Thanks to NetGalley and St. Martins Press for giving me the opportunity to read an advanced copy of this mystery novel, OF MANNERS AND MURDERS.

Miss Hermione is a pen name for the Agony Aunt Columnist of a newspaper in 1885 England. A woman is on the throne yet many women have very little power, if at all.

Aunt Adelia, the anonymous author of the Miss Hermione columns, falls in love with a new man and abruptly leaves her niece holding the bag. Her niece, Violet Manville, is trusted to continue the Miss Hermione columns in her place.

Violet is related to her aunt through her mother. Violet and her half sister, Sephora, share the same father though they have different mothers. And very different personalities. While Sephora does not know the secret that her half sister pens Miss Hermione nor that Adelia was the anonymous author, Sephora collects and clips the Miss Hermione columns.

A young bride writes a letter to Miss Hermione asking for help. She thinks someone is trying to kill her and unfortunately, she was right! Violet and her trusted maid, Bunty, set out to investigate and find the killer before the killer strikes again.

While I enjoyed the character developments, I struggled to follow the story. It did not grab my attention, though I'm sure that many readers will love this mystery set in Victorian England.

When I can't even get past the first few chapters because the plot *already* feels shoehorned into this book...? I think that says it all. I stopped and started the first three chapters so many times because I *wanted* to like this book. I really did. It hits so many tropes that I really enjoy! But I could not connect with the perpetually flustered protagonist and the incredibly convoluted setup just made my head ache.

Due to unforeseen circumstances, I was unable to read and review this novel before the publishing date, and I will not be providing feedback on this title at this time.

Thank you to NetGalley, the publishing house and the author for allowing me to read an advanced copy of this novel in exchange for an honest review.

Violet unwillingly takes over the duties of her aunt’s mystery article-writing persona, while said aunt runs off with a lover. Her first task ends up taking her on a whirlwind adventure to discover the murderer of one of her aunt’s readers.

The only thing I’ll say that bothered me (and this is super silly…) is in the beginning it has one of those math problems:
Aunt is 40
Violet is 16 years her Junior
Violet was 12 when her mom died and dad remarried shortly after. Given typical mourning periods during that time to avoid scandal and the gestational period, the younger sister would have been born when Violet was at least 14.
Younger sister was 16.
Unless I misunderstood something, this isn’t lining up…

This book was so much fun! I loved all of the characters and their development. The mystery was multifaceted so it kept me guessing and reforming my assumptions. Loved Eli and seriously looking forward to the next book!

This was a quick-paced, cozy mystery. Violet & her sister Sephora come to stay with their Aunt Adelia. Then Aunt Adelia decides to travel and she askes Violet to take over her Agony Aunt newspaper advice column "Miss Hermione".

Little does Violet know the journey she is about to embark on...a letter she reads indicates the writer is in fear for her life. Violet decides to travel to see her in person and offer assistance only to arrive in time for her funeral. She meets most of the people mentioned in Ivy's letter and feels like any of them could be a suspect. She manages to finds Ivy's diary and takes it home to read. In the meantime, Sephora is having secret meetings with "Franklin" who she loves and wants to marry. As Violet gets closer and closer to discovering the killer she narrowly escapes an attempt on her own life.

I thoroughly enjoyed this book. If you like cozy mysteries it's a must read. If you like smart, take-charge women in the 1800s England this is a must read.

In Of Manners and Murder we are introduced to Violet Manning a spinster living in 1885 London who unexpectedly finds herself answering the “ Ask Miss Hermione” advice column in the local paper. Violet has an unusual background having spent some time in India with her late father and stepmother when she was much younger. Now with both parents deceased she lives in London with her sixteen year old half-sister, Sephora and their faithful housekeeper, Bunty. Sephora is extremely pretty, naive and has inherited a large personal fortune from her mother.
In reading through the stack of Miss Hermione’s correspondence Violet uncovers two letters from a woman who fears for her life. Intrigued by the entreaty for advice, she traces the author to a small village outside of London. Violet arrives only to discover the woman has passed away under questionable circumstances. She suspects foul play and sets about investigating the young wife's death. The author alternates details of Violet's investigation with Sephora's first person account of her involvement with a mysterious suitor. In the end these two narratives blend for a satisfying conclusion.
One could consider Violet as a plucky version of Eliza Scarlet (Miss Scarlet and the Duke) with the introduction of a romantic character who is a Pinkerton detective. Yet, given that both she and her sister represent a certain social class it was difficult to reconcile how Violet was able to travel around all over London and into the countryside without support of a maid. Overall Violet’s efforts as an investigator make her more credible than Sephora who serves as her pretty but somewhat witless foil. Still there is enough to satisfy the reader who enjoys coze mysteries and ndoubtedly this book will be the jumping off place for a new series. Kudos to the choice of cover art that should definitely help promote the book.

