books.

I received this book as an ARC and I am so glad I got the opportunity to review the book. There was one small thing that I think should be looked into as an edit. In chapter 27, everyone is gathered with Inspector Wilson, but all of a sudden in one paragraph it references Inspector Jones, who is not present at the time.

This is a perfect historical fiction mystery to settle in with if you are feeling like reading something more relaxing than a heart-pounding thriller, yet still full of delicious and unexpected twists as clues are revealed and the plot unfolds. This takes place in a small town in Kent while the main character, Amory, and her husband, Milo, are staying at their country estate while awaiting the arrival of their first child. Wouldn’t you know, not only do some unexpected visitors show up making troubling claims, but murder follows.

Although this is the latest book in a series, I enjoyed it tremendously as a stand-alone. I loved Amory, who seems to have had a track record of being a amateur sleuth at solving murders. I liked that she seemed to be a fairly typical woman, other than the fact that she has encountered so many murders that she has become adept at solving them and she belongs to the upper class. I found her relatable. I also liked the relationship between Amory and Milo.

This had a full cast of secondary characters who added to the charm of the village as well as the plot of the mystery. Along with the storyline, the thing that I most enjoyed was the author’s ability to capture the first person narrative in a way that seemed completely authentic to the character and time period while also being natural and comfortable to read. Grab this one if you enjoy intriguing mysteries that make you think about having tea in the English countryside.

A good cozy mystery, it stands alone well but is part of a series. There is a murder but there are other deceptions at work as well in this book. I enjoyed it, because I like cozy mysteries, they are a great way to spend an afternoon especially with all the craziness of our current world.
I received this from NetGalley.

After 6 books that take place in a variety of locales, we finally meet Amory and Milo's county house. The couple have been rusticating in the country for most of Amory's pregnancy and her baby is due to arrive in only a few weeks. Their idyllic peace is interrupted by a woman at the door claiming to be Mrs. Milo Ames. The mystery begins and only escalates with the appearance of new relatives, a murder, and villagers with secrets. Amory is determined to unravel it all.

Milo and Amory are one of my favorite couples and I will never not squeal with excitement when another book comes out. It was so fun to see how they are both handling this new adventure and the changes it brings to their relationship. Wonderful fun!

Amory Ames and handsome husband Milo are spending some quiet time at the family home while awaiting the birth of their first child. But unexpected visitors with a connection to Milo's family and a murder during the local fair spur Amory to do her usual sleuthing. Another enjoyable addition to the series!

This story is your typical murder mystery with plenty of candidates for the possible murderer.
Surrounded by a young couple who have some background in murder investigations, the wife, Amory, pregnant with her first child, does not let her condition stop her from asking questions.
Meanwhile, Milo, Amory's husband is trying to come to terms with the sudden appearance of his half-brother who he has just discovered exists.
A fun read in an old fashioned style of finding overlooked clues and discovering who really did the murder.

***A Deception at Thornecrest. Part of a series, Ashley Weaver has written a somewhat plodding story of deception on several fronts. There is a second woman claiming to be Mrs. Milo Ames, an unknown Ames illegitimate brother, and a jilted lover found dead all of which are distressing to the narrator, amateur detective, a very pregnant Amory Ames. As Amory sorts clues she also consumes endless cups of tea with locals. Having no familiarity with the series or of Milo and Amory, this reader had a hard seeing them as more than cardboard characters. The author has an excellent command of language and grammar, but I never felt any excitement. I voluntarily reviewed an advance copy of this book from NetGalley.

I received an advance copy of A Deception at Thornecrest from NetGalley.

Amory Ames is preparing to welcome her first child with her husband, Milo, at their country home Thornecrest. Just as she's settling in to life outside of London, and settling in to this new chapter of her marriage to Milo, a pair of strangers show up at Thornecrest who each bring secrets that are about to disrupt village life for Amory and Milo. When a close acquaintance is found dead shortly after the arrival of the strangers, it sets off a series of events that leads amateur detective Amory to wonder if the new additions to the village brought more than just secrets and if one of them may be a murderer. The new additions to the village are not the only ones keeping secrets though, and as Amory tries to solve the mystery of one murder, many familiar villagers suddenly also become suspects as their own secrets begin to come to light.

This was my first of Ashley Weaver's books to read and first of the Amory Ames series for me. I was not aware that this was the most recent in a series, but felt that the plot and characters were adequately portrayed with enough background within just this one book that it could be read as a standalone. What I liked about reading this as a standalone is that the characters were given enough background to understand their character and their relationships to each other, but I also understand that there are more in-depth stories from the previous books in the series and it leaves me wanting to go back and get to know the characters better.

I am a fan of historical fiction, and also a fan of a good old-fashioned murder mystery. To me, the variety of suspects and that many of them had different motives kept me on my toes. While the reveal at the end wasn't *shocking*, it still wasn't super obvious. While there was no explosive reveal scene, I do appreciate the slow burn of the way the plot line unfolded. There were a few moments where I thought I couldn't possibly ready any more about drinking tea or riding in the car from scene to scene, but those were easy to skim through without feeling annoyed and move on to the juicier content.

An easy, but enjoyable read! I will definitely be going back through the series!

I really enjoyed A Deception at Thornecrest. The author captures your attention immediately with questions about the integrity of Mrs Ames husband, and proceeds to keep your interest to the last page. The characters were well developed and easy to picture. I appreciated that the author did not use any profanity which enhanced the reading experience for me.

This was my first book by this author.
I didn’t know what to expect and I was very pleasantly surprised. The characters were delightful especially Amory Ames and her unpredictable husband Milo.
The mystery was very light - not much psychological suspense involved in this novel.
It was a fun read and I would definitely try another book by this author.

