Dianne Freeman’s A Fiancée’s Guide to First Wives and Murder is a delightful historical mystery brimming with charm, wit, and high-society scandal. Set in Victorian London, the novel follows Countess Frances Wynn, whose engagement bliss is interrupted by the sudden arrival—and murder—of a woman claiming to be her fiancé’s first wife. As gossip and suspicion swirl, Frances must navigate a web of secrets to clear her fiancé’s name and uncover the truth.

Freeman’s writing is sharp and engaging, filled with clever dialogue and well-drawn characters who bring the elegant yet treacherous world of Victorian aristocracy to life. Frances is a resourceful and witty protagonist whose combination of charm and shrewdness makes her a joy to follow. Freeman seamlessly blends intrigue and humor, allowing readers to feel fully immersed in both the mystery and the high-society drama.

The pacing is swift, balancing suspense with playful moments and romance, adding warmth to the narrative. Freeman’s attention to historical detail enriches the story without overshadowing the mystery, making it both accessible and authentically Victorian. Themes of loyalty, deception, and societal expectations provide depth to the story, creating a mystery that’s as thought-provoking as it is entertaining.

A Fiancée’s Guide to First Wives and Murder is a delightful, twisty romp perfect for fans of cozy historical mysteries and engaging female sleuths. Special thanks to NetGalley and to Kensington Books for providing an Advanced Reader’s Copy in exchange for an honest review!

I apprecitate the publisher allowing me to read this book. I found this a really interesting mystery and the characters are quite engaging. it kept me guessing until the end. I highly recommend.

If you are a fan of historical mysteries, this series is for you. The action takes place in England in the very late 1800s (this one takes place in November 1899) and features an intelligent American woman who has married into a title (Countess of Harleigh), is now a widow and engaged to be married again, this time to a man who actually deserves her, George Hazelton. Frances gets to use her wits to figure out the culprit in a murder which took place in her own back garden. In this, she is aided by George, who has “done work for the Crown.” They made a great pair, not your typical upper-crust people. Along with an excellent mystery plot, the author takes the opportunity to poke fun at the strictures of Victorian high society.

In addition to Frances and George, I absolutely loved Frances’ aunt Hetty, and her “frenemy” Alicia keeps surprising me.

Thank you to NetGalley and Kensington for the opportunity to read an advance readers copy of this book, although I am extremely late to it. (I took a detour to read the first book in the series, which I also enjoyed.) All opinions are my own.

Frances, Countess of Harleigh, is in the midst of preparations for her engagement party when a foreign woman arrives saying that she is married to Frances' fiancé, George Hazelton, Making all attempts to avoid scandal and to clear up the misunderstanding, George and Frances search for answers. The mysterious woman was mistaken and was married to another gentleman but before the error can be publicly corrected the woman is murdered.

So much fun with the mistaken identity aspect and the inclusion of the royals, fun time!

London, November 1899. Frances Wynn is soon to become Mrs. George Hazelton. Unfortunately, Inspector Delaney appears with a young woman in tow. Miss Irena Teskey claims that she is Mrs. George Hazelton. Oh, and she's the illegitimate daughter of a Russian royal, that she has been abducted and held for ransom many times, and that her life is in danger. George makes quite clear that he is not married to Irene, but that she is the daughter of a royal. Also, Irena's life may truly be in peril, so while George works to sort things out, and against her better judgement, Frances invites the young woman to stay. Before long events take a tragic turn when Irena is found strangled in Frances’ garden. George and Francis are the obvious suspects. To clear their names they set out to investigate Irena’s claims, and find out who stood to benefit from her death.

I'll admit it, I like historical cozy mysteries, and the Countess of Harleigh Mystery series has become one of my favorites. Happily, A Fiancee's Guide to First Wives and Murder did not disappoint. Loved it from the opening page. It is cleverly written with an inventive plot, a great mystery, witty dialogue, and appealing characters. Freeman fills the story with historical elements, resulting in a delightful story of Victorian social manners, and a mystery with just enough misdirection to keep you guessing up until the end.

