London 1894. It was not a good place for a single woman with a guardian who was self centered and whom she loathed.

Albertine came to London with the idea of earning her living as a female detective but realised very early on that without a man as a front her efforts were doomed. Her first foray, very successful getting back letters ended when the Lady just ignored Albertine after getting them into her own hands.

To her dismay the gentleman whom she took the letters from was found dead the next morning and Albertine is the chief suspect.

Enter Duke Erleigh actually investigating the death of Lord Grendel and trying to get to the bottom of the story and also trying to trace Albertine’s non existent husband, do things get complicated, interesting and a touch romantic.

The classic female investigator of 19th century England is a little more savvy than Albertine and this was the negative factor in the story. Setting of contemporary London at the time spot on.

I thought this was really well written and I look forward to reading more from this author in the future. I think it will find readers at our library, so we will definitely be purchasing for the collection.

What an absolutely delightful story.

I adored the independent streak of Albertine and her offsider Joan, and had a few giggles about their outlandish adventures in these prim and proper times. However, the most fun for me was watching the reactions of Spencer as he tried to work out what was going on... and delighfully falling for Albertine along the way.

The ending gives me hopes there will be more hijinks and adventures to come!

This is a light hearted and fun read with a mystery to solve and a romance to develop. Albertine appears likeable but a little silly at times and this gets her into some quite funny scrapes. Spencer was a very likeable character. as well being the sweet but strong type who comes to Albertine's rescue throughout the story which was lovely and entertaining. It did end on an interesting note that suggested there could be more to follow. I received an advance review copy for free, and I am leaving this review voluntarily.

This is a fun, if slightly hard to believe, historical mystery. Series starters are not my favorite, but I enjoyed that this didn't take itself too seriously. Albertine is hard to root for at times, but this can usually be chalked up to the fact that "feminist" historical books are hard to balance well with the realities of the time period. A good choice for the casual histmyst reader who doesn't want to commit to a long series.

This was an incredibly fun, sometimes silly, and totally unlikely murder mystery. The heroine, Albertine, is pretending to be a Countess while also trying to be a detective like Sherlock Holmes. The hero, Spencer, is a detective at Scotland Yard. And he also happens to be a duke. Yeah, sure, this is all quite likely, isn’t it?

Through several silly adventures, Albertine tries to find out about the murder of a blackmailing nobleman whom she may or may not have accidentally poisoned. Spencer takes a job working for her in order to figure out what she may be hiding. Because that’s what the head detective on an important case might do.

It was all quite lighthearted and rather sweet. It wasn’t much of a mystery who the real murderer was. Maybe if Spencer wasn’t busy pretending to be a down-on-his luck ordinary man working for the mysterious countess, he could have figured out who the real murderer was. But that wouldn’t have been as much fun as hanging out with Albertine and her saucy servant. And it all gave him time to fall in love with the secretive countess.

I voluntarily reviewed an advanced reader copy of this book that I received from Netgalley; however, the opinions are my own and I did not receive any compensation for my review.

4.5/5 stars

I really enjoyed this historical mystery and am keeping my fingers crossed that it might be the beginning of a new series?

Set in 1894 London, Albertine Honeycombe, the daughter of a deceased earl, is a woman on a mission to style herself as a private detective for the ton’s wealthy women and save herself from having to marry her cousin’s (the new earl) choice of a husband…a widower with 15 children.

Albertine is promoting herself as the Countess Von Dagga, complete with a fictitious absent husband which allows her entrance to the upper class and a more independent lifestyle. For her first major job, she is tasked with retrieving intimate letters for a client from Lord Grendel who is using them as blackmail. She becomes the number one suspect in his murder as she was the last to see him alive.

The Duke of Erleigh, who is also a Scotland Yard inspector, inadvertently/mistakenly finds himself undercover investigating Albertine as both a murder suspect for Grendel and possibly her missing “husband" as well.

This was a fun romp with lots of sly humor, some heart-tugging moments and the slow development of a sweet friendship between the mains. On a side note, Albertine’s “maid” Joan, who is actually a staff member from her childhood home who was treated more as a sister as they were growing up, steals the show with every scene she is included in. With her obsession with handsome men, her irreverent humor, as well as very little deference to her supposed mistress, she is a total hoot…but also a loyal friend.

I fell for these characters hook, line and sinker and am (hopefully!) looking forward to more from them all.

My sincere thanks to the author, NetGalley and Crooked Lane Books for providing the free early arc of The Mayfair Dagger for review. The opinions are strictly my own.

London 1894

A fun, entertaining historical mystery with an excellent cast of characters! Albertine Honeycomb (how can you not love that name!) sets herself up as a private detective. Inventing a name and a dead husband she navigates the upper society and finds herself a suspect herself in a murder.

With the help of a Duke, she tries to prove her innocence and find the murderer.. Cannot wait for more!

