The characters were engaging, although I would've liked to see more depth when it came to emotional matters, especially with the side characters relationships. The plot and the setting were so consuming. I thoroughly enjoy a historical mystery, but this book took it to the next level and made it a cozy mystery, which I loved loved loved. Now that I've read this book in the series I'll need to catch up and read the other ones.

Miss Morton is back more murder on her plate! This historical cozy mystery is full of engaging characters and the author did a great job with the setting and historical tidbits throughout the book. Lots of twists and turns kept me guessing until the very end. I can't wait to read more in this series.

2.5 stars

I’ve had mixed feelings on the previous Miss Morton titles, but this installment represents a bit of an upswing. While I found the first 40% of the novel a little annoying, the last 60% gets better.

The good: Caroline Morton is finally starting to trust her own two feet, and takes some steps into solving this mystery without being dragged into it against her will by Mrs. Frogerton. At last, the main character is acting like one! I also appreciate the fleshing out of some side characters. Letty the maid is a treasure, and it’s good to see Susan on the page again.

The not-so-good: I’m not wild about how every male character seems to be in love with Caroline; I think her interactions with male characters could be significantly more interesting by navigating the various ways they could find to be friends, colleagues, acquaintances, frienemies, etc. as members of opposite sexes in Regency England, but everything seems to come down to people finding Caroline hot and/or marriageable. However, this isn’t as big a part of the book as I’d feared, so it didn’t bother me as much as it has in previous titles.

I’m also tired of all the mysteries so far being tied to the Morton family; I understand that because of Caroline’s mind-my-own-business character it’s probably the only way to force her to care about a mystery, but I would absolutely love for Caroline to have to help Mrs. Frogerton weather something for a change.

I’m not sure if I’ll continue with the series, as I clearly have some beef with the protagonist and don’t care for the romantic elements of the series so far, so I suppose it will depend on if the next book has a really gripping blurb to hook me, as I do love Mrs. Frogerton and Lloyd is pretty skilled at crafting a twisty murder mystery that keeps me guessing.

Catherine is contacted by a lawyer about her father's will only to die shortly after. Multiple hurdles are in the way and she is in danger. There's Mr. DeBloom who ardently pursues her and does not get the hint. There's Dr. Harris, a friend who wants more from her. And there's debonair Inspector Ross who also likes her. Then there's Catharines pesky sister and cousin. Layers upon layers, lots of intrigue, kidnapping, murder, mines, inheritances, just tons of moving parts.

Aside from the romance, everything ties together in the end for a successful finish with the help of Mrs. Frogerton.

#netgalley #MissMortonAndTheDeadlyInheritance

London - 1838

Miss Caroline Morton works as a companion to Mrs. Frogerton and helps to accompany her daughter, Dorothy, to soirees during the Season. Her employer has been very kind to her as she had been left penniless by her father, a penniless Earl, who squandered all of their money. Her sister, Susan, is now in a boarding school that Mrs. Frogerton generously funds. A letter has come from her father’s solicitor saying that something new has come up in his will and he wishes to speak to Caroline.

Caroline has attended the funeral of her Aunt Eleanor at Greenwood Hall. Afterwards, the woman’s solicitor informs her that she and her sister have both been left 500 pounds each by her Aunt much to the chagrin of her cousin, Eliza, who has always been jealous of Caroline. Her cousin, Nicholas, is now the Earl of Greenwood and does not want the responsibility as he prefers to live in London.

There are lots of characters here and not a moment without some sort of mischief, murder, angst, and fear going on. Whew. This book was exhausting. A decent type of mystery. I really loved Mrs. Frogerton and would be happy to work for someone like her. Not a dull moment.

Copy provided by NetGalley in exchange for a fair and honest review.

This continues to be an enjoyable Historical Mystery series, though this installment was not quite.as satisfying as the first two.

Wills and inheritance are pretty common subjects in this sub genre, but get a lot of the nuts and bolts of that here, which doesn’t make for great reading. It’s a fairly low stakes mystery, which I think is fine, but the book doesn’t do much to fill that out with setting and atmosphere. This series hasn’t been great for that in general, but this installment felt particularly lacking in that regard.

The mystery itself was fine, as was the pacing, and I the characters are likable if a bit simplistic. I’ll echo the opinion of other reviewers who have said that Mrs Frogerton feels more like a main character that Miss Morton does.

While this was better than book 1, it was nowhere near as good as book 2, and I was left vaguely disappointed and wondering what went wrong.

I like delving further into Caroline's fathers mess and there was some interesting twists and turns there [all that equals to him still being a complete and utter hideous person]. I also really enjoy Mrs. Frogerton [her daughter less so, though the son, who was also...snotty? at the beginning, redeemed himself in the end] and her ability to just shove-in when most "ladies" would never ever [she honestly cares little about what people think of her and is very comfortable with herself and what she does and we all should take a page from her IMO] - she just brings so much to every story and my admiration for her grows with each book. I do wish Caroline would learn some backbone from her, while I love her gentle ways, she does need to be a bit more forceful as to avoid being railroaded like she has been.

