Tropes: class/racial difference; working class MC's; MC's team up to solve a murder
Steam level: low (a chaste kiss)

This is a solid 4 stars from me. A good start to a new mystery/HR series by Mary Lancaster. The MC's, Constance and Solomon, are engaging, witty, and different from the typical HR couple. The hook for me was their challenging pasts due to gender and race; they've each had to overcome much to attain success in their lives. Neither is titled. I thought Solomon's past in Jamaica and the issue of slavery was handled in an especially fresh way and was well researched. Be aware that though the MC's have chemistry, their relationship is an extremely slow burn, which makes sense for their characters; this book is much more heavily focused on plot than steam

The baddie isn't hard to figure out, but there is an unexpected angle, and I liked Constance and Solomon's clever escape.

My quibbles:
--The butler played an interesting role but not quite sure why he lingered? Maybe I missed something.
--I wasn't really comfortable with the fact that the youngest daughter, who was around 16, had a very obvious flirtation with a much older man and then a lower-key flirtation with another (slightly younger) man by the end. It seemed an odd choice to not make her, say, 18.
--Finally, I felt that Constance was a bit too accepted by a key character at the end.

Overall, though, this is a well plotted and well researched mystery/romance.

Murder in Moonlight
Mary Lancaster

What a delightful read. More mystery than romance but delightfully captivating. Captured my attention from prologue and never let go. Extremely well written with rounded characters even very secondary ones, believable mystery and page turner. Author is new to me but I’ll definitely be reading by her.

Mrs Constance Silver and Mr Solomon Grey meet unexpectedly when he rescues her.
They meet again at a house party where they are both searching for answers.
Constance is undercover as she is a courtesan and would not normally be welcome and Solomon is a businessman.
A murder takes place and they join forces to protect each other as well as attempt to solve crime.
A compelling story as clues are revealed and danger is present.
Looking forward to further collaborations by this couple.

5 stars

What an excellent start to the new series.

We met Solomon and Constance briefly in one of the books with Lady Grizelda Tizsa and Dragan. In that book Constance was helping Griz dress as a prostitutue in order to retrieve some diamonds. The Diamonds were owned by Solomon.
They are invited to the house party separately. Constance wants to ask questions of the host as does Solomon. I guessed who Solomon was searching for...lets hope this is answered in other books. The host is killed and our intrepid duo seek to solve the mystery and help out the police. The police recognise that Constance is in disguise but don't let the cat out of the bag. About two thirds of the way through I realised who must have done the deed.

What I love about this author's writing is the characterisation of all the players, even the smaller roles such as Owen the boot boy. Looking forward to more stories and heartily recommend.

I voluntarily read and reviewed an advanced copy of this book. All thoughts and opinions are my own

There's a lot to like here. There's a murder mystery, opposites attract and a lot of dramatic moments. I was never bored while reading. The action is fast paced and the characters are entertaining. I also liked the setting of a house party. I was also surprised by the ending.

A fun read!

This was a strong start to the Silver and Grey series, it had that overall storyline that I wanted. It had that historical romance element that I was looking for and was glad it worked together. The characters continued to feel like they were supposed to and was glad I was able to read this. I can’t wait to read more in this series and from Mary Lancaster.

Constance, an owner of a very exclusive brothel, gets herself invited to a country house party in order to determine if the head of the house could be her actual father. Solomon gets invited because he thinks the head of the house could know something of his long lost brother. When the man in question is murdered, they must team up to discover who is responsible. I look forward to reading the next book in this five book series. I received an ARC from NetGalley and Dragonblade Publishing for my honest review.