This is the seventh Amory Ames mystery but it can be read as a standalone. I loved this book, I raced through it in one day. Amory is in the final weeks of her pregnancy but keeping active, preparing for the Springtide Festival in the village. I loved getting to meet the characters that make up the village, I hope there will be more books set in the village in the future. The plot was really well paced and I absolutely missed the mark on who the killer was by a mile, I love a good twist and turn and this book had them in abundance. I can't wait for the next one!

I wish I had read earlier books in this series. Nevertheless, I enjoyed the setting, the town descriptions and the eccentric characters. Good cozy mystery for a pandemic afternoon.

A very enjoyable, Golden Age style mystery set in an English village. The lead character is a sophisticated woman with a rocky marriage who happens to be pregnant. The identity of the murderer is unexpected. If you like this kind of mystery you will definitely enjoy this one!

A well-written historical cozy mystery set in 1934, Kent, England. When a young woman shows up at Thornecrest claiming to be married to Milo Ames, Amory, his pregnant wife, is fairly certain it's a mistake and that someone is impersonating her husband. But there is the slightest bit of doubt as Milo has a history of philandering. She feels sorry for the girl and wants to help sort out the mystery. She summons her husband back from London. Meanwhile, a young man looking very like her own husband shows up claiming to be Milo's half-brother. Is this some kind of trickery? Are the two young people plotting to extort money from the Ames? Then a murder occurs that may have been committed by the younger Ames, and he begs Amory to help clear his name.. Her husband wants nothing to do with it, so she's on her own to investigate. It's well-plotted and fun to read, a slice of life from an earlier time. I enjoyed the book and will explore more from this author who is new to me.

This story grabbed me right away. A wife is suddenly faced with a woman who claims to be married to her husband and the father of her child. What can be better? Unfortunately for me, the follow up wasn't as good as the initial promise. Amory doesn't believe the woman's accusation but it seems to be based on her belief that Milo wouldn't commit bigamy, rather than trust in his fidelity. We're told that the marriage "had its ups and downs" but there isn't much more detail than that. When we meet Milo, he is the epitome of the stereotypical English gentleman of early 20th century mysteries - unflappable and reserved, with emotion expressed with a frown or the lift of an eyebrow. Amory seems to be on the same page emotionially. Maybe that's why they make a solid couple. If ithere was .wit or humor accompanying it all, it would be fine but to me they just seemed like a bland couple that accepts everything thrown at them without much reaction. I love historical mysteries, including old English ones, so I got some enjoyment from this. I just didn't like the protaganists much and found the solution to the mystery to be somewhat predictable.

I love this series and this book was another good one! Like the blurb says, Amory gets a visit from someone claiming to be Mrs. Milo Ames which starts off a mystery with a twist. We have lots of suspects in this one, false identities, a long lost family member. There’s a couple false leads which lead to a pretty good mystery where I didn’t guess beforehand.

I continue to really like the relationship between Amory and Milo - they’ve come so far since the first book.

Full review to come closer to publication date.

Another Amory Ames book! What a treat. Thanks to Netgalley for this. Two of my favorite characters and a great mystery series. Felt this one suffered a bit from the lack of Milo most of the time, since he was popping back and forth to London, but perhaps this was supposed to be Amory's book. The introduction of a new hopefully recurring character was nice.

I’m a fan of both historical fiction and mysteries, particularly those set in England, so I was expecting to like A Deception at Thornecrest more than I did. Perhaps it was the plodding, procedural aspects of the book with its endless rounds of tea and witness interviews, or the amateur sleuth feature, but I found it tedious. That being said, the descriptions of the English countryside were well done, and the characterizations were detailed. Also, this was the first book of this series that I read, so I was not as invested in the characters as someone who has read the entire series.

Set in 1934 at an English country estate, it begins when a strange woman appears at Thornecrest, the Ames’ family estate, claiming to be married to Milo Ames, Amory Ames husband. Shortly afterwards, Darien, an unknown illegitimate half-brother of Milo’s appears who bears a striking resemblance to Amory’s husband. A couple of mysterious deaths ensue, and Amory, although she is 8 months pregnant, begins to ponder the list of possible suspects, interviewing each of them in turn, until she puts all the pieces together and solves the murders. Although the book was competently written, I found that I was skimming the countless descriptions of tea and coffee being served, as well as the endless musings of Amory. However, that being said, fans of this series might have had more patience with the story than I did.

The newest book in the Amory Ames series begins several months after the last one ends. Amory and Milo are expecting their first child and living at Thorncrest, his childhood home, in a small village of Allingcross in Kent.. For once, this couple seems to be in bliss-Amory is knitting away for the arrival of the baby in a mere 4 weeks and Milo is dividing his time between the country and work in London. Out of the blue a lady appears at the door claiming to be married to a Milo Ames! Surely not? As it turns, Milo has a half-brother that he never knew about, Darien, who causes quit a stir with the females. And if this is’t enough excitement, their beloved worker, Bertie, is found murdered on the day of the Springtide Festival where everyone in the village is present. With another murder following quick-one wonders what is going on and could the new people in town have anything to do with this.? Great read and the ending was a bit of a surprise! Everything was tied up so nicely with a bow-it made me wonder if there would be another book????

This was quite an enjoyable read, just the kind of book I love- British mysteries. Just when I thought I knew who the killer was, I was thrown for a loop. The plot was entertaining enough, the characters a bit less so, more contrived, especially with the denouement. The killer is not who I originally thought, and once they were announced, it seemed quite like the author changed the perception of the character from earlier in the novel to fit the qualities of being a killer. Maybe that makes for a good mystery, but to me, it seemed inconsistent with the character's earlier descriptions. I haven't read any other Amory Ames mysteries to compare, after reading this, though, I will be starting with the first novel. All in all, I liked the book and will be going back to read the other Amory Ames mysteries.