Jane Austen made me fall in love with reading, so it was an easy pick for me. I'm also a big fan of cozy mystery, so this was a marriage made in heaven. It took me a couple of weeks to finish it, a little bit longer than average. I believe it was a mix between the slower pace than you usually can expect and the timing of the release. August is going back to school time, and I needed a faster pace to compete with everything happening. Overall, it was a good pick.

I thank NetGalley for an advance reader copy of “Two Spinsters and a Corpse.” All opinions and comments are my own.

Judith St. Clair and Louisa-Margaretta Haddington are the two spinsters. And they have a dead woman’s murder to solve. And they are rather unappealing characters, and don’t really get any more appealing at the end of the book. The story does illustrate the strict lives that women led in (presumed Regency, although there are very few clues) times, tied by convention and the morals of society. And it certainly doesn’t help that Louisa-Margaretta (what an awkward name) has fallen in love with a Jewish man, which is why she’s been banished to the country.

The book is as much about the two young woman and the awakening of their personalities as much as anything else. The murder “investigation” is pretty secondary, almost lost in the narrative. Oh, and there’s another murder, which barely rates two sentences.

The end comes, with a confrontation, a murderer revealed. And possibly some resolution to this spinster scenario. I wasn’t sure, and I‘m not invested enough to care. “Two Spinsters and a Corpse” didn’t grab my attention, being very slow in the middle, and rather confusing as to the process.

I had high expectations as the blurb seemed interesting and I'm a huge fan of Georgette Heyer.. I was expect some mature unmarried women and at least one of them could be classified as spinster.
The mystery is solid but I would have preferred more collaboration and less inner monologue.
The heroines are clever but quite self centered but somehow survived.
There's a romantic side and there's future instalments. I think there's potential and I would be curious about it.
This one, as it usually happens with the first in a series, was full of information that made the pace uneven (not to talk about the inner monologues)
Many thanks to the publisher for this ARC, all opinions are mine

This book is my introduction to the author's work, as well as the first in a series about the two titular characters, one Judith St Clair, eldest daughter of a widowed vicar, and one Louise-Margaretta Haddington, daughter of a wealthy, if not distinguished businessman and his far more socially-elevated wife.

The story is narrated from the points of view of the two main characters, although the first third of the book is weighted heavily towards Judith's narration. The first couple of chapters, one from each of them, flow well enough, and I was ready to enjoy the book, but this changed quickly.

We are told that Judith is twenty five years old, with a nineteen year old sister, and three much younger brothers; in fact, the youngest is all of three. That's a twenty two years difference for only five live children, presented with zero explanation; and while, given the setting (somewhere in the early 1800s), one can assume miscarriages and infant deaths, it's jarring that none of these are mentioned. Instead, we are given to understand that the late Mrs St Clair died of something contagious.

There's a whole thing about how Judith doesn't want to go to the Haddington ball, because she would have to wear a new dress, and that would signal the end of her mourning--never mind that it's well after their mourning period has ended. She has to be manipulated into going, under the excuse that she must act as her sister's chaperone; yet, when they are at the ball, she leaves her much younger sister alone and unattended, to dance herself--just after thinking about how she needs to keep undesirable men away from Miriam. On a later occasion, Judith leaves her sister alone in a room with a widowed, eligible man and his two daughters, to go riding with the miss of the house--even as she acknowledges to herself that it's not proper for her sister to be put in that situation.

And the entire time, Judith judges everyone around her, from her father and sister, to her hosts, to their guests, and finds them invariably wanting. They are boring, or shallow, or useless, or entitled, or improper, or.

Most of Judith's inner dialogue is about how she's the responsible eldest sibling, and how it's now her duty to care for the family; instead, she spends a lot of time indulging herself by paying no attention to anything that doesn't interest her, from her father's occupation to her brothers, and resenting people who have money.

