I wanted to love this mystery- a Christmas mystery set in the Regency period? Sign me up. The pacing was quite difficult for me, though- it took several tries for me to finish this.

I picked this up because of the intriguing title. I liked it, but in the end, I found it lacking.

I did not understand why Judith and Louisa-Margareta hated each other. Their personalities were very different, but hatred seemed a bit much. Their eventual friendship occurred very quickly, which did not give much weight to the idea that they had any real reason for the malice they originally felt.

Also, their methods of detective work were pretty ridiculous. As little as they knew about the subject, I’m surprised the idea even occurred to them.

I will say, however, that the series shows promise. And if you are a big fan of cozy mysteries, I recommend you give it a try.

Thank you to NetGalley and Victory Editing for providing me with an eARC of this book.

Many thanks to Netgalley. I received this book in exchange for my honest review. My thoughts are entirely my own.


Judith St. Clair and Louisa-Margarita Harrington are two young spinsters who meet and try and solve a murder. Judith and Louisa-Margarita both start courtships with Louisa’s cousins. As time goes on Judith and Louisa figure it out. Judith and Louisa go after the killer who is the biological son of the aunt and uncle of Louisa who just wanted his inheritance. Judith and Louisa also start to develop feelings for the other two male cousins who didn’t murder their aunt. This book read very well and was an enjoyable cozy mystery.

A great Regency historical mystery! This is just the ticket if you're looking for a fun read that doesn't reinvent the wheel but delivers thrills through clever storytelling, great atmosphere and well-rendered characters.

4 Stars - a bit unfocussed but I really enjoyed it

I really seem to be developing a thing for Regency era Whodunits, which I find oddly comforting and relaxing and Two Spinsters and a Corpse by Eve Tarrington really delivered: the morder mystery is intriguing and the social commentary around the gentlepeople of that timeis light in tone but no less poignant.

The two spinsters are in this case Judith St Clair, the daughter of the rector who is called to serve in a new town, uprooting his family which is still grieving the death of Judith's mother. Judith is the quiet, plain and ascetic type, not having a lot of patience for the shenanigans of the rich.

The other is almost a polar opposite of Judith: Louisa-Margaretta, the daughter of the Haddingtons, who employ rector St Clair. She is headstrong, with lots of personality (and lots of privilege) - but in a difficult situation as the man she loves does not have the social status to be acceptable as a groom.

Both young women are actually not in an age when we would talk about spinsters, but times were different and being in your mid or late twenties made you all but unmarryable.

On an evening when the Haddingtons throw a ball a death does occur and for some reason or other the two young spinsters end up trying to work out who might have been the culprit.

The murder mystery is well done, I did not really figure it out beforehand. I also really enjoyed the budding friendship of two such very different personalities. And these differences were detailed very well, I had a good grasp of what kind of person Judith and Louisa-Margaretta were.

However, the other characters stayed a bit pale and two-dimensional and in the beginning I was also really rather confused about the Haddington family and how the many members of it were connected to each other.

Also, the writing and plot felt oddly unfocussed and meandering which made it a bit less easy to follow events, but this is not a significant gripe. 

All in all though, if you do enjoy Regency murder mysteries this is a solid addition to the catalogue and definitely recommended!

I have received an advance review copy via NetGalley and voluntarily provide my honest opinion. Thank you very much!

This was a fun read.

the character building was good.

thanks so much netgalley and the author for allowing me to review!

This book did not live up to the title or the cover. I expected some campiness, personality, quirky characters and just some SPARK. What I found instead was a very dour, dull, boring and depressing story. I understand the family is very religious, prim and proper, but it could have been done with a lighter touch. The family was just sour, dour and pious. This has potential but needs some levity in there. I could have forgiven much in the plot if we just had some likable characters and a reason to care about them.
DNF at 40%.
Thank you to netgalley for the ARC. Opinions are my own.

Such a fun read! Highly recommend.

Many thanks to Netgalley, the author, and the publisher for my ARC. All opinions are my own.

Two Spinsters and Corpse, is a historical mystery fiction.
I had pictured something a bit different, due to the word spinsters in the title. I had thought this might be a fun mystery with two ladies in their later years (similar to Maggie Smith's character in Downton Abbey). I was not prepared for two younger ladies, one wealthy and a bit spoiled, the other the poor daughter of a rector.
I struggled to get into this book, the pace was a bit slow and sometimes the details dragged it down a bit. I also had trouble keeping track of the male characters within the family. It took me a bit of the book to finally be able to match the names to individuals.
That being said, it did start to pick up at the end and I enjoyed how the friendship started to form between the two female main characters. A 3.75 rating rounded up to 4.
Thanks to Netgalley and Tenacious Teacup Press for the ARC.

What a fun read this honestly was! I’m not usually a big fan of murder mysteries but the title and description had me intrigued. I mean who wouldn’t be when Regency England, two spinsters and a murder are involved.

The book is the first instalment in a series to come, and it won’t be the last I read. Judith and Louisa-Margaretta are our two main characters whom we swap POV between throughout the book. I appreciated being able to get a glimpse between both of their thought processes while the mystery was unfolding and also getting to know the opinions each held for one another. The mystery itself was tight and unravelled in a very satisfying way that did have me questioning up until the end.

There were definitely a few things I wished we had a chance to get more scenes between Judith and Louisa-Margaretta as well as a bit more insight, specifically into Louisa-Margaretta's story. However, I do hope those things might be explored more in the next book to come, as I found their evolving friendship fascinating.

If you are a fan of cosy mysteries and the regency era, I think this book is absolute fun and should definitely be given a chance!

Given the cover of the book and the title of 'Two Spinsters and a Corpse', I thought this book would be a somewhat funny tale of regency ladies getting caught in the wrong place at the wrong time. While it was about the two ladies, the book was more true to the age than funny and it was a slow read for me.

