I was so delighted to receive an early reader copy of A Terribly Nasty Business the sequel to Julia Seales’ debut novel A Most Agreeable Murder. In this new novel, our heroine Beatrice Steele is back and in London for her first season. Although her family sent her to London to pursue the lucrative marriage market, Beatrice feels she can finally pursue her passion without the same hindrances of country life: solving homicides. Although there are fewer squelch holes than in the first book, it has all of the same charm and whit. What I love about this book:
◦ Regency era
◦ Quirky characters
◦ Murder mystery
◦ Will they, won’t they (chaste) romance plot
Thank you NetGalley and Random House Publishing House for giving me a chance to read and give my honest opinion.

This second book has everything you loved about the first. Engaging characters, building romance, multilevel mysteries, theatrical story building, and a touch of the absurd. Absolutely fantastic. Readers of the first book won’t be disappointed!

A Terribly Nasty Businessis a charming and amusing sequel. After finally whetting her true crime appetite by solving her first case, Beatrice Steele takes on London as both a society miss in search of a husband and an inspector with her ever curt, ever logical partner, Vivek Drake. It's quite a balancing act in this one with Beatrice having to contend with gruesome murders, artist censorship in the community, pressure from her marriage-minded mama, and a tangled little love triangle.

All in all, I thought this was an enjoyable addition to the series, though not quite as captivating as the first book. I believe the satirical bits didn't land as hard and the mystery got to be too involved. I did quite like the romantic tension between Beatrice and Drake, though. It was delicious. I hope to see more of that as the series continues.

Special thanks to NetGalley and Random House for the ARC in exchange for my review.

Adored this, want another book already!

The second novel of Inspector Beatrice Steele is even better than the first. A great mystery, some laugh out loud irony, and a sprinkle of romance (which I am hoping gets turned up in future installments!) --- you couldn't ask for more.

Beatrice is finally in London as one half of DS Investigations, a new partnership she has formed with Inspector Drake. Of course, her marriage-minded mama also forces her to participate in the season while she is there, hoping she will snag a rich beau, but Beatrice is ready to be somewhere that will be more accepting of her more unique hobbies. She quickly gets her wish in the form of a gruesome murder. A local actor is accused and hires DS Investigations to prove he is not the culprit, sending Beatrice and Drake on their second true investigation.

Loved every page!

Review of a Terribly Nasty Business by Julia Seales.
This was a fantastic read, fast paced, funny and smart. Our adorable heroine moves to London and finds new adventures with some of our favorite friends, plus new ones. Miss Bolton has a larger role in this story and larger hats. She is one of many quirky, eclectic characters that make the world of Sweetbriar London a joy.
We get a good mystery, fun cast, flying squirrels and a budding romance but my favorite part, the themes that are explored through satire. Of course it makes you think about what a woman's place is now and in history but also the idea of how important art is for society’s growth. Clever word play is plentiful and the story moves quickly. Definitely check this series out I you need a smile.
Thank you Netgalley and Random House for the opportunity to read this ARC. All opinions are my own.

I loved this second installment of the Beatrice Steele mysteries! The banter and witty remarks from all characters and the addition of the flying squirrels made this a fun read. I look forward to the next book!

After finally solving her first murder case, Beatrice Steele is back in a second installment of the Beatrice Steele series. In this novel, she is embarking upon a season in London, both as a young woman in search of a husband, and a young inspector in search of a killer. Because a killer is in fact about the upper London society, hiding amongst all of the attacking squirrels in the neighborhood of Sweetbriar. With the artist community in danger of censorship, upperclass men being murdered left and right, romantic tension between Inspector Drake, and frequent reminders from her mother that their family is on the brink of destitution, Beatrice has plenty on her mind in this novel.

For me, this was an enjoyable novel in the series, but not quite as charming as the first. Wtih the first novel, I was laughing frequently and excited to continue on. This second installment was missing a bit of the humor and had a murder mystery that was a little convoluted for me to follow. Not a bad read, and a series I still very much plan on following, but not one that was quite as exciting as the first.

Thank you NetGalley and Random House for my e=ARC!

