Murder in Westminster by Vanessa Riley

 

Do you have a favorite historical mystery series?

I read Island Queen by Vanessa Riley last year and I LOVED it.  I was very excited to receive a copy of Murder in Westminster by Vanessa Riley from Netgalley to review.   This is the first in the new Lady Worthington Mystery series.  I greatly enjoyed it and I can’t wait for the second book in the series!

Lady Abigail Worthington has a husband at sea, and a very aggravating neighbor.  Lady Worthington’s family is from the Caribbean and her skin color and family history has certain members of the ton whispering about her.  When her neighbor’s wife, Juliet, is found murdered on the fence between their properties, Lady Worthington starts her investigation. Her neighbor, Stapleton Henderson, is a trying man that has a complicated relationship with his wife.  They were separated and she was going to run off that evening with another man. Would this cause Henderson to murder his wife?  What about her lover, did he kill her in a fit of rage?  Or her brother who needs cash from her?  There seems to be no end to those that might have killed Juliet.  

I loved this novel.  Lady Worthington is a capable and independent woman.  She is an excellent sleuth.  I loved the mystery, but I also really enjoyed Lady Worthington’s thoughts on abolition and on being a person of color in high society Regency England.  What I was really intrigued about was Lady Worthington’s husband.  It sounds like it was a marriage of convenience, but he spends the entire novel at sea.  I want more of the back story of their marriage.  There is a lot of great storylines that could go on in this series that I would enjoy.

Overall, Murder in Westminster is the first in a great new series and I can’t wait to read what comes next.

Book Source:  A Review Copy from NetGalley and Kensington Books.  Thank-you! I received a complimentary copy of this book. Opinions expressed in this review are completely my own.