I got a copy of this audiobook though Netgalley for an honest review.

I really enjoy Venessa Riley's historical romances and was intrigued by the idea of her writing a mystery in the same time period. I truly liked the characters in this story. I found it amusing that Henderson was training Abigail's dog with bacon. I was thrown off by the mystery at times but I'll definitely continue in the series.

Murder in Westminster by Vanessa Riley.
I did not think this was as good as I expected it to be from the description. It seemed like a debut novel although this author has written other books. It is the first one I have read although I do own the audiobook of Island Queen which I plan to listen to soon.

Several of her books are romance novels and this book seemed more like a romance with a murder thrown in rather than a straight mystery.. There were Regency references but sometimes the language seemed too modern. One thing I found confusing was that there were so many allusions to past cases and other things that happened in the past that I had to go back and check if this really was the first book in the series. It is.
Something I found really annoying was the number of times the female MC asks the male MC if he killed his wife. All I can say is that if he lied the first time then he isn’t going to change his story.
I had to start this book twice but I did finally finish it. No plans to read a second one though.
All in all, it was okay but not great. Same goes for the narration.

4/5 stars
*Thank you to RB Media and NetGalley for providing this audiobook copy in exchange for an honest review.
Early 1800s London is such a fascinating time period to place a murder mystery novel. This has recently become a popular time period for novels of all genres (hello <i> Bridgerton!</i>) and I am not opposed to it!
Our main character, Lady Worthing, is such a fantastic protagonist! I am so glad that the author chose to make her diverse and bring the topic of race and the abolition of slavery into the novel.
I did not see who the murderer was AT ALL so that was a nice surprise!
Overall, I highly recommend this book to anyone looking for a murder mystery!

Book Title: Murder in Westminster
Series: Lady Worthing Mystery Book #1
Author: Vanessa Riley
Audiobook Narrator: Chante McCormick
Publisher: Tantor Audio
Genre: Mystery/Thriller, Historical Fiction
Pub Date: August 30, 2022
My Rating: 3.4 Stars

Lady Abigail Worthing, our protagonist, discovers the body of Juliet Henderson, the estranged wife of Stapleton Henderson, on her property. This is interesting as Abigail really doesn’t know Juliet but she and neighbor, Stapleton Henderson, have been feuding.
Abigail wonders who in London's high society is responsible for killing Juliet and decides she is going to find out.

This turned out better than expected!
Lady Abigail Worthing and her causes make a very interesting read plus she is a great character!

Want to thank NetGalley and Tantor Audio for this early eGalley.
Publishing Release Date scheduled for August 30, 2022.

Thank you to Vanessa Riley, Tantor Audio, and NetGalley for allowing me to listen to a free ARC in exchange for an honest review.

I feel meh about this book. My biggest issue with it was that, bizarrely, it often felt like I was missing information--it felt like the fourth or fifth book in the series, always referring to things that happened in the past, things that are arguably crucial to character development--the other mysteries she's solved, her elusive sister, her mother's relationship with that one guy, her own relationship with her absent husband, how she became Lady Worthington, how she got involved with abolitionists--and yet this is the first book in the series?? I tried to find out if perhaps this is a spinoff of a long-established series, but I couldn't find evidence of it. I just can't get over it--how often do you read Book 1 and feel like it's Book 4?

Feeling like I was missing information produced a disconnect that stuck with me through the whole novel. Not to mention it speaks to poor writing. The murder mystery and Henderson's involvement confused me--so did he dislike his wife or not? Were their fights real or not? So the priest wasn't the culprit, it was the butler or whoever? And why on EARTH would you put such an important event as capturing the culprit in the EPILOGUE??? Just--what?

Also, so does Lady W like her husband or not? Is he good to her or not? Am I supposed to approve of her sparking with Henderson while her husband's in the picture, just away? I did not like Henderson, so the idea of he and Lady W somehow getting together, as I believe is implied, makes me cringe. This whole book made me cringe, honestly. Very poorly written. The developmental editor really dropped the ball.

The narrator, Chanté McCormick, was okay but not great. She read too smoothly, tried way too hard to sound . . . I don't know, it's hard to describe. It was like she was either reading a lullaby or poetry, something that's supposed to sound soothing and meaningful at the same time. She tried to differentiate characters with modulation and accents but wasn't consistent. She definitely added to the disconnect I felt with the narrative; it was hard to connect to the characters the way she "enacted" them.