When Violet takes over her aunt's advice column, she is drawn to a letter from a woman who feels she is in danger. And when Violet goes to visit the letter's author, she is dead.

There are lots of motives and interesting characters, and it was fun reading a cozy mystery set in the past. I especially liked Violet's personality, and I hope Anastasia Hastings continues this series!

I have been in a bad reading slump, audio books, no problem, but to sit with a book/kindle just hasn't been in the cards for me. Until I started reading this book. Maybe I was just in the mood, but something about the characters drew me in and kept me reading every chance I got.

I enjoyed the characters, and the story, I will admit I knew what was going on before the 50% mark, but that didn't dim my enjoyment of the story. I will definitely read more books from this author and this series!

Of Manners and Murders is the first book in a new series set in the late 1800s in England. Violet has returned with her half-sister, Sephora, from many years in India upon the death of her diplomat father. Having lived in India for years, encouraged by her father to see and learn everything, Violet has managed to avoid the prejudices of the English abroad. She would be called a "bluestocking" in every sense. Sixteen-year-old Sephora, however, is as empty-headed as a young lady was expected to be in Victorian England. The sisters are living with their flamboyant Aunt Adelia, who has suddenly taken off to the Continent with her "gentleman friend." Imagine Violet's surprise when Aunt Adelia discloses that she is Miss Hermione, author of England's most popular advice column. Not only that, she expects Violet to take over the column. Violet is in her twenties, firmly considered "on the shelf," and has no romantic experience other than one unhappy love affair. She feels obliged to act as her Aunt's proxy due to her fondness for Adelia.

Opening the first letter, she finds something far removed from a plea for romantic advice. Ivy Armstong, from a village close to London, is a newly married woman convinced that someone is trying to kill her. She even encloses newspaper clippings with pictures of her suspects circled. Violet feels that the matter is pressing enough to travel to the village of Willingdale to speak with her. Upon her arrival, however, she finds that Ivy's burial service is taking place. Violet presents herself as a friend of Ivy's from boarding school and sets out to find the culprit. Is it the handsome new husband, a jealous curate in love with Ivy, or a woman from the village angling for the new husband herself? What part did the village doctor play? While traveling back and forth from the village, she needs to pay attention to Sephora, who gets herself in massive trouble.

I found Manners and Murder enjoyable, with a couple of exceptions. I don't usually object to multiple POVs, but the breakaways to Sephora were annoying in this case. The reader already knows Sephora is an empty-headed, selfish, and self-involved twit. Her secondary drama was not particularly interesting, at least to me. One of the villains, and there were several, was almost cartoonishly evil. I do, however, like Violet very much and am interested in what may happen between her and the dashing American gentleman. He might be Violet's perfect match.

RATING- 3.5 Stars

It's 1885, London, and Violet and her stepsister Sephora are living with her Aunt Adelia. When Adelia goes off traveling the world, Violet inherits her aunt's advice column. Her first letter is from a young woman in the country who fears for her life. When Violet travels to see her, she arrives to find the funeral for the young woman in process. Violet is a smart young woman who has this job thrust upon her while she is also dealing with her beautiful, young, thoughtless stepsister. With some help she manages to find out what happened to the young woman and save her stepsister from being shunned by society. I can't wait for more books with Violet getting brought in to solve crimes with her advice column.

More please! A little slow at first, but this book got significantly more intriguing as it went on. It seems this may be the start of a series where each book sees a mystery solved but an overarching story line ties them all together.
I loved the heroine's secret identity as Miss Hermione. Bunty seems a most worthy and adept assistant to all matters murder and mystery, and I'm most inrterested to see more of Mr. Marsh.
Definitely looking forward to the next Miss Hermione mystery!

When I first read the description of this first book in a new series, I knew I had to read it. It just sounded so entertaining and refreshingly different! I'm glad I read this book. It was a completely entertaining story!

The basics: When Violet's aunt takes off on a trip to distant parts with her lover, Violet is forced to take on her aunt's persona as Miss Hermoine, the most popular women's advice columnist in 1885 London. When the writer of the first letter she receives turns up dead, Violet finds herself on the trail of a killer.

This book is a wonderful mix of period cozy mystery, humor and wit. Just a fun story to read! I enjoyed every word! There is an audio book out as well, and I plan to listen very soon. I can tell this story will be one that is just as fun to listen to as it was to read.Totally worth a second visit!

