A Daughter’s Guide to Mothers and Murder by Dianne Freeman

A Daughter’s Guide to Mothers and Murder is the latest mystery in the Countess of Harleigh series by Dianne Freeman. I really enjoy this series and this book was no different. The series is well written and researched and the mystery kept me guessing until the very end. I liked the setting in France, but I am eager for George and Frances to get back to England. I miss the many fun characters in their lives. I did enjoy having Frances’ mother in another book and Sarah Bernhardt was a fun “guest star”. I look forward to the next book in the series and more adventures for the Countess of Harleigh!

Thank you to NetGalley for allowing me to the review this book. All opinions are my own!

I kind of wished I had waited to read this until after the novella due out in April because I was pretty confused at the beginning of the book mentioning things that hadn’t happened yet. I went looking back and realized there was an upcoming novella but kept reading anyway. I enjoyed seeing a different side to Frances’ mother in this book and her interactions with other characters, it made me like her a bit more. I have to say that it wasn’t one of my favorite books in the series but I was definitely surprised by the ending and had no clue how the mystery would be resolved. I found I liked it more though once we started to get more details. I look forward to getting to read the novella and playing catch up.
Thank you to NetGalley and the publisher for selecting me to read an advanced copy of the book.

4.25 stars

This is the 8th book in the County of Harleigh Mystery series by Dianne Freeman.

Frances is asked by her “frenemy” to find out what she can about a man her daughter was interested in. The man’s wife had been killed some months earlier. At the same time, new evidence in the wife’s murder has appeared, and Frances and George become part of the investigation.

I’ve read all of the books in this series and continue to find it enjoyable! A delightful historic cozy mystery – fun characters, interesting cases, low stakes mystery. Each book has its own mystery, and the books could easily be read as stand-alones.

Thanks to NetGalley and Kensington Publishing for the advanced copy of this book. All opinions are my own.

As Frances and George spend some well deserved leisure time in Paris before heading home, an unexpected job lands in Frances lap. Alicia Stoke-Whitney, seeks Frances’s help to investigate a personal matter. Alicia’s daughter is being courted by Carlson Deaver, a wealthy American shadowed by a very suspicious tragedy. Alicia asks Frances to investigate Carlson to make sure her daughter would be safe with him. Thus begins a very twisty turny investigation that leads to some surprising results.

Frances and George as well as the supporting characters are wonderful. The mystery was surprising an enjoyable at every turn. I would highly recommend this entire series.

In this 8th installment of the Countess of Harleigh mystery series, we find Frances and George still in Paris and enlisted by Inspector Cadieux to look into the murder of a former actress, the wife of the rich American, Carlson Deaver. The case brings them to the dressing room of world famous actress Sarah Bernhardt.

I continue to enjoy this historical mystery series. The wife and husband team in the upper echelons of society is fun to follow. There was a big unanswered question in this one that bothered me. All in all, a solid cozy mystery and a series I will continue to follow.

Thank you to NetGalley and the publisher for this ARC in exchange for an honest review.

Having read all the other books in the series, I was excited to get this ARC approved! Over the years, my ratings for these books have varied between 3 and 4, and I'm happy to say that this one was definitely a 4. This installment is one of my favorites in the series. That said, though this probably could function as a stand alone, a new reader would have a much better experience starting the series from the beginning, as the character relationships and dynamics will make more sense.

As the title implies, this time, Frances and George are dealing with many complex mother-daughter relationships, from friends to family, to murder victims and suspects! Frances' mother, sister, Lily, and Lily's new baby daughter are all players in the story. So are Anne, Lily's sister-in-law and Patricia, Anne's mother and Lily's mother-in-law. Frances' old frenemy, Alicia, also gets involved in the plot over her concerns over her daughter. A new character, Mimi, is also mother-in-law of a murder victim from 6 months ago, whose case has been again brought to the fore thanks to a blackmailing note. Of course, Frances and Charles (and various friends and family) wind up embroiled in the investigation to their not-so-secret delight. Happily, in this book, Freeman manages to tone down the awfulness of Frances' family (one of things that has, in my opinion, weighed down some of the past novels) and make Frances' mother a much more redeeming character in this story. The family dynamics in general are much more positive and supportive this time around, which I enjoyed.

Freeman also takes advantage of the Paris setting, letting the characters travel around the city more and referencing topical events of the time, such as the Exposition and the Olympics. Good timing, with the most recent Olympics also having taken place in Paris. I felt the city of Paris got a little short-changed in the prior book, and it was nice to see more of it here. She also puts the Paris theater scene as the focal point of the investigation, and it was fun to see Frances "starstruck" by having to interview a famous actress.

Two small drawbacks - I found the final climactic ending ridiculous. I could not take it seriously, and it felt like it came completely out of left field. I can't say more without spoiling it. I know these are cozy, unrealistic mysteries, but it was still a bit much for me. It didn't spoil the story for me, but it did almost lead me to lower my rating to a 3, it was just so silly. Secondly, the book refers to Frances and George's honeymoon in ways that made me wonder if I had missed a book somehow. In fact, Freeman is releasing a novella this April that covers those events. I was able to read this whole book without any trouble not knowing those events, but I suspect it would have been a slightly better experience had I read the novella.

Overall, an very enjoyable addition to the series, and good go-to for a nice, period-piece cozy historical mystery, just look past that shaky ending.

I have been following Countess Harleigh’s mysteries since the very first novel. This is a great cozy mystery series with well developed characters that are very enjoyable.

I enjoyed her Mom getting more involved in the story to add some more humor to the mix. Twists and a turn do happen as you get toward the end. The middle moves a bit slow then picks up and takes off.

I look forward to the next book in the series.

Frances and Charles took their ward and her half sister back to England and then returned to Paris to solve another murder. This one was a bit far-fetched, but the historical tid bits are delicious: Frances drives a motor car! She learns to golf! And her sister-in-law is competing in the Paris Olympics golf tournament, which is getting little press because of the Exposition. The world is changing fast, and Frances and George are doing their best to keep up - while still enjoying their privileged lifestyle, of course.

Frances has also made friends (of sorts) with her former nemesis - the woman her unmourned husband was in bed with when he died. AND her mother arrives after a six month Egyptian trip.

Frances and George are at it again. While spending a well deserved vacation in Paris, they are approached to solve a murder. With the usual apblomb this book has its twists and turns, elite society, covert information seeking parties and plenty more to keep the reader entertained. I love this series.

An entertaining read with lots of viable suspects. Interesting characters both new and old. Freeman is a deft hand at locale and time period details