Miss Morton and the English House Party Murder

Caroline Morton, the heroine of this uneven series launch set in 1837 England from Lloyd (the Kurland St. Mary mysteries), and her younger sister, Susan, are left penniless after the suicide of their debtor father. Unwilling to depend on the largesse of their closest relative, Lady Eleanor Greenwood, Caroline leaves Susan at Greenwood Hall and goes to work as companion to Mrs. Frogerton, a warmhearted, affluent widow seeking to launch her daughter in society. When Caroline and the Frogertons are invited to a house party at Greenwood Hall, Caroline anticipates a pleasant reunion with her sister. Instead, torrential rains isolate the hall just before her reclusive great-aunt Ines and then Mr. Woodford, the hall’s butler, are murdered. Lady Eleanor and her husband hush up the crimes, but Caroline feels compelled to investigate. Mrs. Frogerton and outspoken local physician Oliver Harris—whose gruffness hides an attraction to Caroline—help her unravel the mystery. The smart and colorful sleuthing trio help offset the glut of secondary characters that overcomplicates the novel’s first half, though there isn’t much sense of time and place. Lloyd has done better. Agent: Deidre Knight, Knight Agency. (June)