Thanks to Bookouture and Net Galley for this ARC. Really loving this series and hope it will continue even though the two main protagonists have got married. Looking forward to more

I have really enjoyed this series and was eager to read this next one mainly to see where the romance was headed. The mystery ended up sucking me in and I couldn't put it down. The story got off to a bit of a slow start when all the suffragettes were introduced. It wasn't difficult for me to put the book down and pick it up again later but then once the investigation really got going, I was hooked. I did not figure out whodunit though I had my suspicions about that person. It didn't seem likely they could have done it. The romantic subplot progresses nicely but the epilogue seems to indicate this is the last of Mabel's adventures. I hope not! So many historical mystery series are ending and I like this one because it is different.

Mabel is an older heroine at 32 and she's mature enough to know her own mind and what she wants. She is finally independent and free to do what she wants BUT she still feels like a little girl when she's back in her father's orbit. She understands why he worries but she's an adult and has proven she can take care of herself - at least with the help of friends. I really like Mabel and can relate to her. She's come into her own with this investigation and is capable of directing the investigation and the women's suffrage event on her own. Mabel also knows her feelings for Park even if she isn't quite sure what her intentions are. She has never felt this way about any of the men she's brought home but is confident Park can win her father over.

Reg Canning loves his daughter but as a single dad, he's overprotective. He can't accept his daughter is an adult and times have changed and modern women date without consequences. Reg tests Park and attempts to drive this suitor away. That's not cool but typical of fathers, especially fathers who grew up in the Victorian era when patriarchs were strict and maintained tight control over their families. Reg has a good heart though and he's happiest when he's acting as a mentor or father figure. I think he just misses having his little girl around following him around and learning from him. He seems to enjoy lost souls who need a father figure. Mrs. Chandeker is more understanding. She raised Mabel to be a smart, independent young woman and trusts Mabel. She's very kind and nurturing to everyone she meets. One thing I question is the unmarried Indian woman living in the same house as an unmarried European male without question and his natural acceptance of Mrs. C as family. Perhaps there's a real life example of such a situation. The little bit I have read about the British Raj period indicates people were not so open minded.

Back for more fun are Cora and Skeff. Cora is a dear heart who is kind. She is a great listener and as such, is an asset to the investigation. She gets information no one else knows or would be able to get and knows instinctively how to get that information. Cora doesn't seem to know her own worth and is too shy to toot her own horn. She leaves it to Skeff to do. Skeff is awesome. She's queer, out and proud and a dedicated journalist. Though she's eager for a good story as much as the next reporter, she waits until the investigation is done and reports in a fair and unbiased manner. Her job is useful for maintaining contacts all over the country which helps in the investigation. Communication was a little more slow 100 years ago than it is today and some relevant information may not arrive in time! Other than Skeff, my favorite character is 8-year-old Augustus Malling-Frobisher. He's the comic relief. Augustus is very bright, curious and a kind soul but insanely hyperactive! Poor Augustus is lonely and neglected. He's in need of parental figures to love him and guide him.

Of course Park and Gladys are here too. Park is really a sweetheart. He does truly love Mabel and understands her desire for independence. He doesn't try to stop her from investigating and knows she's capable. That doesn't mean he doesn't worry and there are certain situations where he needs to step in because of his masculine authority and experience and Mabel understands that. They work as a team, in conjunction with Cora and Skeff and everyone works well together. That's what makes this series different and the investigations so successful. Gladys is adorable and intelligent, of course.

Inspector Tollington is fair minded for a cop and respects Mabel's intelligence and sleuthing ability. She is especially suited to this case because the suspects are all women. He brings along Hildy, PC Wardle, who is finally getting a chance to be truly involved in the investigation. Even though she spends most of her time guarding women and taking statements, she's doing something and seems to be excited to be actively doing policework. I like her a lot. She's fun and a great addition to the team.

We finally meet Ronald and his family. He's a nice man and isn't interested in marrying Mabel any more than she wants to marry him. He seems to be over that. Childhood memories can be recalled with a smile and he can speak of Edith now without being upset. He loves his mother but isn't overprotective. Ronald helps with the investigation with insider knowledge of the house but doesn't try to stop Mabel and co. from investigating. His mother is pretty cool. She's not stuffy, formal or old-fashioned. She has no regrets about the past and cares for her husband in her own way. She's grateful for her two sons and grandchildren and marriage and age now give her the right to vote. She's very egalitarian in her views and believes everyone has the right to vote and an education. Lady F even hints that she is like Cora and Skeff but wasn't brave enough to be so daring and open. Different time, different views. Even in the 1920s Cora and Skeff are pretty unusual! Lady F is worried about the future, worried the past is affecting the present and just wants her friends to be innocent so they can choose a new leader. I appreciate her cooperation and how she never tries to thwart the investigation or the police.