All that said...the mystery was V E R Y thin [it honestly could not have been anyone else], the issues with Susan and her complete snottiness [and Caroline's too gentle way of dealing with her] made me want to SMACK someone and I just wanted a resolution so we could move on [because OH MY GOSH she was so dumb and unreasonable and so convinced that everything including world poverty and smog were Caroline's fault *EYEROLL*], *AND*, it looks like what was friendships is now going to be a FREAKING LOVE TRIANGLE and I am not amused [love triangles are lazy writing plain and simple and I hate them so very much. There is absolutely no need and this just makes me cringe]. It is the one trope that will break me and should there be a book 4 and this nonsense continues, it will probably be the last one I read; as I am enjoying [to varying degrees] this series, I will be really disappointed.

While I had higher hopes for this book, it honestly wasn't ALL awful [just parts here and there] and I will absolutely read book 4 if it is written/published and hope that TLT is worked out and I won't have to end a pretty decent series.

Thank you to NetGalley, Catherine Lloyd, and Kensington Publishing for providing this ARC in exchange for an honest review.

I enjoy this series. I find the characters interesting and I like the setting - historical England. I look forward to more in the series. The mystery keeps me guessing

Thank you to the author, publisher and NetGalley for my eARC in exchange for an honest review.

The story of a strong woman whose reputation is her only asset. Lady Caroline Morton has been left penniless after the death of her bankrupt father. In reduced circumstances she found a position to the supportive Mrs Frogerton, who treats Caroline like one of the family. The story centres around the mysterious death of the solicitor who had recently contacted Caroline about the existence of a later version of her father’s will. It appears someone is concerned enough about changes to the will to kill in order to hide the contents. Then when a clerk who attempted to blackmail Caroline, to reveal the contents, also dies…events take a sinister turn, which involves an attempt on Caroline’s life.
There is a satisfying cast of characters, from the blunt Dr Harris to the gentlemanly Inspector Rose, and the spoilt Susan (Caroline’s younger sister.) There is a subplot involving runaway Susan that had undertones of Pride & Prejudice about it.
I liked the gentle humour in the book and became a fan of Inspector Rose. There were times when Caroline risked coming across a little too saintly…but then the author skilfully brought her back to reality. It occurred to me how lucky Caroline was to be employed by the generous Mrs Frogerton (on whose goodwill much of the story relies) but it was a minor point and didn’t detract from the overall enjoyment of the read.
I enjoyed the read and will look out the earlier books in the series. This is Book 3 but can be read as a standalone novel. I picked up hints that in previous stories Caroline was not the strong woman she is now and suspect this may be an interesting character development.
ARC supplied in return for an honest review.

This is the third book in the series, and though there is an unlaying story from the past books, it is easy to follow. I enjoyed the story, which had lots of twists and turns, and kept me guessing till the end. The characters were well-written, but I really didn’t like Dr Harris lol. The book was not overly descriptive which I prefer. It was all about finding out who the murderer was. I look forward to reading more from this author. I received this as an ARC from Netgalley and freely give my review.

Rating 4.5
This is the third book in the A Miss Morton Mystery series. This is a historical mystery series that is excellent. I am enjoying these books more as the series continues, the characters are so wonderful and the pace keeps my interest. The thing I love about this series is it shows a London society that I have not seen in many books and I find interesting, the titled family that have nothing, the wealthy family that did not inherit their money. I feel this book could be read as a stand-alone.

Thanks to the publisher and Netgalley for the ARC.
This books is the 3rd in a series, so you will want to read at least one of the others to get familiar with the 'cast'.
I'd give this a solid 4.0 for being entertaining and twisty, good for readers who like puzzles.
I really enjoy Catherine Lloyd as a writer, her characters and their interactions are always interesting and the focal points of her books.
Miss Morton (an impoverished young lady) and her employer, Mrs. Frogerton make an interesting pair and provide a fresh dynamic to the historical 'accidental' mystery genre. The supporting characters are strong as well. If anything, I would wish for a bit more 'anchoring in history' kind of details. Note that although this instalment is described as Regency, it's NOT - this book and the 2 previous are set in the late 1830s.
This is a fun series and I like that it's in London as it presents more opportunities than the other 'typical' country village setting.

Victorian London 1838. Did the dishonourable and bankrupt Earl of Morton leave a newer will. How will this affect Lady Caroline and her sister Susan. Then people connected with the family law firm start dying. Mrs Frogerton seems to be once again the driving force in the mystery but will Caroline finally solve the puzzle of the will.
An entertaining and well-written Victorian mystery with its cast of likeable and varied characters. Another good addition to this enjoyable series.
An ARC was provided by the publisher via Netgalley in exchange for an honest review.

