A Most Agreeable Murder

One of my most enjoyable reads this year was "A Most Agreeable Murder" by Julia Seales.

During a ball attended by the creme de la creme of Swampshire, a small English town, a wealthy widow drops dead. Well, it just so happens that not only is the ball attended by one Inspector Vivek Drake (disgraced former assistant of a renowned London detective), but Miss Beatrice Steele who'd spent many secret hours obsessing over true crime cases.

If you enjoy the regency era setting, cozy mysteries and books that don't take themselves too seriously, this one is for you.

While I won't say that it's very historically accurate, it isn't meant to be. And it makes sure you know that from the very line. It's a very fun parody that I found myself chuckling show more over even after I was done reading. show less

Rules disposed of!

So I dragged my feet reading this. I took so…oo long it wasn’t funny. Jane Austen would cringe is my first thought. My second? Absurdity running amok! My third? Wonderful!
Mrs Steele does a credible job of aping Mrs Bennett. Oh, and Mr. Steele’s heir is attempting to have him ruled insane so he can claim his property!
The story line is indeed improbable. A town called Swampshire! Reports of a couple lost on their way to breakfast in their 59 bedroom mansion By the time they were found they’d perished! And their son Mr. Edmund Croaksworth inherited 8000 pounds a year. Hmm! There’s so much more here that pokes fun at lampooning Regency/Victorian mystery romances. So if you enjoy a rollicking, improbable farce, show more playing on the rules for living appropriately, as determined by the town’s founder (and the rest of society in these times) then you’ll enjoy this, as our heroine Beatrice Steele breaks them with abandoned regularity.
Witty, pointing to the sacred cows of the time, with an incisive edge. Indeed you can’t turn the page without another abandoned social more being brought to count.
Ridiculous though this is Beatrice does have a certain panache and a nose for the mysterious! Her secret passion is murder and crime. (Not needlework or other genteel pursuits—which she’s terrible at.) Beatrice has been secretly writing anonymously to the famous Gentleman Detective, Sir Huxley, a successful crime solver for years, giving him her take on the case. Now crime has arrived at Swampshire and Beatrice manages to have her moment … err many moments!
Did I say that Huxley’s assistant, Inspector Vivek Drake appears walking in the forest as the family is making their carriage journey to the Ball at Stabmort Park, home to the leading family (and historically, founder) of Swampshire. They take him up, and on to the ball!
Ok, I’m now a willing convert to Seales’ ridiculously, wonderful mess that Beatrice grapples with in this novel. I don’t think Jane Austen would cringe, she’d applaud it all! As do I!

A Random House invite ARC via NetGalley.
Many thanks to the author and publisher. show less

All of Swampshire is excited about the upcoming ball at Stabmort Hall -- except for Beatrice Steele, who would rather stay at home and indulge her scandalous secret interest in reading about and solving crimes. However, everyone expects her younger sister Louisa to make a good match with the wealthy Mr. Croaksworth, the ball's guest of honor, and Beatrice wants to be a supportive sister. When Mr. Croaksworth dies while dancing with Louisa, however, Beatrice's investigative skills are put to the test as she teams up with Inspector Drake, an unexpected guest at the ball, to solve the murder and save her sister's reputation.

I don't understand why I disliked this book as much as I did. I usually like whimsy, and this book is full of whimsy show more -- luminous frogs! squelch holes! implied werewolves! -- and the whimsy in this book grated on my every last nerve. I felt like the rules of deportment were not applied logically or consistently, and every plot twist was more ridiculous than the last. The result was something that was neither a good mystery, nor a good historical novel, nor a good fantasy. Maybe it was meant to be a good parody of all three? But it didn't work for me. show less

I saw this title featured in a magazine and, from the blurb, it sounded like something I would enjoy. When will I learn not to have expectations?

Although her obvious intention is to channel her inner Jane Austen, the author fails at recreating the charm or style of a British Regency novel.

This is clearly a book written by a 21st century American daydreaming about the aristocratic splendor of Regency England, but with 21st century tastes and sensibilities. Julia Seales doesn’t even really try to capture period language or social mores. Why are these supposedly Regency characters using terminology that sounds like every lame conversation I have ever been forced to overhear in the closed confines of my local Starbucks? It’s show more disingenuous, to say the least; at worst, it is disgustingly painful to try and get through.

Every once in a while Seales throws in British terminology just to attempt to sound like she is trying to get it right, but the half-hearted effort only comes across as forced and incredibly phony. Consequently, at one point we are informed of Mr. Steele’s preference for ‘pudding’. Congratulations, Miss Seales, you have figured out that Englishmen often use ‘pudding’ to refer to ‘dessert’…Bully for you! You clearly paid attention while watching an episode of The Great British Baking Show!

Mr. Steele’s obsession with joke shop pranks can only be described as absurd and tasteless. It does nothing but add insult to injury to the memory of Jane Austen. Nothing says Regency literature like whoopee cushions, plastic rats, and fake dagger headbands. It’s all supposed to be humorous, but it’s not…not by a long shot.

