Dear Miss Hermione—what is a mother to do?"

Of Hoaxes and Homicide
by Anastasia Hastings
Pub Date: 30 Jan 2024

Sensible Violet Manville and her very ladylike half-sister Sephora are absolutely bored, thank you very much. Though neither of them would ever admit it aloud, they're missing the thrill of playing detective.

So when Violet receives a letter from "A Heartbroken Mother" sent to her alter-ego, the Agony Aunt known to the world only as Miss Hermione, her pulse can't help but quicken. The daughter in question has gotten caught up in a cult: the Hermetic Order of the Children of Aed. Rumors of human sacrifices, mystical doings, and a ghost in the ruined Alburn Abbey where the Children pray have gripped the public consciousness, helped along by a series of novels about the group, written by the mysterious Count Orlando, and clearly this girl has fallen prey.

Miss Hermione’s investigation soon collides with very real life when Violet discovers a surprising connection to the cult. With the dashing-but-frustrating Eli Marsh turning up and a member of the Children poisoned, Violet and Sephora—along with their ever-trusty housekeeper Bunty—may have more intrigue than they can manage.

What a fun historical cozy mystery set in 1885 London and in the English countryside. This second in series book continues the adventurous sleuthing of our plucky "Miss Hermione".

Half-sisters, Violet Manville and younger Sephora, having been orphaned, have settled into their paternal Aunt Adelia's home. They are in their early twenties. Violet lives modestly as she has no dowry. Whereas, Sephora thinks nothing of acquiring frilly frocks as she stands to inherit a sizable sum through her own mother, Mr. Manville's second wife. The difference in character, sensibilities and understanding of the value of money between the two sisters is tremendously vast. Violet is bright, logical and painfully frank. Sephora is flighty, careless and tends toward grand drama. Having continued with Aunt Adelia's "Miss Hermione" advice column during her aunt's extended continental stay, Violet receives a missive from a frantic mother of a young impressionable girl. It appears that the girl has been wooed into a cult and she refuses to leave. Violet goes under cover to try and set the resistant girl free. The girl refuses as she is to be handfasted to a man of the group's leader's choosing. That is until the intended gentleman winds up dead and the young girl is accused of his murder. Suddenly Violet's agenda turns from bringing the girl home to saving her from the noose. But can Violet accomplish this in the nick of time.

Author Anastasia Hasting (nom de plume of Connie Laux), is a fine writer and storyteller. In this story she has spun an intricate and at times, amusing tale highlighting the social mores of the day; how women were perceived and the risks one takes when lured into a secret cult. There are a number of red herrings and a passel of potential perpetrators. Plucky Violet will not stand down. She has a job to do and is committed to doing it well and thoroughly. If you enjoy historically set cozy mysteries, then I commend this story to you.

I am grateful to Minotaur Books 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.

Publisher: Minotaur Books
Publication Date: January 30, 2024
No. of Pages: 304
ISBN No.: 978-1250848581

I enjoyed this book. I enjoyed how the main character explored the Master and his commune. I enjoyed how her sister showed growth and development in the book. Overall a good read.

Thanks to NetGalley and St. Martin's Press for providing me with an ARC in exchange for an honest review of Anastasia Hastings latest work.

Anastasia Hastings second foray into the world of agony aunt Dear Miss Hermione. The overall premise is intriguing however the character development and immaturity of major characters distracts from the overall plot development. The book continuously mentions information from the introductory novel leaving me feeling that I had missed essential plot information by not reading it first. The historical references and portrayal of societal norms of the time felt contrived making it difficult to fully immerse myself into the historical storyline. I found myself wondering how a government employee of the time could afford to travel with a family around India.

What a mystery! It was slow to start for me because it opened from sixteen year old Sephora’s POV, and she is so silly and annoying. Fortunately, she began to find her voice throughout the book. Older sister Violet, however, is a rockstar. After the first few chapters, the story took off and was thrilling to the very end.

I received a copy of this book from the publisher through NetGalley.

Of Hoaxes and Homicide by Anastasia Hastings is the second in the Dear Miss Hermione series. When Violet and her half-sister Sephora receive a letter for her Agony Aunt alter ego, they find themselves embroiled in a cult while looking for a missing girl. Another murder connected with the cult sends them into a dangerous hunt for the girl. A fun read and fun characters.

Of Hoaxes and Homicide by Anastasia Hastings is a wonderful second installment in the Dear Miss Hermione Mystery series! It has everything the first book had that caught my attention - a historic setting with a strong and independent woman at its core, an intriguing mystery, and wonderful supporting characters.
The premise this time around of a cult taking advantage of rich people looking to belong to something, while the cult itself is being taken advantage of by an unscrupulous writer, is original and fascinating. I loved how Violet's sister Sephora shows real growth throughout the book, and how the character of Bunty is more detailed this time around.
As in the previous book, the answers from the Agony Aunt to the people writing her for advice are entertaining and bang on.
I am happy to have received an ARC of #OfHoaxesandHomicide from #NetGalley.