A hilarious and engaging sequel that can be enjoyed as a standalone. Beatrice and Inspector Drake have teamed up to investigate crimes. They are hired by a beloved actor to solve a murder! While Beatrice and Drake search for clues, they find themselves competing with the famous inspector Sir Huxley who has been hired by a group of gentlemen determined to restore order and propriety to their neighborhood.

This is a lot of fun to read - there is a compelling mystery, intrigue, and a hint of a love triangle. It is easy to root for Beatrice and I can’t wait for the next installment of her adventures.

Thank you to Random House and NetGalley for the opportunity to read a copy.

I enjoyed the first in this series much more than this follow up. I found some of the what I’m assuming are modern day parallels to be too on the nose as if the author was elbowing me while reading and saying “eh? Eh? See what I did there?” Ultimately I did not connect with this story like I did the first! Perhaps reading these two back to back would help keep the momentum between them.

If “A Most Agreeable Murder” had you cackling into your tea, then “A Terribly Nasty Business” will absolutely keep the absurdity (and the body count) rolling. Julia Seales once again delivers a lighthearted, clever, and thoroughly entertaining Regency mystery—think Jane Austen meets Hercule Poirot, with a sharp dose of Douglas Adams-esque wit.

Beatrice remains a fantastic heroine—determined, sharp, and forever finding herself in situations no proper lady should be involved in. I also loved how Miss Bolton continued to grow as a character, and Beatrice’s new London friends added an extra layer of fun. The mystery itself? Engaging from start to finish, even if the victims were… let’s just say deserving of their fates. (Still, I had to know whodunit.)

Seales’ tongue-in-cheek writing style shines again, with fast pacing, clever wordplay, and plenty of absurd societal nonsense to keep things lively. And while every twist kept me hooked, my favorite part? The ending. (No spoilers, but trust me—it was so worth it.)

Highly recommend for fans of Jane Austen, cozy mysteries, Agatha Christie, and anyone who likes their murder with a side of satire. I, for one, cannot wait for Beatrice’s next adventure.

I liked this even more than the first book! The story really benefited from expanding beyond the small town of Swampshire to bustling London! It was fun in the first book to have more of a locked-room mystery, but all the new characters and locations really made it feel like an adventure!

Beatrice & Inspector Drake... what can I say? the TENSION. the CONFESSION. I love them. I was giggling and kicking my feet!

Also, Julia Seales is so FUNNY. The style of humour in this book just GETS me!

All that being said, I missed Mary.

Superb sequel to a book I already loved. More adventures (mis adventures?) of great characters and very funny!

Thank you to NetGalley and the publisher for this book.

This is book two in a series, but can be read as a stand alone novel

I loved the characters, especially Beatrice Steele, She has become an amazing inspector in London, and teams up again with hunky, Detective Drake.

The book is full of mystery, suspence and romance.

You will love it!

Our book begins with a knife plunging into Walter Shrewsbury’s chest.

Beatrice returns in ‘A Terribly Nasty Business’, having moved out of Swampshire and into London where she is being pushed by her mother and her chaperone Miss Bolton to find a suitable match. But Beatrice is in London to catch killers not sweethearts. However our protagonist does point out, exceedingly handsome and cheerful men can be cold blooded murderers.

Beatrice finds herself in a tangled web between the accused (artists and performers of any kind) and the accusers (self appointed NAGS who dictate what will and will not be allowed), and realizes this case is about more than identifying the true killer. “If the artists are silenced, I shudder to think what might happen to the rest of us.”

I absolutely loved the second book in this series, and cannot wait for the third installment. Anyone who loves a regency novel with comedy and a little bit of murder will enjoy this one!

Thank you to NetGalley and the publisher for this ARC!

Bonus (I found this quote hilarious) “We are gentlemen! If we want someone killed, or anyone’s limbs chopped off, we will get our valet to do it for us.”

Julia Seales did it again!

A Terribly Nasty Business, despite its name, is such a delightful read. Every line and chapter fills me with such joy. I kid you not I could not stop smiling as I read this book. Even though mystery is not my preferred genre, A Terribly Nasty Business is without a doubt among my favorite of 2025!

