I really enjoy the Lady Anne mysteries. This one was pretty good, but I felt like there were times that she should have known what was going on. I had figured out something fishy was going on the first time the story mentioned one member of society kept acting as “matchmaker”. I also felt the lack of Tony acutely. I liked the expansion of Osei’s character, but I really feel the story would have benefited from Tony’s presence and input. He would have helped her figure it all out much quicker.

This was very hard to get into because I thought the first three novels were complete. The mystery was predictable. Thus, this novel did not seem to be all that necessary.

I did not finish - I have tried reading this book on multiple occasions and just could not get into it.

This is the fourth in the series but my first. I am a fan of some other series written by Mrs. Hamilton so I thought I give this one a try. This was an interesting read that I enjoyed. I do think I would’ve enjoyed it more had I read the previous three books though I was able to follow the mystery easy enough without.

All thoughts and opinions are my own, and in no way have I been influenced by anyone.

I appreciate the publisher allowing me to read this book. I found the mystery very entertaining it kept me guessing until the end.

Book 4 of the Lady Anne series, begins in Bath, England. Lady Anne has accepted the marriage proposal from Darkfell but they have not officially announced it. Anne has decided to appease her mother with a visit to
Bath, where her mother resides with Anne's grandmother. While in Bath, Anne will visit with some long time friends who she hasn't seen in awhile and get fitted for her wedding wardrobe.

While being fitted for some gowns Anne over hears a conversation about a medium who has set up shop not far from Anne's cousin Lottie, who we met in an earlier book. Lottie is a poor relation who Anne has a soft spot for. Anne asks Lottie to set up a meeting with the "mystic." Anne takes Lottie and her soon-to-be sister-in-law Lydia with her. Lydia is very pregnant and the mystic seems to ease Lydia's worries but she also has some words for Anne that rouse Anne's ire.

When Anne finds out that there is a connection between the medium and a man called Graham, and Lydia begins acting weird, Anne must investigate. What, she uncovers, is far more than she bargained for. Deeds darker than she expected have come to pass and the people Anne is after are very dangerous indeed.

What can I say except this book was a great read. Mysterious and romantic. I will follow this author religiously!!!

What a tangled web we weave indeed, and this book was no way different, with there being so many lies, deceit, and betrayal. Lady Anne was quite inquisitive and naive and by no means an excellent sleuth, it took a near-death experience for her to find out how dangerous and foolish it was to go after a killer. I wasn’t taken with a few chapters in this book, they went against my sensibilities, but in no way did that detract from the intrigue of this mystery, it was an interesting and entertaining story.

i really enjoyed reading this book, I hadn't read the previous books in the series but I still enjoyed reading this book.

This is a thought provoking, uniquely,
complex plotted, historical gothic fiction
mystery set in Georgian England.
Lady Anne Addison has gone to visit her
mother, Lady Barbara who is the Countess
of Harecross and lives in Bath.
Lady Anne is waiting for The Marquess, Lord
Anthony Darkefell to come to Bath so they
can announce their engagement.
An interesting array of characters take the
reader to the social realities and attitudes of
a different style of life in a different time period.
The setting was detailed beautifully. The
description is so well defined the reader will
feel as if they are experiencing the culture as
the cleverly crafted, well fleshed out characters
do. I felt as if I was right along side of each
character as the story progressed.
Once in Bath, Lady Anne finds herself mixed up
with the Mystic of Bath who seems to be
arranging marriages between wealthy men and
their dream woman. Of course, Lady Anne being
an independent woman and clever thinker
believes the Mystic has a little outside help in
her predictions.
When an acquaintance of Lady Anne dies
unexpectedly, she believes he was murdered.
She suspects his murder and the Menacing
Mystic plus her informants are all connected.
I found this story to be a truly enjoyable read
full of shenanigans, imagination, rich period
details and enjoyed seeing Lady Anne’s thought
process and emerging independence throughout
the story.
This is book # 4 in the Lady Anne Addison
Mysteries series. It can be read as a stand alone
as the author presents the past with the present
effortlessly.
I volunteered to read Lady Anne and the Menacing
Mystic. Thanks to Beyond the Page Publishing
via NetGallery for the opportunity.
My opinion is voluntary and my own.

This is my first book in the Lady Anne Addison Mysteries and I enjoyed it. I was quickly able to get into it without reading the previous books. I loved that the setting was Bath. The author does a great job describing it. I didn't like how outspoken Lady Anne was. I felt this was not historical accurate.