The next installment, A Bride's Guide to Marriage and Murder, is sitting in my TBR pile right now and I'm ready to dive right in.

My thanks to Kensington Books and NetGalley for the advanced reader copy made available for my review.

This has been such a fun series of books! I love these characters. The storyline to this book was intriguing and I enjoyed reading it. Always looking forward to more from this author!

I voluntarily received a copy of this book from the publisher. All opinions are my are my own.

Dianne Freeman's books are an absolute treat. Light on the history but with solid mysteries to puzzle over, highly recommended.

Dianne Freeman’s Countess of Harleigh Mystery series is delightful, and the fourth installment, A Fiancée's Guide to First Wives and Murder , is fun to read, as well as a bit suspenseful and lighthearted. It is set in the Victorian (or thereabouts) era of England, and includes all of the customs of ladies and gentlemen of the time period. Anyone who is familiar with Jane Austen and her writing peers will find the characters true-to-form, even though the novel is sort of making fun of the mores of the time. Frances Wynn, widow to the late Earl of Harleigh, and the protagonist of the series, has been socializing with members of the Russian royal family. One woman, Irena, claims that she is married to Frances’ fiancé, George Hazelton. George denies this, but there is scandal in the neighborhood. Irena also claims that someone is trying to kill her, and that part proves true when Frances finds her dead on her estate.

The mood of the novel is upbeat, and even though it is a cozy, there is a bit of suspense and definitely surprises as the story reaches the dénouement. The characters are well-developed and the story-line is easy to follow and readers will want to keep reading this fun novel to the end. It seems Freeman has done her research and has put her fictional characters in a historical setting that fits with the times.

Readers who like cozies will want to read the entire series. They are fun to read, fast moving, humorous and well-written.

Special thanks to NetGalley for supplying a review copy of this book.

A Fiancée’s Guide to First Wives and Murder by Dianne Freeman
Book #4: Countess of Harleigh Mystery
Source: NetGalley, Kensington, and Purchase
Rating: 4½/5 stars

The Bottom Line: Nothing starts a day off worse than your very own fiancé’s wife showing up in the custody of the police. I guess perhaps finding her dead in your back garden could trump the former situation. Either situation is terrible for both Frances and George and if they can’t solve the mystery before the ton finds out, their own impending marriage may be ruined before it even begins.

Yet again, I found myself falling into this story, the time and place, wit abandon. Frances is still remarkably feisty, even in the face of a first wife, and George is solid and wise as ever. I did enjoy the new life twist with Frances’ aunt and the inclusion of the Russian royal family. What an international flavor this read took on. Once again, the plot was entertaining and filled with intrigue and mystery. This series is staying fresh and new with each installment, and I am thrilled with the overall trajectory of the series. By accident, I discovered the fifth book in the series, A Bride’s Guide to Marriage and Murder is already available for pre-order and I have made my purchase. 😊 I have high expectations and high hopes for the continuation of this series.

Tried reading this one and it just was not meant for me. This does not mean that it is not a good book, I just was not in the right place to be reading it and have decided to not try picking it up anytime in the near future. I read many of the other books in this series and they were entertaining but not worthwhile for me to get invested or need to know what else happens in the series.

This book was just ok for me. I liked the characters of Frances and George. They have a lovely relationship with each other and have a lot of respect for the others opinions. The mystery however left me bored. There were so many characters and it moved very slowly.

