A Murderous Tryst by Lynn MessinaMy rating: 3.5 of 5 stars
Beatrice Hyde-Clare, Duchess of Kesgrave, who has recently discovered that she is pregnant and is already upset by the fact that her husband had lied to her about his activities the day before, then comes upon him in the embrace of his former mistress. As it turns out, however, Penelope Taylor has come to see her, for a friend of hers, Millicent Lloyd, has just been murdered, and Mrs. Taylor, who was found standing over her holding the knife, is the only suspect. She, however, claims that she had just found the body and that she was the intended victim, and that Millicent, who resembles her and was sleeping in her bed, having arrived at her home intoxicated and distraught, was mistaken for her. Once she understands the situation, Beatrice agrees to take the case, which mostly includes visits to the various men - quite a few of them - who have cause to hate Mrs. Taylor, from previous lovers to the uncle of a young man who is presently making a fool of himself over her. It concludes with an audacious and dangerous scheme to bait the killer into revealing themselves.
Although A Murderous Tryst is the twelfth book in this series, I have never read any of the others, but that did not hinder me from getting up to speed about how things stood and I would definitely consider giving the earlier ones a try. (view spoiler) The relationships between the various characters, including the past experiences that have made them what they are, were well portrayed, with the original misunderstanding being resolved after some maneuvering, and Mrs. Taylor was actually quite refreshing in her unabashed and brazen self-interest. A new family member, of whom the Duke was previously unaware but who will undoubtedly play a role in future cases, is also briefly introduced.
I received a copy of A Murderous Tryst from the publisher via NetGalley in exchange for an honest review.
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