An interesting read, and while I don't usually fancy myself a historical cozy mystery reader (because I hardly find one that seems good from the summary on the back of its cover), this was a very good read. I just wished I started reading the series in order so I wouldn't be so lost. Otherwise, this is a good story, and I'll have to figure out how to make time for the other books to catch up. LMAO!

A fascinating Victorian mystery that kept me guessing all the way through. I can't wait to read the rest of the series. Loved this one!

Many thanks to NetGalley, the publisher, and the author for my ARC. All opinions are my own.

I have loved all of the Lady Anne books! Ms. Hamilton really keeps the story moving and I never figure out the ending. That's my favorite part about her books. I can't wait for the next one.

This is an entertaining historical cosy mystery set in late eighteenth-century Bath. Lady Anne is a very forceful heroine, in some ways ahead of her time but, sadly, still constrained by it. She’s quite austere and it takes a while to warm to her, but if you’ve read earlier books in the series this fondness might already be in place. She’s well-meaning and interesting, that’s for sure.
The setting is beautifully described and the era comes over very convincingly with the details about everyday life, dress, furniture, means of travel and so forth.
The plot, although perhaps a little slow to get established, is ingenious and absorbing. It keeps you guessing all the way through.
Much to enjoy.

*I received access to this title in exchange for an honest review, which I am happy to leave.*

Much of the historical fiction I have recently read takes place in London, so when I saw Lady Anne and the Menacing Mystic is set in the famous and beautiful city of Bath, I was eager to read it. The asserted healing properties of the water, and the resurgence of its popularity in the nineteenth century made for an elegant and engaging backdrop to the mystery. Through the daily routines of the citizens "dependant" upon the water's curative effects, we are transported into the hierarchy of Bath society with Lady Anne as she visits with her mother in preparation for the announcement of her own engagement.

I had not read any of the previous Lady Anne novels that Victoria Hamilton has written, but that did not restrict my understanding or empathy for Lady Anne or the other characters. The novel can be read as a stand-alone easily, though it may suggest that reading the prequels would be worth it for the story behind Anne and Lord Darkefell's romance. The portrayal of the lord as dark, haughty, and sympathetic to women of his time who would control some of their independence is skillfully woven into the story as Anne conducts her own rebellions within the close Bath society.

Themes of love, secrets, truthfulness with oneself, exploitation, and societal beliefs are all explored through Anne's discovery and solving of a murder mystery that involves those close to her. We learn of the complex relationships society demands women maintain, and the depravity they suffer when they do not. Anne treads a fine line between impropriety and inclusion in her goal of maintaining independence and marrying a marquess, to the marvel of her mother and Bath society. It is her tenacity, however, that leads her to pursue an investigation into an untimely death in an effort to spare her friends shame. What she discovers to be at the heart of the deception shakes her definitions of truth and appearance.

Lady Anne and the Menacing Mystic is an enjoyable delve into Georgian society outside London, with all of the decorum and formality of the era. Historical fiction fans will appreciate the complexity and physical description of city of Bath and its contribution to the story. I recommend it to historical fiction mystery fans who would enjoy a trip outside of London. Partake of the mineral waters of Bath to ease your ailments and enjoy your time sleuthing with Lady Anne!

This historical mystery takes place in Bath in the Georgian period. The main character is Lady Anne Addison. Lady Anne is in Bath visiting her mother and grandmother. A mystic is causing a sensation her seemingly accurate predictions. During a musical evening, Arthur Lonsdale is found dead poisoned by yew.

I love historical mysteries. I love a good mystery set in an interesting time period. Unfortunately, the author tried to have the best of both worlds with this book. She set it during the Georgian Era (and there were many fantastic and intricate details of Georgian fashion) but told the story with modern-day sensibilities. Lady Anne, for example, addresses people informally. I never truly felt I was in Georgian Bath. I kept getting pulled out of that world because of the modern-day sensibilities.

The mystery was okay but there was far too much set-up. It took to long to get too the murder

Unfortunately, this wasn't the book for me. Thanks to NetGalley and Beyond the Page Publishing for sending me a copy for review..

This is my first foray into the Lady Anne Addison Mysteries, and as the fourth installment, Lady Anne and the Menacing Mystic was still easy to get into without having read the previous three books. There was a little bit of a learning curve as I was introduced to a whole cast of new (to me) characters that I assume make their first appearances in earlier books, but I was able to catch on pretty quickly thanks to the repetition of character description (fairly common in mystery series, as readers are often waiting a year or so between books and usually we need a reminder unless we have the chance to binge read an older series).