This is one of those rare occasions where I picked the second book of a series and liked it enough to follow up with the sequels. This is the fourth instalment, and although it is self-sufficient enough to read as a standalone, I wouldn't recommend it. The background continues to play a part in the ambience.
In this series, and especially in this instalment, we see relatively well-placed people brought into trouble for no fault of their own. The headstrong lead protagonist, Frances, this is especially troubling. She should be celebrating her upcoming nuptials with her Fiance on her arm, but instead, she is trying to battle the rumours that keep following them.
Frances is brought a woman who says she is married to the very man Frances intends to wed. She is loud and very random ( you would understand if you saw the way she behaved). It is not much of a surprise that this woman related to Russian royalty would have a lot of enemies and find herself dead.
Thanks to Frances' way of thinking, it becomes easier to sympathize with the victim and root for a better end to her story than she got.
It is 1899, and the world we are described reflects the constraints that come with living in that time. Frances wants to just be at peace, but trouble follows her, and the investigation is a very concentrated effort on the parts of everyone involved.
The only reason I do not rate it higher is that I saw the ending coming and therefore felt like it could have been cut short a little. For someone who does not like guessing ahead of time, I would still recommend this as a valid addition to the series.
I received an ARC thanks to NetGalley and the publishers but the review is entirely based on my own reading experience of this and another work by the same author.

I love this historical mystery series set in the late Victorian era. This is the fourth book in the series. I love the time period and the setting. It's well-written with great characters and a complex mystery. There is a great sense of place and I especially enjoy reading about the innovations of the era like the motor car. The scene where Frances rides in a car for the first time is priceless.

I received an advance review copy for free, and I am leaving this review voluntarily.

What a deliciously fun Victorian cozy mystery this fourth book in the "Countess of Harleigh Mystery" series was. It opens as if reading a French farce with misstated identities divulged early on and it quickly spirals into a murder scene with unfortunate accusations and much scandal.

Our plucky protagonist, widow Frances Wynn, Countess of Harleigh, and her fiancé, George Hazelton, are looking forward to their upcoming engagement party. All is well until a French woman, escorted by the local constabulary descends upon Frances' doorstep, demands to know where her husband George Hazelton is. George adamantly denies being married to this woman but as it turns out, he had been acquainted with her, quite some time ago. Eyes are watching, conjecture and gossip ensues and Frances' standing in polite society is in peril. George and Frances must prove the fallacy of this woman's assertion and reestablish their place among the ton. It will surely be difficult and becomes increasingly more so when the young woman is found dead in Frances' garden. Inspector Delaney cautions George and Frances to stay out of the investigation, (as if they even could). There's too much on the line for these two and they must clear their names if they wish to move forward with their nuptials and remain within polite society.

Author Dianne Freeman does a spectacular job of spinning this yarn replete with many red herrings, twists and turns. Her discussion of the pitfalls within polite society resulting in scandal is well laid out and based in historical fact. The double standard between the sexes of Victorian England as to what passes as acceptable behavior among aristocrats is well illustrated. The constrictions placed on polite society are also well described and most informative. Ms. Freeman's writing is engaging and well crafted, carrying the reader toward a satisfying conclusion of this twisted tale.

I am grateful to author Dianne Freeman and Kensington Publishing Corps. for having provided a complimentary copy of this book through NetGalley. Their generosity, however, has not influenced this review - the words of which are mine alone.

Publication Date: July 27, 2021
Pages: 304
Publisher: Kensington Publishing Corp.
ISBN: 9781496731609

It’s always interesting to see how an author keeps the romantic tension going when the main characters get past the “will they, won’t they” stage and settle into a regular relationship. The banter between Frances and George as their friendship (and sleuthing relationship) grew closer was always an important part of the series and I’m glad to see that it hasn’t faltered, even though they are now engaged to be married.

Frances is a wonderful character. She is smart, independent, caring and loyal. She chafes a little bit in the restrictions of ‘proper’ Victorian society and is considered a bit unconventional for her position. George, while often portrayed as a proper British gentleman, is still moderately modern for his time. He values Frances’ independent streak and, unlike many cozy mystery beaus, doesn’t discourage Frances from her sleuthing and actively supports her in her murder mystery solving.

Of course, this time, there’s a lot at stake as both Frances AND George are considered suspects in Irena’s murder. On top of that, George has to deal with how society is going to view him and Frances if the rumours continue to grow that he was already married to Irena when he proposed to Frances. Oh those old-fashioned society rules!