Because the reader is constantly reminded that this is a book straight out of 2023 rather than 1799, we get the token half-breed minority character, the token lesbian character, and the unwed pregnancy storyline which are all so misrepresentative of 18th century sensibilities and social norms. The idea that Regency period authors would openly write about homosexuality or react to illegitimacy in a positive way is absurd.

The entire book really is a series of unsuccessful efforts to copy Jane Austen. The reader is subjected to endless (& pathetic) attempts to rewrite Pride and Prejudice’s opening line, “It is a truth universally acknowledged, that a single man in possession of a good fortune, must be in want of a wife.” There is also the terribly feeble attempt to recreate the ‘refusal to dance’ scene at the ball.

The character impersonations are especially awkward and painful: the shrieking shrew of a mother who is obsessed with marrying off her daughters, the good-natured but socially awkward father, and cousin Grub, the drooling and snot-spouting version of Mr. Collins—all of whom are shallow & unnecessarily repellent caricatures of the Austen originals. And for some unknown reason Seales includes a Hedda Hopper-esque neighbor who wears outlandishly elaborate hats…what’s up with that? Any reader who attempts to make it through this book must have a high tolerance level for cringing.

I guess it is inevitable that the plan for this novel is for it to be the first in a series (please, NOOO!). Why does the author make numerous (unresolved) allusions to Mary being a werewolf? And is she seriously implying that Drake will really turn out to be the London Menace? I don’t know, and I don’t really care. I certainly won’t be reading any more in this series; I already resent the couple of hours I spent reading this installment.

A warning to other readers like myself who are sick to death of all the books that never seem to have the benefit of an editor or proofreader: on page 28, we are all treated to a repeat sentence, “This was particularly unfair because he had already inherited four other estates from various relatives. This was particularly unfair because he had already inherited four other estates from various relatives, by somehow outliving them all.” Thank you, Random House, for the glaring lack of interest in the quality of your products.

Overall, the main problem with this book just boils down to the fact that the author isn’t a very good writer. Seales often misuses words. A few examples: She uses ‘controversy’ when ‘scandal’ is clearly the more appropriate word. Like so many nowadays, she simply adds ‘more’ in front of words to indicate comparison rather than using proper terminology; the correct word is ‘guiltier’, Miss Seales, not ‘more guilty’.

And don’t get me started on her gross overuse of the word ‘dryly’; every other sentence of dialogue has one character or another saying something ‘dryly’…Someone buy poor Miss Seales a thesaurus so she can learn some different adverbs, & somebody get this book a humidifier, pronto!

The author bio claims that Julia Seales received a BA in English from Vanderbilt University; she should really consider demanding a refund.

“Do yourself a favor, and avoid this series like smallpox,” remarked the reviewer… even more dryly. show less

Such a delightfully amusing, manor-house mystery with an Austenesque vibe. I found myself smiling throughout the reading of this book.

Eldest daughter, Beatrice Steele, balks at the rigid social mores of early nineteenth century England while her mother eagerly attempts to make good marital matches for Beatrice and her sister, Louisa. (Alas, youngest sister Mary is much overlooked by all, it would seem.) If people only knew what Beatrice does locked up in her home's tower, the scandal would be ruinous to her and her family. You see, she's been surreptitiously reading the detective crime columns in her father's imported London paper - something which absolutely no respectable gentlewoman would do. On top of that, she's been writing to show more the paper offering the detective her own insights into the cases. Her proclivities are put to the test when she is asked to aid a detective in solving the sudden death of the targeted match for Louisa at a neighbor's manor house party. Can Beatrice help solve the mystery while retaining a sense of apparent decorum in the process? Only time will tell. So let the dance begin!

Julia Seales has crafted a mystery with lots of red herrings, derring-do and a touch of romance. The writing is spot on to the time period and the poking of fun at the aristocratic social code of the day is hilarious and fun. For those who enjoy cozy historical mysteries, I highly commend this book to you.

I am grateful to author Julia Seales and her publisher Random House for having provided a complimentary uncorrected ebook. Their generosity, however, has not influenced this review - the words of which are mine alone.

Publisher: Random House
Anticipated Publication date: June 27, 2023
ISBN: 978-0593449981 show less

So silly and fun, this murder mystery is one parts Jane Austen, one part Agatha Christie, and one part Princess Bride. The snarky humor made it for me. It was predictable, but in a good way. A ball is thrown when a wealthy gentleman comes to town. Soon there’s a murder and everyone’s secrets come spilling out. I liked all the main characters, especially Inspector Drake, even if the plot was a bit ridiculous. Just enjoy the ride & laugh along the way.

Beatrice Steele should be concentrating her efforts toward getting a husband, like her sister, but instead she is secretly obsessed with following the crime-solving exploits of a London detective. When said detective’s disgraced partner shows up at the same country ball that Beatrice and her sisters (the proper one and also the younger, mostly feral one) are attending, things start to get interesting. And then the most eligible bachelor at the ball is murdered.
Oh, this one was an absolute hoot. It’s a fun mix of Jane Austen and an English country manor murder, with some clever writing, witty dialogue, and quirky characters. I loved it.