Dorothea Goose is an unusual woman. An older spinster, she was close friends with Lady F back in the day. Dorothea is not universally beloved. At first it seems the other women don't like her because she's kind of shrill and bossy. She tries to lord her authority as a friend of Lady F's over Mabel but Mabel holds firm. Apparently no one wants to be in the room next to Dorothea's save for Annie. It comes out that there's a reason for that. The past haunts Dorothea and she has what we call PTSD. Her story is very sad and it is truly awful the things that were done to women. She's still fighting so I give her a lot of credit. It's so terrible none of these women will live to see women achieve full equality or anything close to it. Dorothea is a tough lady to like but I ended up appreciating her and hoping she wasn't the murderer. Annie Harkin didn't live long enough to get to know except through the other characters. Annie just seemed very nice and a lovely woman but others think she was TOO nice and acted like a martyr. Annie may have had skeletons in her past that led to murder. She was estranged from her husband, no children and no other family. Perhaps her death was a case of wrong room, wrong victim?

None of the other suffragettes or suffragists are not very likable. Miss Pretoria Fleming-Jones seems suspicious to me. Her whiny, abrasive personality may have something to do with the lack of invitations. Lavinia Poppin and Miss Thirza Bass are tight and they've been close to Pretoria in the past. Mabel thinks of them as a Greek chorus but Pretoria seems to be the hanger-on in this clique of three. I think she may be the murderer because she was jealous Annie was about to be chosen as the new leader. Or maybe not. Miss Ruby Truelock is the youngest of the group. She's there on behalf of her late mother, Susan, who was one of the original suffragists and educators. At first Ruby is very quiet and fades into the background. Everyone ignores her. Then, after the murder, Ruby comes out of her shell. Ruby seems to idolize Mabel and is a wannabe investigator herself. She fancies herself Watson to Mabel's Sherlock but is too young and inexperienced to really be of any help. Ruby is very curious about the murder, could she be the murderer cleverly trying to keep Mabel from finding out the truth? I'm not sure about her. I want to like her but she does seem a little over eager like she's trying to hide something. No one, not even Mabel, is very nice to her.

Binks the butler is the prime suspect. What a cliche! He appears to be blind but I wonder if he really is? When he removes his spectacles he can see and it sure seems like he can see better than everyone thinks he can. He had a rough past and a connection to Annie. He claims they were once close, like siblings, but are now estranged. Could something from the past have been dragged up now and caused Binks to kill his cousin? Perhaps the suffrage thing is just a red herring? Dr. Finlay seems like a shady doctor to me, at least from a modern perspective. He keeps pushing drugs on Dorothea for nerves. She insists she doesn't need them and he keeps trying. The final suspect would be Oliver Harkin, Annie's estranged husband. It seems fishy he shows up when she's murdered claiming he loved her, yet everyone believes they were estranged. How could he have sneaked into the Hall, found his wife and killed her? There are so many characters and suspects! Which one is the real killer?

This was an excellent entry in a great series. I shall be sorry to leave Mabel and co. behind. Perhaps her adventures will continue or other Useful Women will come into the picture. I'd like a spinoff with Skeff and Cora, a prequel about Lillian is necessary for sure!

Murder of a Suffragette follows Lady Detective Mable Canning as she tries to solve another murder. Mabel, being a modern woman has a range of friends who are interested in woman having more say in their lives and is attending a gathering of suffragettes. This book is set at a time when some women have gained the vote, but others are still without a voice.
I loved the historical setting of this book, as well as the mystery itself. Mabel is a woman of her time, but also one who is pushing against the traditional ideals that have been imposed on women. She has a man in her life, but he's there to assist her, not in any way oppress her.
I didn't mange to solve this one, I think that my skills in this area must be slipping. I enjoyed finding out who was behind it all and getting to the reveal it became obvious I'd missed one or two clues along the way.
This was a great read and I'm looking forward to more from Mabel and the London Ladies' Murder Club soon. Especially as this ended in a really quite satisfying way.
I received a complimentary copy of this book through NetGalley. The opinions expressed in this review are completely my own and given voluntarily.

Murder of a Suffrage by Marty Wingate, the 4th installment in her London Ladies Mystery Club Series, was another good cozy mystery. As murder strikes at a suffragette gathering of friends in an old country manor house, the story escalates as Mable and her boyfriend work behind the scenes to help solve the mystery because of a lack of police effort to uncover the murderer. The story is full of plot twists and turns; the setting is vivid and believable, but the characters had me backtracking a great deal to ensure I knew ‘who was who.’ I chalked this up to having not read the first three books in the series before I read this one. The dialogue is well done and adds to the pacing, keeping me interested.

