After having read the first book I was excited to read the second book in the series. I was definitely not disappointed. The author has done an excellent job with character development and the plot is so well done that even if you figure out who did it you still want to read the book. She also has written these books so well that you can come into the series reading them as standalones, although I definitely recommend reading them in order as they are so well written. I enjoy how the relationship, purely platonic, of Jane and the Magistrate develops. He trusts her implicitly and feels that he is clever and intelligent, which for the day was not always the way men felt about a woman's intellect. I look forward to book three and highly advise reading this series.

There's a lot of series featuring Jane Austen detecting and this is one the best. A solid and well plotted story that kept me guessing.
The historical background is well researched and the characters fleshed out.
Recommended.
Many thanks to the publisher for this ARC, all opinions are mine

This is book two in this lovely series. Jane Austen, yes that Jane, and her sister are invited along with a few others to stay at a family friends house for a few days. When dinner is announced they find the master of the house dead in his study behind a locked door. Jane decides to help local magistrate, Lord Hinchbrooke, solve the murder. She has helped him in the past. I love this series. Good stories, great characters, never a dull moment.

A Regency detective

story with Jane Austen as our sleuth.

Jane and her sister Cassandra are invited for dinner to a neighbours house - Mr and Mrs Paulson. The weather has turned and they know they may have to stay overnight but Mrs Paulson is very hospitable and they have no qualms over this.

The evening progresses with music and good conversation, until the body of their host is discovered in the study stabbed. What makes it incomprehensible is that the study is locked, the windows are firmly closed with no access in or out. To add to the quandary, they are all snowbound. It is dangerous to even think of sending someone to fetch the local magistrate and despite objections from one of the men, Jane takes on the role of investigator, preserving the evidence and questioning everyone in the house. When the butler is found murdered the next day the household is in hysterics because everyone realizes the murderer is in their midst. The weather still seems bad and then their hostess is found dead, seemingly a suicide till proven otherwise.

Putting together whatever evidence is available is hard as there is very little and although the tendency is to put the blame squarely on one of the staff, for Jane the solution seems too slick and convenient.

This was really a very well written detective story which other than the setting would be perfect even in a modern setting.

LAST IMPRESSIONS by LAURA MARTIN is an exciting Regency thriller which takes place in Hampshire at Melmont Hall, the home of Mr and Mrs Paulsen. where a dinner party is about to be held. There is an interesting group of people gathered, including Jane and Cassandra Austen, all of whom have arrived before the snow, and are about to be snowed in for some days.
The scene is set and dinner is about to be served when Mr Upton, the butler, is unable to rouse Mr Paulsen, who is in his office behind a locked door……
Jane, who has helped the magistrate, Lord Hinchbrooke, before, makes it her business to interview everyone and try and solve the murder. Unfortunately no one is able to send for Lord Hinchbrooke until the weather has cleared, and when he arrives it is to find not one but three corpses!…..
The novel is well written with interesting characters and a great plot, full of mystery and suspense, twists and turns, and is definitely unputdownable. There is a definite feel of the board game Cluedo running through the story!
I was given a free copy of the book by NetGalley from Sapere Books. The opinions in this review are completely my own.

Being a fan of Jane Austen and of mysteries, I was interested in reading this novel. I had not read the first in the series, but it didn’t seem to be a disadvantage. I enjoyed reading this book, I thought the story was engaging and the mystery was truly a puzzle. Period detail regarding upstairs and downstairs was consistent and I was interested in the descriptions of the house and how households were run in the 18th century.
I would recommend this book and look forward to reading the first in the series, as well as the next one.
Thank you to NetGalley and Sapere Books for this advance digital copy.

I have read the first book and enjoyed it very much although I did figure the mystery out it was still interesting and I was looking forward to the next (although the mysteries are separate so can be read as a stand alone I would suggest reading them in order as you see how Jane and the magistrate met) This one is even better from the first with plenty of twists and turns and an ending I didn't see coming. Can't wait for the third. I received an advance review copy for free, and I am leaving this review voluntarily.