I think that this enjoyable mystery is an excellent stand alone mix of historical mystery and comedy of manners set at the end of XIX.
Albertine is a funny characters able to put herself in awkward situations and to find the solutions to the troubles she brought on herself and solve mystery.
Well plotted and entertaining, I enjoyed and had fun.
Recommended.
Many thanks to the publisher for this ARC, all opinions are mine

I thank NetGalley and Crooked Lane Books for an advance reader copy of “The Mayfair Dagger.” All opinions and comments are my own.

If you like pure romance with a mystery plot thrown in, then you’ll enjoy “The Mayfair Dagger,” a new Victorian series by Ava January. In it you will get an aspiring female private detective who likes to work in disguise, a Scotland Yard detective who’s also a peer, false accusations of being a murderess for our heroine, and did I mention the growing attraction between said detectives?

It’s a tangled tale of blackmail, theft and eventually, murder, with our protagonists Albertine Honeycombe and Spencer Sweetman, the Duke of Erleigh seeing their way through, while realizing their growing attraction to each other. And all’s well that ends well, of course. Even to the hint of further assurances of goodwill (and a job for Albertine!) from the head of the Home Office. Author Ava January handles it proficiently, characters and plot, I will agree, although my preference will always be mystery over romance.

In the beginning, this book felt a lot like Miss Scarlet and the Duke, which is an instant win for me. It was funny, had interesting characters, and set up a great mystery and romance. However, as the book went on, some of the mystery/investigation scenes ventured into the realm of the absurd.

Also, this almost felt like book 2 in a series because there was so much backstory that impacted where the main character was in her life during this book.

So, a mixed result for me. I would read another book in this series because I want to know what happens to the main characters.

Wickedly, joyous Lady Detective!

After her father, an Earl and renowned scientist dies followed by her brother Algernon, Albertine Honeycombe is left to the mercy of cousin Franklin, who’s always considered her as uncontrollable. When Franklin decides to marry her off to a farmer with fifteen children, Albertine decides to flee in the kitchen dogcart, along with her friend Joan.
She’s come to London to become a detective. A dream she and her brother Algernon always had.
Albertine (or Bertie) takes on the personae of Countess Avon Dagga, whose husband the Count is supposedly still abroad.
Breaking into the detecting business is not easy. She takes on some small tasks, but is never paid. When one of those tasks has her being arrested for murder Albertine has no-one to turn to, except maybe the Scotland Yard Inspector.
Albertina had taken on the case of retrieving some ill advised letters written by a prominent ton member Lady Roche to Lord Grendel from his study. Lady Roche is now being blackmailed by the powerful Lord. Albertine has a close call when Grendel finds her there during a masquerade ball. She manages to drug him and escapes. Unfortunately the next morning Grendel is found there dead! Not only that, but Albertine’s been accused by Baron Wallop (a vindictive man who Albertine had dealings with in a prior case) of theft, and possibly murdering both Lord Grendel and her non existent husband!
After Lady Roche cannot or will not pay Albertine for her services, she and Joan decide they need a man to assist in their detecting business. Particularly the payment part.
Sweetman, Marquis of Reading, has recently inherited the family business. He’s now the Duke of Everleigh. Spencer is bowed down with responsibilities he doesn’t enjoy. Laughter has fled his soul. That is until he gets to know the utterly, lovely, and unruly Countess. He’d answered her advertisement as part of his cover to investigate her.
The problem is his dual occupations (Inspector and Duke) haven’t been disclosed to Albertine. When they are it’s in dire circumstances. Can Sweetman save her and thus himself. Will she forgive him his duplicitousness?
A giddy, thoroughly enjoyable mystery romance with heart and lightness. A story that zings and sings with all the tensions and delights.
(I so enjoyed this novel I’m off to discover more by works Ava January!)

A Crooked Lane ARC via NetGalley.
Many thanks to the author and publisher.
(Opinions expressed in this review are completely my own.)

This is what I would describe as a cosy mystery / romance set in the late 1800's. Albertine, escaping her cousin's intention of marrying her off for a profit, reinvents herself as Countess Von Dagga, a lady detective to fulfil a childhood dream she had with her now deceased brother Algernon. As a married woman she can also deflect unwanted attention and scandal that comes with being a single young woman. Albertine somehow manages though to find herself in the middle of a murder investigation with herself as a prime suspect, and having given a Lord a sleeping pill she begins to wonder if she indeed is the culprit.
Albertine's deceptions keep piling up and the more she tries to dig herself out the deeper she seem to get. Unknowingly, she employs and undercover Scotland Yard investigator, Spencer, as her assistant and things get even more complicated.
The book contained quite a lot of humour and was an enjoyable read overall. Thank you Netgalley and Crooked Lane Books for the opportunity to read this digital ARC.