Omg this book! This book right here!!! Such a good experience. I recommend everyone to read this book as fast as they can because it's really good and the characters are fantastic and the story is fascinating.

In this third installment of the Miss Morton Mysteries. Caroline find herself as a companion to Mrs Frogerton's daughter navigate the season. Now she worries that her job may be ending when the daughter marries.

Then is seems a second will is found from her deceased father, who left no funds and miraculously there is money! Buy of course all may not be as it seems and a murder occurs.

A journey to find out the truth leads us on a merry chase.

3.5 stars rounded up to 4 stars for NetGalley and Goodreads.

I really enjoyed this Regency England mystery with a female lead character. Mrs Foregerton, though not the main character, has to be my favorite. She's so unapologetically herself and entirely supportive of Caroline. She's so refreshing in such a 'historical' setting.

The mystery bit was maybe not as in your face as some might want. A big chunk of this book is about Caroline's relationship with her sister, but I personally enjoyed it. The mystery part was also well crafted and puzzling enough for me.

Loved it.

Thank you to NetGalley, Kensington Publishing, and Catherine Lloyd for providing me with an ARC.

Another great mystery in the Miss Morton series. I admire Caroline’s ability to push through the obstacles in her life and take charge of it, even if it means doing things that might make society look down on her. Even when given the option of leaving Mrs. Frogerton, she weighs her options and is proud of her work, and makes choices that are well thought out. I enjoy Mrs. Frogerton’s antics and her interactions with just about any and all characters. I love how she supports Caroline and is both fiercely protective yet allows Caroline to make her own decisions. I didn’t care much for the storyline involving Mabel and Susan and hope that we won’t hear about Mabel again. I struggled through their interactions wondering why Caroline went along with her demands instead of involving the police. I hope we see some growth and maturity in Susan in the future as she has mostly been unlikeable. I also look forward to Caroline working through having multiple love interests and more potential income, though I would hate to have it mean her leaving Mrs. Frogerton. I look forward to the next book in the series.

Thank you to NetGalley and the publisher for selecting me to read an advanced copy of this book.

Miss Caroline Morton is a lady’s companion from a disgraced line. But when she has a chance to claim what’s rightfully hers, the one obstacle in her way is a dangerous murder mystery. Caroline has doubts when she receives an urgent invitation from a London law firm to discuss her late father’s estate. After all, the dishonoured Earl of Morton died without a pound to pass on to his two daughters. But while immersing herself in helping Mrs. Frogerton’s capricious daughter navigate the high social season, Caroline meets with a cagey lawyer, Mr. Smith, who shares life-altering news—the earl composed a second will, leaving behind an undisclosed fortune. Mr Smith’s office is ransacked, the staff in turmoil, and Mr. Smith missing. The full weight of the situation doesn’t sink in until Mr. Smith dies following a brutal attack on the street & an empty envelope bearing Caroline’s name is found in his pocket.
The third book in the series & it’s now approaching the end of the season & Dorothy, Caroline’s charge looks to be ready to marry so Caroline’s future is in abeyance. I really like Caroline but she was somehow not as likeable in this book. I also liked the mystery in the book & that kept me turning the pages at a pace. There were a couple of side issues which to my mind interfered with the story. I keep expecting Caroline to find a suitor & whilst there are plenty of candidates nothing is happening so far. A well written book which I enjoyed but didn’t love
I voluntarily read and reviewed a special copy of this book; all thoughts and opinions are my own

This is book 3 in the series and another great entry in the series. While it could be read as a standalone, the story has much meaning if you’ve read the other books as there are some of the same characters and situation throughout. This story delves deeper into Caroline’s family troubles and her relationship with her sister. The book is well-written as always, with strong characters and a fast-paced plot. There is a hint of romance with Caroline having a few suitor's popping up and I look forward to seeing where this will go in future books, I received an advance review copy for free, and I am leaving this review voluntarily.

Thank you so much to NetGalley and Catherine Lloyd for providing me with a complimentary digital ARC for Miss Morton and the Deadly Inheritance coming out August 20, 2024. The honest opinions expressed in this review are my own.

I really love this series and author! I was so happy to receive the third book! I think the mystery was a little more subtle this time. It was a short read, so I think there was a lot of action upfront. But the story seemed to focus more on Caroline and her sister’s relationship. There was also more about Caroline and her possible suitors. I was hoping for a little more romance, but Caroline doesn’t seem to be interested. Hopefully there’s more movement in the next book. I’m excited to continue with the series!

I would recommend this book to anyone who enjoys regency mysteries!