It was nice seeing Wrex, Charlotte and the gang. Finally Cordelia and Sheffield are getting married. Seems like it took them forever to just come out and tell each other they have feelings for one another. Just like Wrex and Charlotte. It was great seeing the Weasels as well. Love how they brought their little street gang together and the "adults" see them as people and not some low life living on the streets. They never have done that period.
Great mystery is upon them. This one kind of hits close to home for Cordelia as her cousin is in the mix. A great lot of detail as well.
One thing is for certain, you can count one the gang to put their lives on the line to find out the truth.
Again a lot of drama, some was kind of hart to keep up, so when you read this book. Be sure you don't skip a beat.
I love how Andrea puts in a lot of time researching for her books. She doesn't just put in what she thinks things would be like. She takes her time and looks into each invention and who has done what and where. Awesome job Andrea.
Great read, you don't need to read the others to read this book.

I love this series. Each one, in addition to a compelling mystery and engaging characters, features a scientific innovation. In this case, the plot involved bridges, and was interesting and illuminating as always. .

One can never go wrong when picking up a Andrea Penrose, so I knew I was in for a great read - but even I was blown away by how good this was! Unputdownable and lovely are the two words I would use to describe this!. Fantastic and utterly addictive would also suffice :) Either way, you are in for a treat!

I was so happy to be able to read the next installment of the Wrexford and Sloane mysteries. This book was very enjoyable to read and I had no idea who the murderer was until the very end. Ms. Penrose's research and writing regarding scientific inventions of the era is in depth and fascinating to read and adds a whole new level of interest to the mysteries. But the whole heart of these mysteries are the characters and the family they have created. I love every chance to revisit Wrex and Charlotte and the Ravens and their quirky, lovely group of family and friends! The mystery in this book was very complex and well written and the characters have lots of depth and are well developed and very enjoyable to read about. I hope this series will continue for a long time!

Thank you to NetGalley for a chance to read this book. All opinions are my own.

I like to call the Wrexford & Sloane series my STEM reads. Each book dives into the inventions and tech shifts that happened during the Industrial Revolution, and they’re really well-researched. In Murder at King's Crossing, you’ll get a fascinating peek into innovations in bridge building and how transportation improvements can reshape society. Now, I know that might sound a bit dry (and I’ll admit, I skimmed some of the math bits), but Penrose brings it all to life with a fun cast of characters and a solid mystery. This time, it’s all about the murder of a genius mathematician/bridge architect and the theft of his groundbreaking designs. Was it a foreign power, a shady business owner, someone against progress, or maybe some jealous colleagues?

These books really build on each other, so it’s best to read them in order. And don’t skip the author’s note at the end! Murder at King's Crossing drops on September 24. Big thanks to NetGalley and Kensington Books for the ARC!

Fans of the series will like this one. New readers probably won’t appreciate these characters and should start at the beginning. Well researched as always, this one is perhaps heavier in the science, politics, and real life inventors than is typical for even this series. Our ensemble cast of likable characters has filled out, but I’m always hoping for more of those snippets of intense emotion and intellectual banter between Wrexford and Charlotte. That’s the heart of this series. Sometimes there are too many points of view, but I was glad to see more of Wrex’s background unfold and a future mystery set up.

3.75 stars

This historical series features Lord and Lady Wrexford and their unusual blended family and friends. They are not the typical titled society couple they appear to be. Charlotte has an alter ego that dresses like a street ruffian and scopes out stories for her to publish as what we now would call a political cartoonist. That identity is a carefully guarded secret. And Wrex is a defender of justice and a man of integrity, even if it means putting himself in harm's way. Their three adopted wards, teenage type boys, grew up rough but are being educated and slightly civilized in the Wrexford household.

The meat of these books is the interplay among all these characters which also include a maid who is more of a supremely competent Woman Friday, a valet who is also a highly regarded second in command, and a Scottish physician/coroner, as well as a a friend/colleague who is a Bow Street Runner. All in all, quite a varied and lively crew.

The mysteries center around actual historical scientific issues. In this one, the spotlight is on the importance of transportation to ease the lives and open opportunities for the lower/working classes. There are scientific breakthroughs which sadly are being exploited for personal gain via corruption and fraud. And the bad guys aren't afraid to kill to protect their interests.

I received an advance review copy for free, and I am leaving this review voluntarily.

Wrexford and Charlotte host the wedding of Cordelia and Sheffield at their country home. However, shortly thereafter there is an intruder in the house who runs out. A little after that two men arrive to say they found a murdered man under a bridge with no ID, but he had a wedding invitation in his pocket. When he is identified as Jasper Milton, Cordelia is upset because he was a brilliant childhood friend who had been working on building stronger and longer bridges. The plot becomes quite complicated with several factions involved, including some scientists from France.

However, with the help of all three weasels along with Wrexford, Sheffield, Charlotte, Cordelia, Griffin and others, and a visit to Eton, all is solved at the end.

I thank Netgalley and Kensington Books for the ARC so I could read the book before publication.

4.25 (a bit math and engineering-heavy, but I have to give a partial point for the extensive research.)

Classic Wrexford and Sloane.

First, I want to qualify that this is the first book in the series that I have read. The others have all been audiobooks. I’ll get back to that later.

The official summary indicates that the book launches with the starch wedding of Kit and Cordelia and there is always a death, so I won’t be charged with spoiling anything thus far. There is a wedding and a couple of personal growth elements in the story, but otherwise it is all about the mystery, though that does center around Cordelia’s childhood friend and her cousin. Otherwise, the whole cast of characters is there and there are plenty of ginger biscuits.

I am wondering if this story, which is based on mathematics, rather than a physical invention per se, is why my eyes were glazed over and muddling through certain bits, even though the purpose of the calculations was hypothetical bridges (Who new calculus wasn’t a thing for most students yet!). Or, maybe just cruising through with the audiobook is a better way of keeping me engaged through some of the heavier science and technical jargon. If math is your thing, there is a long author’s note about the history of mathematics, which I cut and ran from when I noticed there were several pages still to read. The first part that describes the factual elements throughout the book was, as usual, very interesting.

I read lots of historical fiction, but most are from the late Victorian era through the 1920s, so it’s interesting to try to get my head around all of the major inventions that just don’t exist during the book’s time. The railroad is on horizon, but there was a long way to go before the Flying Scotsman ushered the population to Scotland and back. To think of it taking a couple of days to get to Bristol instead of the couple of hours I used to spend on a very different type of coach. As I read, I tried to figure out what kind of materials, tools, and techniques would actually be available and part of the construction and infrastructure back then.

Thank you to Andrea Penrose, NetGalley, and Kensington Publishing for providing me with a free advanced copy of this book in exchange for my unbiased review.

This is one of my favorite historical cozy mysteries and this was a great addition to the series. The characters are endearing and this series always has a great mystery.

I read one title from the series a few years ago, but never got around to reading others, so I was happy to get this eARC from the publisher through NetGalley.

I thoroughly enjoyed this historical mystery. There have obviously been adventures since the previous series entry I'd read but Penrose expertly wove in enough details that I didn't feel lost without bogging down the current story. I did figure out a bit before the final reveal one of the two villains but was caught by surprise by the second although reflecting back, I should have been suspicious. That to me is a mark of a good mystery, that I could have figured it out but didn't. What drew me in was the unconventional family of Wrexford and Sloane and especially the irascible Weasels. I also enjoyed the scientific history. I'd never thought about how easy transport of people and good did revolutionize our modern world. I take much of this infrastructure for granted; I'm thankful Penrose decided to use it as a frame for this mystery. Recommended to historical mystery fans, especially those who like Regency settings.