I am definitely going to keep reading this series. This first book has me hooked! I can't wait to find out what happens next!

**I voluntarily read a review copy of this book from St Martins Press. All opinions expressed are entirely my own.**

Violet and Sephora are half sisters who couldn't be more different. Sephora is the airhead heiress who was raised to find a man who can keep her happy and comfortable while she waxes poetic about the latest fashion. Violet is sensible older sister who was allowed to have her independence so she could grow her mind and learn self-reliance. Once they go to live with their aunt after their parents' early deaths, their aunt decides she can trust Violet with her biggest secret, that she's the infamous advice columnist, Miss Hermione, and now Violet is going to take over. The first letter Violet opens, though, sets her on the trail of a murderer, whose victim almost had him all figured out when he killed her!

I liked this book, though I didn't LOVE it. I think I might've been slow on reading it because I had so many other distractions, so I took too long to really get focused on it. At the same time, I felt like it was a bit of a slow burn of a story, perhaps taking too many detours at the beginning. I think if I'd really given it my attention from the beginning, I may have enjoyed it a little better, though. I will say that I really didn't enjoy the vapidness of Sephora. I suppose women like that did (and still do) exist, but they're not the types that I particularly enjoy spending any length of time with, so having to be in her head on occasion was rather grating.

I think I might look out for the second in the series when (if?) it comes, if only to see what happens with the potential that came along in Eli Marsh. I like him as the ally Violet is reluctant to embrace, and I'd like to see where that goes.

I received an Advanced Reader Copy via NetGalley in return for sharing my thoughts on this book. Thanks to the author and publisher for this opportunity!

This book is the first in a new mystery series set in Victorian England. Violet and her sister, Sephora live with their Aunt Adelia. When Adelia leaves London for a trip to the continent, she leaves the responsible Violet in charge of her secret life as Miss Hermione, an advice columnist. When a letter comes in that sparks Violet’s interest, she becomes involved in solving a murder in a small village outside of London. I really liked the character Violet, a woman not accepting of her subservient place and limited expectations. Add in Eli Marsh, and the future looks bright for this cozy mystery series. Thanks to NetGalley for the ARC.

✉️ Book Review ✉️

#ofmannersandmurder
#anastasiahastings
#historicalcozymystery
#NetGalley published 2/7/23
#stmartinspress

✉️✉️✉️📃/5 (3.5 rounding up for ratings)

The story begins in 1885 London. With one adult sister's POV. 3/4s of the book is Violet. She is the one that has been given the secret job of Miss Hermione. Think, Dear Abby. And she is 12 years the senior to her half-sister Sephora. Yup Sephora! All I could think of was makeup 💄 🤦‍♀️ Every. Single. Time. I. Saw. Her. Face. Smh. But that's probably just me. 🤷‍♀️ But one thing that might not be me is that the POVs were so lopsided. If I want to read different POVs, make it somewhat even. Let me see both of their sides. I saw many times where I thought it was going back Sephora again but nope. Darn. Many missed opportunities. The only time I found an uneven POV book well done was when only the second to last chapter was a different POV. It made it interesting.

The first 25% of the book was OK. Not great. But once Violet discovered that her letter writer was dead, the story picked up considerably. If the book didn't have such a slow start I probably would have given it a 4.5⭐ even with the uneven characters.

I loved the opinionated housekeeper, Bounty. I wish there was more of the aunt that handed down the advice column in the first place. I know bc letters moved so slowly, she couldn't be included by writing letters but another missed chance to not just write off (no pun intended) the aunt was missed. The author could have let any of the 3 MCs that knew her speak of her more. Say what she would and wouldn't like. Show how she would have thought or solved the murder herself. Instead of Violet working 100% intuitively.

Many missed opportunities for zaniness. It is a cozy after all. But I'd give this author another go bc I didn't realize how many things bothered me until I sat down to write the review. I just knew that I would recommend it to my followers.

#arc #arcreview
#MinotaurBooks
#historicalfiction
#cozymystery
#bookstagram #bookreview #bookrecommendation #booknerdsbookreview #booklover

Historical mystery is the first in a new series.

In 1885, Violet Manville takes over the role of Miss Hermione, a popular Agony Aunt column in the local magazine, <i>A Woman's Place</i>. The usual advice author is Violet's own Aunt Adelia who has decided to take a trip with a current lover. Despite her protestations, Violet is well-suited for the job and finds the first letter from a young woman who is fearful for her life. Unfortunately, the newlywed in need of help ends up dead. And Violet, aided by the housekeeper, Bunty, is up to the task of discovering what happened.