At one point, Judith asks a servant for directions to the library, which are, and I quote, "it's just up those stairs, second on the left". Yet, by the time she gets to the top of the stairs, she tells us that she had already forgotten the second half of the instructions. And while one may think that perhaps Judith is neurodivergent (ADHD is famous for how it affects short term recall), this too is never acknowledged as an issue for her, rather, the way it's written conveys, "I don't care enough to pay any attention to anything but my own brilliant inner dialogue" to me.

The difference between how Judith sees and thinks of herself, and what she actually does and says is vast. She's not the abnegated oldest sibling, she's a whiny brat, and no, she doesn't sound like the twenty five year old spinster daughter of a vicar, but more like a jealous and covetous fourteen year old.

As for Louise-Margaretta (L-M from now on), at first I sincerely thought she was something like sixteen; she refers to the family's move to Derbyshire as her parents "kidnapping and imprisoning" her, and wants to wear mourning to "honor her vow never to marry". But no, apparently she's been out in society for a whole decade, so she's at least twenty six, perhaps as old as twenty nine years old.

L-M seems proud of how well she has avoided thinking about Napoleon for years, and resents it when people around her bring him up. She also dislikes every member of her family she can be bothered to think about--meaning her mother and extended family invited to this house party; she doesn't think about her father.

Both protagonists are pretty insufferable, and sadly no one else is much better.

Mrs. Haddington has a strange obsession with religion; ostensibly, some form of Christianity, yet she chooses to burn juniper to "bless" the scene of an unexpected death, and wants her daughter to marry one of the sons of her own brothers--yes, that's L-M's first cousins--the sooner, the better.

Reverend St Clair pays very little attention to his children, or to whatever is going on around him, spending all of his energy on lecturing anyone within earshot about how the birth of Christ would have played out in Britain, because...reasons?

As for Miriam, here's what she has to say about the guest who had been found dead in the library--during a ball. Where people go to dance:

"I thought she was going to dance every dance. I must say, it was rather indecent." "They were respectable dances." "Yes, but a quadrille, at her age? She cannot have been courting. She was more a spinster than anyone else at the ball, and yet her feet were flying." (Miriam and Judith, chapter 9)

By the time I reached the end of chapter 14, there was no character I cared about, certainly not either of the leads; however, that has not stopped me before. There's always the hope they'll grow in the course of the story, after all.

My real problem is that, since both characters are so exaggeratedly self-absorbed, at a full 35% of the ARC, I was still not clear about who the victim was in relation with her erstwhile hosts or L-M, or why I should care at all whether everyone thought the death a suicide or a murder.

And so I gave up.

Two Spinsters and a Corpse, despite the extremely intriguing title, gets a DNF.

Judith and Miriam are sisters along with their vicar father live in a small village in Regency England. Appearances and respectability are paramount. Judith likes to keep to the rules and Miriam is flighty and very young and resents Judith’s strictures.

The Haddingtons are their benefactors and Judith resents the lavishness of their lifestyle and the manner in which they coddle their daughter. They have bought this estate purely to prevent their daughter entering into an unsuitable alliance. When Louisa Haddington and Judith unwittingly overhear a murder, they put themselves in danger when they try to track the murderer themselves, because it has to be someone within the family who have gathered for the Christmas festivities.

Detection is hard under the rules applicable to ladies in this era, and some ingenuity is called for. Not an easy task in the circumstances, especially since the families brush their observations away as being fanciful.

The story was a mild cozy.

This sounded like it was going to be a interesting murder mystery when I requested it as historical mysteries are a favourite for me. However it never really lived up to the promise for me. I found the pace slow and boring and overall very one dimensional. I couldn't really take to the two main females or many of the other characters either for that matter as they just appeared to be unpleasant and awkward as did most of the other character's. So much so I didn't really care who lived or died or about the mystery really either as it just bored me and it was a struggle to force myself to carry on and finish the book which I just managed to do 2.5 stars, I received an advance review copy for free, and I am leaving this review voluntarily.