Murder in Westminster by Vanessa Riley

Audiobook
Narrator: Chante McCormick
Listening Time: 10 Hours and 34 Minutes
Publisher: Tantor Audio
Release Date: August 30, 2022

Fiction, Historic Fiction, British Fiction, Mystery, Suspense, Murder, Multicultural, Black & African Mystery, Jamaican Mystery

Lady Abigail Worthing is half Jamaican and half Scottish. She is married to Lord James Worthing who is much older and travels on expeditions. Since Abigail and her friend wanted to attend an abolition meeting, she had her two maids sit in on the play Aladdin. The two women sneak out but when she feels they are being watched, they go to a tavern and wait for her driver. When he arrives, he has a note not to attend the meeting.

Abigail has a fleeting vision with a girl, a kiss, and a ribbon. She believes it relates to her sister and rushes home. She finds her neighbor, Juliet Henderson, murdered in her backyard and believes her husband, Stapleton Henderson is the murderer. What she doesn’t realize is Stapleton was also at the theatre and followed her out. He knows she was not at the play and is without an alibi. When he tells the police that he saw Abigail at the theatre, their fates are sealed together. She must prove his innocence or guilt to clear her own name.

The story is fast paced, the characters are developed, and it is written in the first-person point of view. There were mentions to previous interactions and investigations with the police, but this is the first book in the series. There are so many twists I really did not know who the killer was until the end of the book. The story reminds me of the Lady Jane Grey Mysteries by Deanna Raybourn. If you like historical mysteries, you will enjoy this book. I look forward to future books by this author.

Murder in Westminster is the first in a new historical mystery series featuring a Black leading lady: Lady Worthing. This murder begins with the death of a philandering wife, but other bodies begin to drop quite quickly. There are also sideplots involving Lady Worthing's involvement in an abolition group, and her complicated relationship with her much older husband who is often away.

Historically, this story is rich and well-researched. It offers a different perspective on the time period and serves as an intriguing start to a series. But it wasn't perfect. The pacing was a mixed bag- sometimes the storytelling was very good and sometimes it meandered and really slowed it down. Lady Worthing is very young and unsure of herself, which isn't my ideal character type for this sort of book. And the identity of the killer wasn't super surprising to me. I do think the series has a lot of potential and I'm interested to see where future books take it. This one I liked, but didn't love. The audio narration took a little while to get into, I think because the British accent feels a bit forced and stilted at times, but for characters with a Caribbean accent it's quite fluid. After awhile I got on fine with it though. I received an audio copy for review via NetGalley, all opinions are my own.

I really wanted to love this book - I liked the premise, I liked the set up, but it was just a little too slow moving for me to get caught up in. For some reason, I was struggling to follow the narrative by audio, and it just wasn't doing it for me.

If you like slow burn mysteries and regency UK setting, this might still be a great read for you.

I did love and appreciate the way that it made Black women and Caribbean heritage in the UK visible and accessible in this book!

This was a solid start to the new mystery series staring Lady Abigail Worthing written by Vanessa Riley.

As with any new series, this first book contains a ton of characters and their stories that we have to keep up with and differentiate all while trying to solve a mystery! Bottom line, there is a lot going on here that doesn’t necessarily deal with the murders that are taking place and the flow of the story is a bit choppy.

Even with that, I look forward to seeing this series and the characters develop more.

Welp. I gave it a shot and did finish but it wasn’t really my jam. I am not big on regency and this one moved too slowly to hold my interest. The writing is good though and Im confident Riley will do well with this book. The audio is well-performed but I had a difficult time picturing these characters as Black.

Initially the cover and title grasped my attention and I just knew I had to know more! The author did a great job researching the time period, including ongoing issues during that time and and tied them in beautifully.

I enjoyed the development of Lady Worthing and felt that she was very likable.

Great story line! Loved the plot twist!

Can't wait to follow the series!

I really love starting a brand new mystery series that lives up to its full potential. Set in Regency-era London, this tells the story of amateur sleuth Lady Abigail Worthington. The setting is unique, as well as the rolls of race and abolitionism during this time period. The author offers readers a thoughtfully portrayed perspective and it was both interesting and refreshing to read about. I loved Abigail, a spunky, strong-willed woman of color who doesn’t put up with any of the stereotypical rolls assigned to her. The narrator of the audiobook was excellent and deftly portrayed multiple characters so much that it seemed like there were multiple actors. I have already told others about this excellent new series and am excited to recommend this to library patrons who enjoy unique period cozies. I look forward to reading more of the exploits of Lady Worthington!