I think Antastasia Hastings might be on to something with their ‘Dear Miss Hermoine’ series. As of this book, all the characters are now in place to triumph over crime in Victorian London with some potential romance mixed in.

While I was able to figure out ‘who dunnit’ rather quickly, the reason why was not so apparent, so the book was enjoyable all the way to the last page.

It will be entertaining to see where the author takes Violet, Sephora, and Bunty in the next book. A caper in an Italian city perhaps?

Thank you to NetGalley, St. Martin's Press, and Minotaur Books for the eArc.

'Of Hoaxes and Homicide' is the second book in the Victorian Era Miss Hermione mystery series following Violet as she joins an infamous cult to save a friend. The book on the whole is a light fun read but the writing is stilted which detracts from the story.

The character arcs of both Violet and Sephora build upon what is shown in the first book. It's great to see them understand each other better once you get past their childish comments about each other. There are a lot of throwaway references of traveling in India and China inserted into the writing just to show Violet is broad-minded and traveled a lot. These references soon became too many and it's tough to imagine a non-aristocratic government worker (their father) had the leisure or money to travel the length and breadth of India, even if he was stationed there.

Thanks to NetGalley and St. Martin's Press for providing me with an ARC in exchange for an honest review. The rating is 2 1/2 stars rounded up to 3 stars as the series on the whole is interesting.

[Half a star for the premise and the whole book; Half a star for the characters; Half a star for the writing; 3/4 star for the story; 1/4 star for the world-building - 2 1/2 stars on the whole.]

Book 2 in a wonderful cozy mystery series. Smart and crafty Violet, and her half sister Sephora, go to a meeting in the park for a scandalous society (cult) and Violet sees a young women within the group who has no business being there. Set in rural England, it is a quick read. Trying to help a young woman she knows, and help solve a murder lead the reader on a good story. Highly recommend. Now I want to go back and read book 1.

This was bought by our library. Miss Hermione is a cute series that we look forward to growing and keeping on our shelves

The second in the Dear Miss Hermione mystery series sees Violet drawn into mysteries surrounding what looks like a nature worshipping cult in the north of England. Sister Sephora, friend and housekeeper Bunty, and American detective Eli all make appearances as Violet investigates murder, ghostly appearances, and hidden identities. The plot moves quickly, and the use of both Violet’s and Sephora’s narration at times ties plot elements together well. Some of the relationships seem to develop almost too quickly to be believed, but the touch of romance is well done. I look forward to seeing what happens in the next book given Violet’s decision at the end of this one. Thanks to NetGalley and the publisher for an advance copy in exchange for an honest review.

Violet Manville and her young half-sister Sephora are living in their aunt Adelia's house in 1880s London. Aunt Adelia has gone off with her latest paramour, leaving her nieces with trusted housekeeper Bunty. Aunt Adelia has also entrusted another duty to Violet: she is to take over the job of answering the letters sent to advice column Dear Miss Hermione. When a letter is sent that Violet recognizes as being about Sephora's missing friend Margaret, Violet determines to get to the truth. A cult called The Children of Aed has suddenly been in the news. Their exploits apparently include human sacrifices and orgies, among other forbidden practices. When Violet hears that the leader of the group, known (of course he is) as Master is going to be speaking at a local park, she decides to attend and see what all the fuss is about. Sephora is demanding to come along, as she is a great fan of the sensationalized "penny dreadfuls" detailing the group that are being published as "Children of Ud" byt the mysterious Count Orlando. When Violet sees the missing Margaret as one of the faithful attending to Master, she decides to present herself as a potential new member of the group in order to get Margaret to leave with her. Once she arrives at the groups country location, she starts to notice odd things. While she doesn't get to partake in any orgies, she does notice ghostly apparitions and a dreamy feeling that overtakes her. When someone is killed, she is even more determined to find out what's really going on with the mysterious group and its members.

I enjoyed reading about the plucky Violet and her sister Sephora, who, despite her frequent complaints about how thinking is too hard is quite astute. This is the second book in the Dear Miss Hermione series, so many events from the first book were mentioned. I haven't read that one, but I could still enjoy the events in this story. The cult leader and his followers was a surprisingly modern situation to set in the 1880s, although I suppose there have always been false prophets willing to take advantage of people. I didn't find the culprit to be much of a surprise, but it was fun to ride along as Violet and Sephora untangled the clues.