Well this was rather hard to follow.

A wealthy family, the Haddingtons, have moved to Wycliffe Castle in Derbyshire county to avert the scandal of the daughter of the house, Louisa-Margaretta, falling in love with someone entirely unsuitable.
The eldest daughter of the local vicar, Judith St. Clair, becomes friends Louisa-Margaret’s with after several false starts.
They witness a murder and now have to alert their families to the facts except that the families pay them no attention.
I wanted to like this. I kept reading to find out what happened. In the end I found I didn’t care enough. The reading hurt my head

A Victory Edington ARC via NetGalley.
Many thanks to the author and publisher.

I have read the first five chapters of this book and determined it is not for me. While I typically enjoy Regency settings, there is something about this author's writing style that feels stiff and ponderous. The main character seems to be very prickly, and I'm not sure why she has such a chip on her shoulder.

The title and cover of this book drew me in, but unfortunately the prose itself is not connecting with me.

https://www.goodreads.com/review/show/6766484509


Thank you so much for letting me review two spinsters and a corpse! I enjoyed the novel it was giving clue meets Jane Austen/ bridgerton vibes. The story was entertaining however I would’ve liked the two spinsters to fall in love and have that as a loose plot line.

I really enjoyed this! But I felt it lacked just a little something extra. It was a little slow to get going despite not being too long of a book, but I did enjoy the mystery aspect! I LOVED that it was at a Christmas ball. Something about a murder at Christmas just really grabs me. Not sure what that says about me as a person though...

I would have loved for a bit more character development, but my biggest let down is that I thought this was going to be sapphic! Both taking refuge in the library to avoid men, and the title - I had hoped it to become a love story between the two friends. It was still a lovely story regardless and a nice friendship, but it would have added a little extra fun, especially around that Regency era time. Sneaking around to hide their affairs while also sneaking around to solve a murder? That's a tag line right there!

There is nothing wrong with this book, but it was a little boring to get started.

It takes off after that and is pretty good. But I would have really liked the two spinsters to end up together.

I would read another in this series if/when there is one.

"Two Regency era spinsters, one quiet and one quarrelsome, try to catch a killer before Christmas in this new historical mystery series.

Miss Judith St Clair is a frugal and pious young woman. When her father accepts a lucrative new position as the rector of a parish in Derbyshire just before Christmas, she is dismayed that she and all her siblings must move to this cold and inhospitable country while still in mourning for their mother. What's worse, her father's patrons are the rich and imposing Haddingtons, a family recently settled at Wycliff Castle.

Miss Louisa-Margaretta Haddington, after years of dismissing every possible suitor, is in love. But her parents, who will not consent to the match, have removed her and her reputation from harm by buying an enormous estate in Derbyshire. Louisa-Margaretta is determined to avoid everyone, but when she and the rector's daughter both take refuge in the library to avoid dancing with gentlemen at a ball, they are unwitting witnesses to a murder.

Though each young woman despises the other, they know they will need each other's help if they are to find the killer and save their families. With Judith's quiet intelligence and Louisa-Margaretta's fiery and flirtatious nature, they set out to solve the puzzle. But when one of them has a brush with death disguised as a hunting accident, they realise that they must be quick, or they shall risk running out of time."

Another book for the Christmas list, and my favorite kind, because there's a murder!

I uploaded my review to Goodreads. I will upload it to Amazon on release day.

Thank you so much to NetGalley and Eve Tarrington for providing me with a complimentary digital ARC for Two Spinsters and a Corpse coming out September 1, 2024. The honest opinions expressed in this review are my own..

This is the first book I’ve read by this author. I absolutely loved it! I’m obsessed with historical mysteries. I loved the two main characters with their different personalities. I love that they teamed up to solve the mystery. I think the book was quick-paced and filled with action and excitement. I loved the glimpses of romance. I’m definitely excited to check out more books by this author!