This was an easy read, typical of a cozy, with an independent protagonist in Violet -- someone who does not follow the typical societal norms of the time and place. Definitely level-headed and sensible, she's also the older, protective half-sister of Sephora, a particularly vacuous young girl set on finding the appropriate man to marry. Sephora is keeping a secret that may prove harmful to her hopes and dreams.

I enjoyed the story well enough, but really did not like the chapters that were from Sephora's point of view. The plot was predictable and there were no surprises. I enjoyed the period details. Not sure if I am interested enough to read future installments of Victorian era amateur sleuthing. I honestly would have liked a lot more of the letter writing and advice responses.

Thank you to NetGalley and St. Martin's Press for this e-book ARC to read and review.

I really enjoyed this first book of a new series. The setting, the characters and the fact that it was written in multiple perspectives all made this a fun and entertaining read. Thanks to NetGalley for the privilege to read and review this book.

Fun new series set in Victoria England.

It's 1885. Violet and her half-sister Sephora have been living with their Aunt Adelia for the past year since the death of their father when Aunt Adelia decides to go on a trip with her latest paramour and reveals her big secret to Violet: she's Miss Hermione, Britain’s best loved Agony Aunt (aka - something like Dear Abby). She had been planning to slow turn the job over to Violet, but as she's running off to Paris, she's turning it over to Violet a little in advance. It's highly secret; the only person we met who knows the secret is Bunty the all-knowing housekeeper. Adelia hands off the latest batch of letters as she runs out the door, noting that one appears to be a repeat letter writer and to stop with it.

The letter is anonymous, although Violet is able to figure out the author's name is 'Ivy' because of how she signs her name. She's afraid someone is trying to kill her. Violet answers several other letters, then plans to visit Ivy the next day, only to arrive in the middle of Ivy's funeral, her death due to an unfortunate ‘accident.’ Violet has her suspicions and decides to investigate. I don’t think it’s a spoiler given the genre that it was no accident.

I enjoyed this book. The point of view is split between Violet and her half-sister. Both are young, although there’s a twelve-year difference between then and what feels like twice that in maturity. Violet’s mother was more academic and encouraged her to read and learn while Sephora’s mother was a tea plantation heiress who brought up Sephora to be a lady, interested in fashion, getting married, and so forth. By having the split point of view, we get a different perspective of society. It also builds some tension as we can see Sephora heading for trouble.

The blurb mentions this is the first in a new series, and I can see multiple ways the Violet can be introduced to new ‘cases’ in future books, possibly by characters she meets in this one or letters to Miss Hermione or even through her sister or aunt.

Recommended.

I received a copy of this from Net Galley that I voluntarily chose to review.

Of Manners and Murder was an okay cozy mystery. While I really like the premise of Violet answering letters as Miss. Hermione and solving mysteries that end up being linked to the people asking for her advice I found most of this novel pretty lackluster and I never felt a very strong connection to any of the characters. I really didn't like Sephora. I thought she was a terrible character and didn't really understand why her chapters were important to the novel until the very end, but my dislike for her overshadowed her usefulness as a plot device especially when she still managed to be pretty awful even when being rescued. The potential romance with the American detective felt rushed and thrown into the novel for what reason I'm not sure other than to give Violet a man to be interested in. Overall I didn't think this was a bad book, but it just wasn't my favorite cozy mystery series. Thank you NetGalley and Minotaur for the copy of this Arc.

Perusing the NetGalley offerings, this book screamed, “Read me!” Set in Victorian England in 1885? A headstrong female protagonist solving a mystery? Yes, please.

As I started reading the first in this new mystery series, I was immediately struck by how Violet reminded me of Eliza Scarlet from the compelling PBS Masterpiece series Miss Scarlet & The Duke. Add to that the storyline of Violet, the protagonist, taking over her Aunt Adelia’s Agony Aunt column, which reminded me of A J Pearce’s lovely book, Dear Mrs. Bird, where the protagonist Emmeline Lake works for the columnist who writes the Agony Aunt column in a floundering magazine. I was all set to love this book, but for me, the writing was somewhat flat on the page and I found it a bit slow-going plot-wise. I’m sad to say this book wasn’t for me, but I know it will be a home run for many others, especially those who love mysteries set in the Victorian era. And, when author Anastasia Hastings publishes book 2 in this series, I will certainly give it another try!

Thank you to NetGalley for the ARC of this new book, and the very best of wishes to Of Manners and Murder as it makes its way in the book world!