This is a Georgian era mystery novel that appears to be set around the 1790s (based on historical details of the “rebellion in the colonies” and other dress descriptions, I can’t recall seeing a date anywhere but that may because of the formatting of the eARC). Lady Anne is in Bath with her mother and grandmother, preparing for the announcement of her engagement to Lord Darkefell. Anne is an independent woman ahead of her time, and she hesitates to announce her engagement and to officially consign herself as wife and property to her husband.

As she irritates her family with her hesitancy to formally announce her engagement, she spends her time meeting with old friends in Bath, including her fiance’s brother and his wife. The town is buzzing with talk of a talented psychic making startling accurate predictions. Skeptical, but curious, Anne goes to see her with some friends and is quickly irritated when the psychic’s words hit a little too close to home. Things soon turn ominous when the mystic turns her attention to Anne’s friend, and predicts a dire outcome for a mutual friend that unfortunately comes to pass. Anne has to uncover many secrets, some that involve her close friends, in order to solve the death of a young man. Yet Anne may have finally gotten in over her head as she uncovers a scheme that throws her in the path of conspirators and a murderer...

Anne is the daughter of an Earl and a woman of means, which allows her to get away with some behavior that is a bit scandalous. Anne is a woman ahead of her times and sometimes her effort to treat members of the household staff and working class people as her peers can come off as patronizing. I’m not concerned with historical accuracy so much, however, I find it extremely unlikely that a lady would gossip about her own mother to a seamstress regardless of how close their relationship is. There are times when Anne demands that her rank and the social customs that come with it be observed, and then other times when she flouts these conventions as suits. Overall this doesn’t hinder the story, but occasionally it’s grating for the lover of historical fiction.

Anne is maybe not as likeable as Rhys Bowen’s Molly Murphy, however, I do think that she is a more fleshed out, realistic character. She certainly has flaws, and even though her friends occasionally point them out, she has a hard time accepting it. You can’t have a woman growing up to wealth and privilege without her being a little bit of a pill. She’s not my favorite sleuth, but I am looking forward to going back to the previous books and reading them to learn more about her character and her earlier entanglements with the tall, dark, and handsome Lord Darkefell. Overall the sleuthing was really interesting and Hamilton gives you enough details to keep you guessing about what you think is going on without necessarily giving away the whole plot (not that I’m really one to talk, because I am terrible at guessing “whodunnit” in general).

A shortened version of this review (along with the star ratings in parentheticals) will be posted on Instagram (3.8/5), and the full review will appear on GoodReads (3/5), and my Wordpress Blog (3.8/5) on Friday, July 24.

I've enjoyed the Lady Anne mysteries in the past and was happy to see a new entry.
This book finds Anne in Bath, sans Lord Darkefell, preparing for their wedding. She has not yet announced their betrothal as she doesn't want to be subjected to the gossip and the stir that would occur. Anne over hears her mother and friend gossiping about a Mother Macree (among other things) and she questions the seamstress who is fitting her gowns about her. Mother Macree is described as the Mystic of Bath, a woman who many believe can predict the future.

Anne has close friends in Bath that she plans on spending time with. Her good friend Lydia is married to Darkefell's brother John and expecting their first child, and her school friend Alethea and her husband Bertie also reside in Bath. While visiting her friends Alethea and Bertie she meets their friend Alfred Lonsdale,.who later confides to Anne that he has a moral dilemma that is troubling him and asks for her advice. Alfred is soon found poisoned, and it is unclear if it was suicide or if he was murdered.
Anne is convinced Alfred Lonsdale was murdered and determined to discover who killed him as well as figure out what is going on with Lydia and on goings on with the mystic Mother Macree.. There are a few mysteries going on but they are connected.
I enjoyed this mystery and would recommend it. If you've read the earlier Lady Anne mysteries, you may be as disappointed as I was that Lord Darkefell isn't really a part of it until his arrival at the end.

I received an ARC from the publisher via NetGalley but I have provided an honest review and any opinions expressed are my own.

I really enjoyed this. It's the fourth of a series, and the only one of them that I've read, but the story was neatly self-contained. Lady Anne was believed and relatable, as were the surrounding cast of characters. There were just enough hints to keep you guessing, and I did Not see the end coming!