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

I do love the first book of a series as it always gives me something to look forward to. And so it begins with two Regency era spinsters and a killer which is not a good way to start a new life in a new town just before Christmas. This is a good cosy mystery/murder that was a bit of fun to read. Very easy to read too and gives me something to look forward to as I look forward to book 2 of this series.

Entertaining, fun, cosy and a good read for sure. 3 1/2 stars from me.

Thank you NetGalley and ARC provided by Victory Editing NetGalley Co-op for giving me the opportunity to read and review this book.

Miss Judith St Clair is a vicar’s daughter & following her mother’s death the family move to a parish in Derbyshire, her father’s patrons are the rich and imposing Haddingtons, a family recently settled at Wycliff Castle. Miss Louisa-Margaretta Haddington, after years of dismissing every possible suitor, is in love. But her parents, who will not consent to the match, have removed her and her reputation from harm by buying an enormous estate in Derbyshire. Louisa-Margaretta is determined to avoid everyone, but when she and the rector’s daughter both take refuge in the library to avoid dancing with gentlemen at a ball, they are unwitting witnesses to a murder.
A well written cosy mystery that flowed well after a slow start. I liked the attention to detail in the descriptions & the author certainly had done her homework. I liked both Judith & Louisa but didn’t love them, they were like chalk & cheese but gradually began to work well together. The mystery was intriguing & I was kept guessing until everything was revealed. An interesting series starter which laid the foundations to what is hopefully an interesting series.
I voluntarily read and reviewed a special copy of this book; all thoughts and opinions are my own

While I don’t think it’s always necessary to like the protagonists in order to enjoy a book, I think that with this particular type of a story you really kind of do. And I didn’t. The mystery was engaging enough., and the Regency feel was there, but my goodness! Judith was so Mary Bennetish I just couldn’t like her and Louisa-Margaretta was so tedious I spent most of the book wishing the villain would poison her too.

This regency/cozy finds two young "spinsters" trying to solve a murder. The story has all the trappings of the grand house, the lord of the manor, the dances, and the familial trappings as to who marries whom. Judith, the minister's elder daughter, does not want to marry but wants her own life. The daughter of the Lord of the manor has fallen for the wrong man and is whisked away from certain ruin,. However, both women must put their heads together to find a murderer in the family. Thanks to Net Galley for the arc.

What an interesting premise for a thriller, and in a setting & time period where so often you don’t see this genre thrive. It was a fun read, a great exploration into the subversion of expectations, and an overall enjoyable time spent from page one to page done!

My thanks to the Author publisher's and Netgalley for providing me with a Kindle version of this book to read and honestly review.
I was surprised by the Spinsters in the title as I was expecting two nosy old biddies, of my age whilst in fact they were just unmarried young ladies. The Author gives a real feel for time and place, with interesting characters throughout. Clever intelligent storytelling with some surprises along the way. An engaging intriguing mystery.
Recommended.

Thank you Netgalley for the digital Arc!
Two Spinsters and a Corpse is a cozy historical Mystery story about two young unmarried ladies in Regency-era England, Judith and Louisa-Margaretta, who are brought together on a cold night when a murder is committed in Louisa's home. Together, they set out to find the killer and save themselves and their family before another crime is committed.

What I liked:
The writing was very well done. I loved the witty turn of phrases and giggled a couple of times! It reminded me of Jane Austen, without being tacky or over the top. The story was fast-paced and easy to follow. I enjoyed myself overall.

What I disliked:
Although it was a mystery, the story wasn't very thrilling or entertaining. The "plot twists" were written in a way that made them underwhelming, which made the story quite dull. I thought it was a great idea, and while I hadn't guessed who the murderer was, I was a little disappointed at the way the story ended. It resolved way too quickly. I understand it was historical fiction, but it could still have been exciting. I think I would have loved it more if it had been a sapphic romance. Missed opportunity in my opinion!