With so many quirky characters to get to know, I plan to read the first three books in the series and re-read this one. It just didn’t work for me as a standalone. But that was no fault of the author. Readers need to read the previous books in the series for smoother reading.

It was a four-star read all around. I enjoyed the book and look forward to reading the series' first three books and future tales. I highly recommend this author to anyone who loves a cozy murder mystery as a diversion from daily life.

I want to thank Net Galley, the publisher, and the author, for the opportunity to get to know another talented writer in the cozy murder mystery genre. I received this as an advanced copy. This review is voluntary and mine alone.

Brilliant catch up with the ladies from the murder club, absolutely love these who dun its, I was kept guessing all the way through and still got it wrong
Another brilliant read in a fantastic series can't wait to read more from Marty

Women from all around the country have joined together to fight for the vote. But when one of them is killed, only amateur sleuth Mabel Canning can halt a murderer’s campaign… This is an engrossing page turner with striking imagery and breakneck twists. The author has a crisp writing style which guides readers through this layered and innovative mystery. It was a treat to read.⭐️⭐️⭐️⭐️

I absolutely love this series but was really disappointed by the ending.
The whole point is that she is sort of the useful women agency and is independent moving to London and not wanting to settle down which is the opposite of what happens. She also doesn't really talk much to the leader of the useful woman's agency which is a shame as she's a great character.
We also don't get any more of parks sister who she formed a close friendship with at the beginning.

I'm therefore lowering my rating.
It was a fun cosy read and before this book and really enjoyed the series.

My Thoughts /

"Mabel fumed on her way down to the kitchen. Harkin would have a word with Binks when she said so, and not before - and she would be present when it happened. Let him put that in his pipe and smoke it."

First and foremost, a huge THANK YOU to NetGalley, Marty Wingate and Bookouture publishing for providing me with a copy of this publication, which allows me to provide you with an unbiased review.

Murder of a Suffragette is book four in Marty Wingate’s London Ladies’ Murder Club series, and, if you haven't heard of the London Ladies' Murder Club, it's a wonderful new cosy mystery series set in 1920's London, highlighting the adventures of Miss Mabel Canning of the Useful Women’s Agency.

In this story, Wingate highlights the plight of the suffragette movement in 1922.

🚦🛑STOP!🛑🚦
Did you know that there were both Suffragettes and Suffragists? No? Me either. So while you’re here, lets quickly clear up a key difference between the two. While the two terms were often used interchangeably when discussing women’s suffrage history, there was indeed a definite distinction between the two. Thought of mainly as a group who advocated for ‘enfranchisement’, or the right to vote, a key difference between suffragists and suffragettes is that while the suffragists used largely peaceful methods such as lobbying, the suffragettes weren't afraid to employ more militant tactics in an effort to be heard.

We know from previous books that Miss Canning moved to London because she desired to live as an ‘independent’ woman. She found herself a job working for Miss Lillian Kerr, who owns and operates the Useful Women Agency, and since the series first introduction, has taken her useful employment from strength to strength.

‘Useful Women’ carry out all manner of work, and, in book 4, Mabel has been engaged to work as the private secretary to Lady Fellbridge up at Fellbridge Hall, Sussex. Lady Fellbridge has put out a call to a (select) few suffragettes and other supporters to gather at Fellbridge Hall and discuss ideas on how to proceed with the latest campaign - women’s right to vote. Women over the age of thirty had gained the vote in 1918, but the fight would not be over until they were equal to men and had the right to vote at twenty-one.

But the women barely have time to settle in when disaster strikes. A long-time leader of the suffragette cause, Annie Harkin has been found murdered in her bed. With Detective Inspector Tollerton absent on another case, it’s left to Mabel to begin the investigations. It’s just as well her good friends, Cora Portjoy and Miss Hippolyta Skeffington (who would rather keep her Christian name under her hat - so call me Skeff) are both attending the conference. On this case Mabel needs all the assistance she can get.

In my previous review of book three I said: ... this proceeds at the perfect pace - not too fast and not too slow. I can see the development of the characters since the first book and I'm really enjoying Wingate's style of writing and how she's developing her characters. The mysteries are well plotted and just twisty enough to be interesting, and they are certainly unique - on the doorstep, at the séance, and now, at the dance hall.. My thoughts haven’t changed since finishing book four. So you can read this paragraph again!

The author is growing Mabel in both her style and confidence; and, in her sleuthing ability and analytical skills. Her friendship with Cora, Skeff and Park is cementing; and other returning characters make a welcome appearance.

Last Word?
There is a surprise for the reader written into the Epilogue.