In this exciting sequel to A Most Agreeable Murder, we join Beatrice in London as she split her time between securing a wealthy husband in the London season and her detective work as one half of DS Investigation. If you love the courting and the season of Regency era story, this book is for you! And if you are like me and feel sad about saying goodbye to Swampshire and its many eccentric quirks, fear not, Sweetbriar London is just as delightfully funny a setting as Swampshire.

The plot is engaging and it was very satisfying to see all the clues throughout come together in the end. It did feel a bit more gruesome than book 1 but still not squeamishly so. I also love the main conflict surrounding the art as presented in the novel. In this age of increasing censorship, though presented in a satirical way, it speaks to the importance of artists and arts in our society.

But the strength of this book is in its characters! I swear, I love them all so much, especially my girl Beatrice. Her resilience and wits once again capture my heart (and the hearts of a few others 👀) and it is so satisfying seeing her asserting herself and her investigative skills throughout the novel. I really appreciate Julia Seales not making Beatrice a perfect heroine. Our protagonist is flawed but that makes her growth through A Terribly Nasty Business so much more rewarding.

We also get to see other sides to Inspector Drake (some, admittedly more frustrating than others) and his developing relationship with our heroine is a highlight for me and my romantic heart. (I swoon so many times throughout the book. This is romance!!!!!!!!!) I also adore the new characters in London, especially Beatrice's new friends and cannot wait to see more of them in the sequel (please tell me there is a sequel!!!!)

I cannot recommend this book enough. Read this if you're a fan of cozy mystery, if you love a slowburn romance, if you love humorous and witty characters, if you like fun. A Terribly Nasty Business has solidified Miss Julia Seales to be one of my favorite and auto buy author. I cannot wait to purchase and hold in my hand a physical copy of A Terribly Nasty Business and all of its future sequels. Please read it, it will bring you so much joy, I promise!

Thank you so much to Netgalley and Random House for the eARC in exchange for my honest review. All opinions are my own.

Absolutely fabulous! This is a great read. Clever. Different. Not formulaic.

When I found this book on NetGalley - thank you- I proceeded to find the first of the series. Then I was hooked!

I am excited to see how this goes and the author progresses in the series. 6 stars if I could!

Bravo.

I highly recommend this hilarious Regency-era mystery! The silly elements of this series sort of read like YA but I find it so entertaining! 'A Terribly Nasty Business' is an even richer blend of amateur detective sleuthing, larger-than-life characters, and slow burn romance than 'A Most Agreeable Murder'. Plus the London scene provides plenty of drama. ;) Julia Seales does every aspect of these books well, I am wholeheartedly looking forward to book 3!

Special thanks to Random House Publishing Group and NetGalley for a complimentary copy of this book. Opinions expressed in this review are completely my own.

I really enjoyed reading this book and found it almost impossible to put down! The characters were not only relatable but also so much fun to follow with their witty dialogue bringing them to life! The plot was engaging, full of surprises and kept me hooked from start to finish. The book was fast paced and explored love, friendships and murder! I'm so thrilled I had the chance to experience this story!

Thank you to NetGalley and the publisher for providing me an advance copy of this book in exchange for an honest review!

"A Terribly Nasty Business" by Julia Seales is the second installment in a comedic, tongue-in-cheek cozy mystery series set in Regency era England. The first book in this series was hilarious and charming and the second book followed in its footsteps. The story includes several of the same lovable characters, as well as a new cast of absurd side characters, but the setting switches to a fictional neighborhood in London. There were laugh-out-loud moments, intriguing clues, and good overall story progression.

This book was a sheer delight! Sequels can be tricky, but from Swampshire to Sweetbriar, I'll follow Beatrice Steele anywhere. In fact, I think the ending, with all of its twists and turns, was much cleaner than the first book in the series.

In this second installment, we get to spend more time with Beatrice, Inspector Drake (a lovely grumpy to her sunshine, if you can call a crime-junkie “sunshine”), and the quirky Miss Bolton. The Steele family continues to interject opinions and take up the footnotes. (I will never not love footnote-Mary.) We also get to know Sir Lawrence Huxley, and we are introduced to a cast of new characters, including two new friends for Beatrice, high society snobs, and an artist community that ranges from the truly talented to the most annoying of street mimes. Oh, and flying squirrels and gargoyles replace the frogs and squelch holes of Swampshire. Like the first book in the series, this novel is just pure fun!