This was a charming a fun start to a series. E.L. Johnson's writing is easily accessible and the overall plot and tone of the novel has a bit of intrigue. E.L. Johnson has created the perfect cozy feel to this historical mystery. Johnson's characters are interesting and smart and seeing the building blocks of this cozy is really delightful. I am not an avid cozy mystery reader, but I was definitely charmed by this historical version.

This novel opens up with the heroine Poppy and her best friend having a loud argument during a country dance, in which everyone witnesses Poppy declaring that she would kill Mary. Poppy is then awoken in the early hours by the the handsome constable-Henry, and is informed that Mary is dead. Poppy, knowing she is innocent, is now on a mission to uncover the real truth and Henry believing in her innocence brings her along on some of his inquiries.

This novel overall is just a very comforting read, Poppy and Henry learn to work well together. Henry is a delightful "hero", he is always on Poppy's side and he sees her as a strong and smart partner and he never second guesses her instincts. The mystery of this novel is fun with some soft twists and turns, Poppy does find herself in some sticky situations but I really liked that most of the time she was able to get out of them on her own. Don't enter into this novel thinking you will get an HEA, it definitely follows the lines of cozy mystery where the romance is VERY slow in its growth. Poppy and Henry, have a great companionship and the reader can see that they are maybe the perfect match for the other, but no real romantic moments happen in this novel.

If you love a cozy mystery and would be charmed an delighted by a historical setting than this is definitely a great book to pick up!

Poppy is a new sleuth in the making! She found herself the subject of quite the rumors after having a fight with her friend Mary at the ball.

I liked Poppy's character in the fact that she kept trying to find answers even though she seem to keep getting into predicaments. I also liked the fact that the Constable confided in her and didn't dismiss her for being a smart young woman.

This mystery really unfolds a lot of secrets and of course many are surrounded by young love/infatuation. I had my suspicions on the killer(my second guess was right), The details finally wound themselves together nicely at the end.

I hope this book leads to more mystery adventures with Poppy (and the Constable of course too.)

Thank you to the publisher and Netgalley for providing a copy of this ARC for my honest review.

I'll start by saying that I did enjoy this book, despite some of its flaws. It starts off strong and definitely pulls you in, but the author makes Poppy so weak that I spent most of my time feeling sorry for her rather than seeing her as a commanding leading woman. When she stands up to Mary at the beginning I thought we would be seeing someone who saw her "friends" for who they really were, but instead she spends all her time feeling bad that they had fought at all. It gets worse when she continues to pine after Tom even after hearing him (on two separate occasions) tell people that she was a murderer and that he can't believe he was ever friends with her. Neither of these people deserve her loyalty and yet she just keeps calling them her best friends - in truth they seemed to be her only friends, but still. It's definitely a "if these are friends who needs enemies" situation. You do get flashes of a stronger woman when she is investigating, but there just wasn't enough of that. I wanted to smack her so many times for holding back information from Dyngley - if she really wanted to find out what happened to the woman she keeps saying was her best friend why was she refusing to give him anything that would help find her?

Tom and Mary are probably two of the worst human beings in the world. They are both huge narcissists and the more you hear about them the more you wonder why Poppy's aunt and uncle allowed her to spend any time with them. I was most disappointed that Poppy never got the chance to really tell either of them off. But I did enjoy the final confrontation with Tom, it was nice to see strong Poppy make an appearance when in his presence. I should also note that I really hated Poppy's aunt - her treatment of Poppy even though she knew the truth was pretty crappy.

The best part of the book is definitely the mystery. The red herrings are perfectly placed within the story so that you are never 100% sure who the killer really is. The final reveal isn't totally surprising, but not totally obvious either. I was expecting to see more of Poppy and Dyngley as partners in the investigation rather than doing everything separately and him always yelling at her for going off on her own.

I'm really looking forward to book 2 to see how Poppy and Dyngley continue to work together. It will also be interesting to see how Poppy continue to grow as a character now that she is done with Tom and Mary.

In this Regency detective novel with a hint of romance, Miss Poppy Morton finds herself accused of murder. Trying to contain the situation, Constable Henry Dyngley, keeps certain information under wraps only releasing the details after Poppy's reputation has been thoroughly destroyed. Whilst Poppy may not be a pretty face and undesirable to fickle men, she is an intelligent woman with an enquiring mind, which earns her the Constable's respect. Poppy may have been a true friend to Tom and Mary, but she quickly begins to realize that her friends in fact have feet of clay and that she is the last person to recognize it. Following the trail of the investigation, Henry travels further afield, but that does not stop Poppy from asking questions closer to home, leading her into even more trouble. As plots are exposed the truth starts to emerge, bringing the novel to a surprising conclusion. I enjoyed this well-written book which leaves no loose ends nor unanswered questions, other than to hope that Poppy does eventually receive the love she so richly deserves. I received a copy of this novel as a gift through Dragonblade Publishing and NetGalley and this is my honest and voluntary review.

1806 Hertford. After cross words at an assembly, Poppy Morton pushed her best friend, Mary Pendle, through a glass door. Later that evening Mary is found dead in a suspicious carriage accident. For no intelligent reason the whole town seems to blame Poppy for the death. New to the area Constable Henry Dyngley investigates but needs Poppy's help.
Unfortunately I found the majority of the characters unlikeable.
An ARC was provided by the publisher via Netgalley in exchange for an honest review.

I really enjoy reading mysteries that hint at a bit of romance. Unfortunately, this didn't work in either category for me. I found it confusing and lacking in a solid plot and even conversations don't make sense a lot of the time. It's almost as though nobody read through it to make sure it made sense. Details are inconsistent throughout the book with reference to two murders when there was only one being one of many that were problematic. There is a bit of a thread of inquiry in the story but with the inconsistent details, it is just not held together. I feel the book could do with more revision and clarity before being published.

Unfortunately, I can only rate this one star. Thank you to Netgalley and Dragonblade Publishing for providing an advanced reader copy.