Last, Last Word?
I can’t wait to read the next instalment!!

Murder of a Suffragette is due for release on October 28, 2024.

Previous titles in the series are:
A Body on the Doorstep
A Body at the Séance
A Body at the Dance Hall

#MurderofaSuffragette #UsefulWomenAgency #LondonLadiesMurderClub #NetGalley

Mabel Canning and her friends who make up the London Ladies' Murder Club are back in their fourth mystery. This time they're in Mabel's old neighborhood as she takes a job as an event coordinator for a conference of suffragettes at the estate on the edge of the village where she grew up. Cora and Skeff are in attendance and Park (the token male in the group) and dog Gladys are staying in the village. As the women arrive, it doesn't take long for tensions to erupt, but things are soon smoothed over--until, that is, one of the new arrivals is found dead in her room. Although Scotland Yard is called in and a couple of local constables are on the scene, Mabel takes charge of the investigation, with her team there to lend a hand. Can they get to the bottom of things before more people are hurt?

I am always happy to see a new book in this series and this one was no exception. I really enjoy the ways in which the characters develop and in this book, we meet people from Mabel's life before she moved to London, which opened up a whole other dimension. As always, Gladys is there to provide some laughs. Mabel continues to grow in confidence. The historical aspects to the story are always enjoyable to read and in this one, set in 1922, certain British women have gotten the right to vote, but the suffragettes and suffragists continue to fight for the right to vote for all women. The 'Letters from Marty' section at the end of the books are always informative and interesting. The mystery was well plotted and the pace was perfect. In short, this is a top-notch historical cozy mystery--5 stars.

Mabel and her group of women in the murder club, are spending the week at an estate hosting a group of suffragette supporters. Sadly, a couple are murdered and a couple more are attacked, including Mabel. A good story with plenty of interesting characters, and of course Gladys the dog. A good cozy mystery series and this one was hard to put down. Highly recommend.

3.5 stars

It's 1922 in Britain and the suffragette movement is active. Mabel Canning, who left her village to move to London and is employed by the Useful Women agency, is helping coordinate a women's meeting at the estate of one of the members.

Mabel is independent, smart and feminist. But then in this gathering, so are all the women. They have a lot of history together back to the days when some were interned at Holloway Prison and force fed against their will. They are meeting to choose a new leader and there is some contentiousness. One of the icons of the movement is found dead and nobody can believe that one of their number might be responsible.

Mabel, whose sweetie Park is on hand, begins preliminary interviews since the local police force is in over their heads and the Yard is overworked. Mabel is an admirable character living in an interesting time. I received an advance review copy for free, and I am leaving this review voluntarily.

Another enjoyable entry in this great series. Mabel and friends are closer to Mabel’s home this time as murder strikes at a suffragette meeting at the manor house in Mabel’s home village. Mabel has to solve a quickly escalating case while also allowing boyfriend Park to meet her family. As always with this series, the mystery is very well done, but it’s the characters and their relationships that really are the heart of the book. The dialogue and interactions are believable and move the plot along. There’s a lovely development at the end that series readers will especially enjoy. I always look forward to these books. Thanks to NetGalley and the publisher for an advance copy. All views are entirely my own and offered voluntarily.

Murder of a Suffragette by Marty Wingate

Murder of a Suffragette is the latest in the London Ladies Murder Club series and I think it was my favorite one yet. The main character of Mabel Canning is a well-developed, likable character, who is not afraid to admit that she loves to solve a mystery. She really comes into her own in this book, even taking the place of an often absent police officer. Her cast of quirky friends is another enjoyable part of this series. From her handsome boyfriend Park to the adorable Gladys and sweet Augustus, I love reading about these characters and all the things they do to help her solve a mystery and still have a lot of fun. I was also so excited that we get to meet her family in this book and they did not disappoint. I had no idea who the killer was until the very end and ending of the book was wonderful. The ending kind of wrapped things in a bow, but I hope there will be more in this series. I could imagine it continuing on for a long time!

Thank you to NetGalley for allowing me to read this book. All opinions are my own.

Even the title is catching…attention to back in the day…the title brings up a myriad of subjects…the realistic characters keep the story moving quickly. This is a series that I has red herrings that kept me guessing. The women…their beliefs…their actions…enjoy 5his book by a talented author. Thanks Netgalley

I had a great read during this novel, it had everything that I enjoyed from the previous three books in the London Ladies' Murder Club series. It had that murder mystery element that I was hoping for and enjoyed in the genre. The characters felt like they were supposed to in this time-period. I was fully invested in this story and that had me from the first page, and guessing until the end. Marty Wingate has a great way of telling the story with interesting characters. I hope there is more in the London Ladies' Murder Club series and from Marty Wingate.