I have to admit, I didn’t feel much sympathy for the victim, Irena. She bursts in upon poor Frances’ life, insisting that she’s married to George, and in quick succession proves herself to be a self-centred, spoilt, bragging brat. I didn’t believe for a second that she was really married to George, but it was interesting how that little story works itself out. I know by the end of the story the reader is supposed to feel a tiny bit sorry for Irena but I just couldn’t work up the emotions. However, I didn’t need to have sympathy for the victim in order to be drawn into the solving of her death.

There’s quite a cast of characters, including Frances’ brilliant Aunt Hetty, Inspector Delaney, loyal friends and servants, theatre managers and actresses, a Russian bodyguard, PLUS British and Russian royalty. Whew! The two people who aren’t present in the story who we have met in the past are Frances’ mother and daughter (although there is a hilarious series of telegrams from her mother).

Frances remains a loyal and trustful fiancee in the face of this new ‘Mrs. Hazelton’ and doesn’t hesitate for a second to go about proving to the police, and to society, that George is innocent and that she will stand by him, no matter what happens. I was cheering for her a bit, but really got a feel for how difficult the ‘rules of society’ were back then. It’s still a bit relevant in modern society, where the scandal and rumours can destroy a person’s reputation, even if they’re proven innocent at a later time.

I found the book well-paced and the mystery was intriguing from the start. There were several storylines happening at once but it never felt too confusing and you could feel the mystery moving forward with every chapter. I didn’t spend much time trying to figure out whodunnit but just sat back and enjoyed the ride. The premise is a really fun one (how would we react if someone showed up and declared that they were already married to the person you were engaged to?) and provided a lot of opportunities for characters to play wonderful parts in the story.

There was a very interesting cast of characters and some lovely character development, both for Frances and Hetty. I think we saw even more of Frances’ loyalty and backbone in this story and it made me like her even more as a main character. I’m really looking forward to the next book!

*** Thank you to Kensington, for providing me with an advanced e-copy of this book in exchange for an unbiased review.

November 1899. London. Life is coming up roses for Frances Wynn, the widow of the late Earl of Harleigh. She’s soon to be married to her next-door neighbor, the dashing George Hazelton. She and George share an affinity for solving troublesome mysteries. Frances is enjoying her fiancée’s company without the interference of her high-maintenance mama since her mother and her daughter Lady Rose are in Paris for a pre-wedding shopping trip. Frances and George are socializing in exalted company—the “visiting members of the Russian royal family,” to be exact.

One of the delights of a continuing series is getting an early indicator of an aha moment, like now when Frances is sure everything is tickety-boo because she has life in the palm of her hand. But wait, in the third book in Dianne Freeman’s Countess of Harleigh mystery series, A Lady’s Guide to Mischief and Murder, she felt similarly.

Why does it always happen that just when I begin to feel life simply couldn’t get any better, fate drops a disaster into my path to prove me right?



While I have no idea how common this phenomenon may be among people in general, it happens to me with rather exasperating frequency.

The Countess of Harleigh series concerns itself with timeless themes, like “money, independence, and family relationships.” Also noteworthy is Frances Wynn’s background: she is an American “Dollar Princess,” like Miss Stella Kendrick, the heroine of Clara McKenna’s Stella and Lyndsy mystery series. Unusually for the time, Frances controls her own money, money she wrestled for control over from the new Earl of Harleigh.

Imagine the worst thing that could happen to a fiancée on the cusp of marriage. If you guess your husband-to-be is already married, go to the head of the class. A woman with a foreign accent, Miss Irena Teskey, tells Frances that she is engaged “to a man I know to be my husband.” Irena describes discovering her husband is in London, after being parted for so many years, as “the very essence of romance.” Frances is having none of it.

“Just like a fairy tale.” I struggled to keep the words as light as possible, but even I could feel the chill in my tone. “And it’s just as unbelievable.”



“You don’t want to believe me, or that Hazelton deceived you. I’m sorry, my dear Countess, but your fiancée happens to be my husband.”



“Your story doesn’t even make sense. Why would Hazelton have been sent to your rescue?”



