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A Most Agreeable Murder
Beatrice Steele · Book 1 · 2023
Audiobook available · 9 hr 7 min
Beatrice Steele has a private interest in crime reports and little talent for the accomplishments expected of a Regency lady. A ball is supposed to help secure her family’s future through a wealthy marriage. When a bachelor dies, Beatrice’s attention turns to suspects and disgraced detective Vivek Drake.
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What makes it funny?
Beatrice’s embroidered portrait of her detective hero escapes notice because everyone mistakes it for a potato. Elsewhere, a portrait relegated to the privy seems suitably annoyed, and the grand gathering takes place at the ominously named Stabmort Park.
The comedy at work
The rules of respectable womanhood make Beatrice’s curiosity scandalous before she has done anything dangerous. Seales exaggerates those manners and social ambitions, allowing a murder investigation to expose how absurd the expectations already are.
Try this if…
Stormbound guests and a manor-house puzzle meet Austen-like marriage maneuvering. Beatrice’s ability to observe people is much more useful to her inquiry than her needlework.
Good to know
The Regency setting is deliberately exaggerated. Family finances and pressure to marry share the story with the detective work.
A few distinguishing details
- A would-be sleuth hides her interests behind unsuccessful needlework
More funny amateur sleuth
Sources & further reading
- Apple Books lists A Most Agreeable Murder: A Novel (Unabridged) by Julia Seales, duration 09:07, publisher Random House Audio.
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