4.0

Albertine is a faux countess who sold everything she had to move to London and become a private investigator. She and her maid/business partner are a comedy duo who get into more bizarre situations than is, well, legal. Spencer is a swoon-worthy Scotland Yard savant who happens to be, begrudgingly, an earl now. Instead of questioning her about a murder, he inadvertently goes undercover as her newest employee. His chemistry with the mysterious Albertine defies the laws of physics.

Is it absurd? Of course! But this unique historical mystery is fun, sweet, engaging, and definitely worth a read!

Thank you to NetGalley and Crooked Lane Books for providing me with a free advanced copy of this book in exchange for my unbiased review.

The blurb for this breathlessly compares it to Deanna Raybourn and Katharine Schellman's work. Yeah...it's not. More to the point, it doesn't read like a mystery at all. It reads like a farce-a fairly good farce at that, but, since I was primed for historical mystery, getting into this story was a big shock. The main character is at best naive and, at worst, dumb as a post. The action starts so fast that it skips critical information such as the century the story is set in. (I honestly thought it was 1780s until I read further.) If you like chic lit or steampunk fantasy, you'll probably love this, but if you're expecting an actual mystery, you'll be disappointed.

The world’s worst detective meets the world’s worst duke in this historical romance mystery romp.

This is being marketed as a mystery, but it’s solidly a historical romance with a mystery subplot. Albertine and Spencer have strong chemistry and bring out the best in each other. The mystery subplot is engaging and kept me guessing.

Thanks, NetGalley, for the ARC I received. This is my honest and voluntary review.

A romp of a historical mystery featuring Albertine, who has been pretending to be a Countess, and Spencer, an actual Duke who works for Scotland Yard,. And Joan- gosh Joan-who is Albertine's maid but more like a sister. Albertine becomes a suspect in a murder but she didn't do it and now she's got to find the real villain, as does Spencer. Fans of the genre might quibble that the dialogue etc. is a little more modern than the 1894 setting would dictate but it's a delight. Thanks to Netgalley for the ARC. Fun read- and I'm looking forward to further outings.

Albertine Honeycombe has fled an unwanted marriage along with her maid Joan. They have come to London to follow up on dreams held by Albertine's brother Algie before his death. His goal for the two of them was always to set up a detective agency like that of Sherlock Holmes and Watson.

In order to begin this, Albertine has made up a new name and a new fake husband so that she can claim a place in society and begin working. However, jobs are infrequent and generally the society women who asks for her help doesn't see any reason to pay for it. Her latest job is retrieving some blackmail letters from the safe of an unscrupulous gentleman. She finds the letters but is disturbed by the gentleman and is forced to use a sleeping potion developed by her father in order to get away.

Unfortunately, someone else came upon the sleep aristocrat and strangled him. This murder brings her to the attention of Scotland Yard in the person of Spencer Sweetman who, after a successful career at Scotland Yard, has inherited the title of Duke of Erleigh after the unexpected death of his brother. Spencer had never wanted to be the Duke. He preferred the relative freedom he had without the burdons of the dukedom.

Spencer finds himself the new public face of Albertine's detective agency as he investigates the possibility that she murdered Lord Grendel and possibly her spouse too. Aiding in throwing suspicion Albertine's way is Lord Wallop, a gambling cheat whose crimes Albertine exposed.

Neither Spencer nor Albertine were looking for love when they met, but love found them anyway. Before they can live happily ever after, they will have to deal with accusations of murder, false imprisonment, and lies each has told.

This was an entertaining historical mystery/romance with interesting characters.

In 1894, a new aristocrat arrived with the goal of setting the London Ton ablaze. Countess Von Dagga, Albertine to her friends, and her maid Joan (who is remarkably familiar with her mistress) have set up shop to work as a detective for women and the aristocracy. Spencer Sweetman, the Duke of Erleigh and a detective for Scotland Yard, answers Albertine and Joan’s ad for a man of all work because the office suspects that the two women were involved in the suspicious death of Lord Grendel. As things continue to devolve and Spencer and Albertine look into this murder on separate investigations, readers follow the mystery and work to uncover the true murderer framing Albertine for Grendel’s death. The characters are the center of the story, and readers will enjoy Albertine and Joan’s friendship and the growing relationship between Spencer and Albertine. Such relationships are particularly enjoyable because they are realistic, occasionally contentious, and heartwarming, and January has brought this world, criminals and aristocrats alike, to life. January’s prose and characters are the highlight of this novel, and she has done an incredible job bringing the world of 1894 and the lives of the aristocracy and lady detectives to life.

This was a fun read and I didn't hate the romance aspect of it! So much lying and intrigue in trying to accomplish the same thing without knowing it! I would absolutely be here for book 2 if this becomes a series, which I hope it does! I want to know how the Duke and Albertine are living life and what shenanigans she gets up to!

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