She narrowed one eye. “I couldn’t say with any certainty, but doesn’t he do something for your government?”



I only just managed to restrain a gasp as a chill overtook me. She’d bumped right up against the truth with that comment. He did do “something for the government.” Another truth she’d spoken was that I didn’t want to believe her story. That would mean George had deceived me. But I couldn’t believe it of him. He would never have asked me to marry him if he wasn’t free. I hated to admit it, but much of my anger at Miss Teskey had arisen from fear—that she was telling the truth.

But Teskey’s story seems a complete taradiddle, like her assertion that she is “the illegitimate daughter of Russian royalty.” Frances trusts that George will clear everything up but although he confidently asserts that he is not Irena’s husband, he confirms that she is indeed Russian royalty on the distaff side. It’s also not impossible that Irena might be in some danger. Almost despite herself, Frances invites the troubled young woman to stay with her until things get sorted out. Perhaps that will quell the inevitable gossip. It’s too much to hope that the neighbors won’t get a whiff of the untoward happenings, however. As a “glow of excitement lit her vulturine eyes,” Mrs. Chiswick tells George and Frances that they are under watch. She freely admits: “I just wondered what happened out here this afternoon. Jackson told me there was quite a commotion right in front of your house.”

Unconventional, dramatic Miss Teskey is not an easy house guest. Frances bears the brunt of entertaining her while George tries to sort out the truth from Irena’s exaggerations and flat-out lies. One day Frances spots Irena “sleeping” in the chill of the backyard. Why would she do that: does she have a “taste for opium?”

Leaves crunched under my shoes as I approached her. “Miss Teskey, you must wake up.” When my voice didn’t rouse her, I ignored the sense of dread tickling the back of my neck and touched her arm. I jumped back as her head lolled to the side, revealing angry red marks on her neck—her eyes wide open and sightless.



Miss Teskey was dead.

This is not good. Naturally, suspicion will fall on her and George. Frances says as much to her fiancée and her Aunt Hetty. She’s unnerved that George has “consumed the small mountain of food he’d piled on his plate.” He points out he hasn’t eaten since that morning.

He took a sip of his wine and followed my gaze. “I haven’t eaten since this morning, what with running after Irena’s things, then taking charge of Bradmore, then . . . Well, you’re aware of everything that happened this afternoon.

Frances knows that she and George didn’t murder Irena but if they want to get married as planned, finding Irena’s murderer is an urgent priority. It doesn’t help that royalty doesn’t care to be interrogated about illegitimate progeny. But if they want a honeymoon (and not one of the busman’s holiday type), they’ll have to work side by side to solve a crime. A Fiancée’s Guide to First Wives and Murder is a very enjoyable outing from Dianne Freeman—what’s next for Frances and George?

This series has quickly become one of my favorites. I love the self=aware heroine and her family. Always a good mystery, and she consistently subverts the "society."

4 stars = Great! Might re-read.

Another fun mystery in this must-read series (for me). The beginning was super stressful - I did NOT care for one of the new characters. But once the mystery got rolling, I fell into the rhythm of the story and enjoyed it.

I think new readers could drop in here, but I think there's some character development you miss out on by not starting from the beginning. It's a series I recommend wholeheartedly for fans of cozy mysteries, historical mysteries, etc.

I really like this series. I did figure out who did it, but that didn't diminish my enjoyment of the book. I like visiting Frances & George and their friends and can't wait to find out how the wedding goes off and what murder interferes with it.

Thank you to the author, publisher and NetGalley for my eARC in exchange for an honest review.

The new title in this historical/romance cozy is as good if not better than the last one. It’s really nice to see a couple of adults being adults when faced with adversity, obstacles and a murdered not first wife. I love Frances and George. They talk, they argue and they find common ground. I also am so happy for the development of Aunt Hetty’s character. Most of all I love how Dianne Freeman write full, diverse women characters. The detective is not dumbed down, the plot is not to complicated but has twists that are not unbelievable. An enjoyable read, looking forward to the next one.