I enjoyed the relationship between the characters and the twists and turns of events at the end but it was such a slow plot that there really wasn't too much of a plot there at all. I do admit to getting a tad lost with which character was who as well.

I liked the 2 main characters and I believe that they go on to star in a few more books together too.

I'd like to thank, Netgalley and the author and publisher for a copy to read. All opinions are my own.

this is like clue meets jane austen!
it was a cute mystery but I felt like this was a launching point for the series and not focused on a stand alone story line. a bit of a slow start but after it got going the pacing was fine.
I really wish the characters had been gay. feels like that was an obvious plot point that was removed.

The title of the book was what peaked my interest and I usually enjoy a regency era murder mystery. However, I’d only rate the book as ok. There was enough interest that I wanted to finish the book and find out who the murderer was but often throughout the book I found my attention drifting away.
I liked the two main characters Judith and Louise-Margaretta but I found many of the other characters quite surface level and not fully fleshed out. I found at times that several of the Ramsbury men blurred a bit as to who was who, and I really didn’t have any inclination as to which one was going to be the murderer due to the lack of potential motives presented.
It looks like a long series is planned with at least another 4 books and I can see the potential for these characters to be developed much further and have some interesting storylines, but based on this book they won’t necessarily be top of my reading pile.

2.5*
I was very intrigued by the book's description and expected it to be a cozy murder mystery with a Bridgerton-like feel. Instead, I found myself somewhat confused and a little bored throughout. I had no idea who the murderer was, and the revelation was quite shocking. This might be because the investigation didn’t truly gain momentum until near the end, leaving me without enough clues or buildup to piece the puzzle together myself. One element I did appreciate was the way the two spinsters, once they solved the case, referred to the culprit only as "he" without revealing his name. This subtle choice added a tantalizing layer of intrigue that lingered for several chapters. I sense that this book could be the launching pad for a series featuring our two spinsters, Judith and Louisa-Margaretta.

Thank you to Netgalley, Eve Tarrington, and the publishers for the advanced digital copy in exchange for my honest review.

This was a fun murder mystery. This is a great fall read. A little cozy and slow to start, and plot could use a little more, but I really enjoyed it.

Thanks to NetGalley for the ACR!

Honestly a 3.5 for me.

I think I read it at the wrong time since I haven't felt all too well, which is why the 3.5. But I did like the setting. It took me to a different time and place entirely.

The issue I had was probably the plot. It wasn't strong enough to pull me into the story completely.

I truly did enjoy Judith's character. I connected with her the most. Grief is numbing until you finally find something to help you move forward. Judith was just a great reminder of that.

Will I read the second book? Probably not. Would I recommend this book to a friend? Maybe, if they like The Regency era and a decent cozy read to fill their time.

This book was very slow getting started, and I did not find the characters or the storyline to be interesting. I also didn't find that the writing was particularly good. The story is told mostly through the point of view of one of the spinsters in the title and the way the story progressed this wasn't a good fit for me. With all this I did not finish this book after reading 32%.

If you're looking for a cozy mystery with Regency-era flair, Two Spinsters and a Corpse by Eve Tarrington might catch your eye. Two very different young women, forced to team up in order to solve a murder, promises a lot of intrigue and period charm. Unfortunately, while the premise is interesting, the execution left me wanting more.

The book introduces us to Miss Judith St Clair, a sensible and somewhat pious woman, and Miss Louisa-Margaretta Haddington, a fiery and flirtatious socialite who has her own family drama. These two spinsters, though they can’t stand each other, have to work together after they witness a murder in the middle of a ball at Wycliff Castle. It’s a classic "odd couple" pairing, which can be fun, but the chemistry between the two main characters didn't quite sparkle as much as I’d hoped.

One of the things I enjoyed was the period setting. Tarrington clearly did her homework on Regency customs, and the atmosphere of the stiff, wintry English countryside during Christmas added some nice flavor. The interplay between societal expectations, family tensions, and the spinsters' sleuthing offered a light escape.

That said, the plot itself felt like it dragged. For a mystery, there wasn’t as much suspense or tension as I expected. The pacing was slow, and while the two women’s different approaches to solving the crime had potential, the banter between them wasn’t as sharp or funny as it could have been. The murder mystery should’ve been the driving force of the book, but instead, it felt like it got lost in the shuffle of the characters' personal dramas.

Character development was another area where the story fell flat. Judith and Louisa-Margaretta both felt a little one-dimensional. Judith was painted as the overly serious, frugal spinster, while Louisa-Margaretta’s flirtatious ways never evolved into anything deeper. I was hoping for some growth in their relationship or individual arcs, but it never really came. Instead, they remained somewhat stereotypical throughout, and I never felt fully invested in their partnership or the stakes of their investigation.

While the mystery did tie up by the end, it wasn’t particularly memorable, and the culprit’s reveal didn’t deliver the kind of twist I had hoped for. If you're someone who enjoys a simple, easy-to-follow cozy mystery, this might scratch that itch. But if you’re hoping for a gripping whodunit with a lot of character depth, you might find yourself feeling underwhelmed.

Eve Tarrington's novel was a gorgeously cosy read. A family tree would have been helpful to keep track of how everyone was related (something I struggled with through to the end), but this was a minor problem. Overall, I really enjoyed the story and am looking forward to the next instalment.

Thank you #NetGalley for this eARC.

I rather enjoyed this book. I love murder mysteries and who done its. But I didn’t figure out the killer this time! I loved the setting of the Regency Era. I haven’t read many historical fiction books but I loved the era and all the talk of spinsterhood from Judith and Louisa Margeretta as they race to figure out who the murderer is before Christmas Day. A nice simple read. I look forward to another book in the series.