Thank you to NetGalley and Crooked Lane books, for the opportunity to read and review A Study in Murder by Callie Hutton. This book is set in Victorian England and follows Lady Amy as she attempts to solve the murder of her ex-fiance and prove her innocence.
The book is rather predictable, as cozy mysteries often are. But the characters are likable, not trite, and the traces of humor are well suited and not silly. The setting is lovely and takes us to Jane Austen's world of Bath, England. The traditions, costumes and language appear to be consistent with the times.
Altogether, this was a fun read. The cliffhanger at the end implies a book to follow, and I shall look forward to reading that one as well.

This was an enjoyable read, as a cozy mystery with a host of interesting characters. I definitely would recommend this book and I look forward to reading more from this author. I received an e-book from NetGalley in return for an unbiased review.

Let me first thank NetGalley for a free advance copy of this book i exchange for an honest review. I had never heard of this author until I got this book, a book that is completely different from her prior works, and for me a much more enjoyable genre and style of writing. We follow the exploits of Lady Amy Lovell (who is secretly a murder mystery writer) and Lord William Wethington, her friend. The writing is a good blend of both dialogue and prose, and characters are well developed both on the lead character and minor character level. Lady Amy is under suspicion of the murder of her fiance (ex-fiance) who she found in her library with a knife in his chest! She decides to try and find out the killer because the police are sort of convinced she us the murderess. All of this takes place in the town of Bath, England, which also gets very good descriptive development both in terms of the town and high society. We have a dead shipping magnate, opium addicts, a feminist Lady Amy, a charming relationship between Lady Amy and Lord William. Why not 5 stars? Well, sometimes the dialogue got a bit preachy about feminism and the plight of women (more so Lady Amy than women in general), and while it did not distract from the book I felt it continued much longer than necessary - the author made her point very well early in the book. The plot was great, and the murderer a real surprise. A very good effort and he books is nicely set up for Book 2 in the Epilogue.

A Study In Murder has everything I love in a mystery - an independent, smart and colorful main character, supporting characters who are interesting and well-written and touch of romance that enhances rather than overwhelms the storyline.

Lady Amy, the main character, is unique in that along with all of her social obligations as an upper class young woman of the time, she is also the famous mystery writer, E.D. Burton. Due to her father's wishes, she has kept this secret from all but a very few. When she is accused of murdering her ex-fiance, the investigative skills she's learned, through research for her novels, is put to practical use to keep her out of jail and to solve the crime. The characters are wonderfully written and the Victorian era setting, in the town of Bath, is charming.

The relationship between her rebellious Aunt Margaret and the developing friendship with her crime solving partner Lord Wenthington adds to the book.

I wasn't sure if I would like a Victorian "period" mystery but this book has me wanting more! I am impatiently waiting for the next book!

I received an ARC from NetGalley for a fair and honest review of this book.

This is the first book in the series set in 1890 Bath. It centers around Lady Amy Lowell who also has a mostly anonymous career as a murder mystery writer. The mystety in this is the murder of Amy's ex-fiancé who had made a number of enemies due to the opium trade, with Amy being the only suspect initially.

Overall, I really liked this story. Amy was a great character, persistent and resilient in her own investigation to clear her name. William was an enjoyable character as well, even though I'm still not completely sold on his and Amy's chemistry as a romantic pairing. The actual mystery and red herrings and pieces of information learned as they were investigating was well done. I do as a whole like cozies and historical mysteries with amateur sleuths, but in this case my only complaint is that I did think the personalities of the detectives were heavy-handed. I think my favorite character was actually Amy's Aunt Margaret.

This actually read like a cozy mystery with a realistic description of late Victorian era ways of life. I'll be watching for the next book in the series for sure.

A Study in Murder is a murder mystery set in 1890 and is the first book in the A Victorian Book Club Mystery series by Callie Hutton. The main character, Lady Amy Lovell, is an author of mystery novels and her father, who disapproves of this, gets her to agree to write under a pseudonym. She is also the prime suspect in the murder of her ex-fiancé because the police jump to conclusions faster than The Flash can run.

The story is fast-paced and at times, engrossing. That being said, I did roll my eyes at the narrative of the police being inefficient. To quote, "(The police) are conducting this investigation with horse blinders on. They refuse to see anyone except you." At the start, the police seem hell-bent to indict Amy which is frustrating. It gives Amy all the motivation she needs and she decides to look into the murder and find the killer herself. So begins Amy's investigation with the help of Lord William Wethington, a fellow book club member. They dig into her ex-fiancé's life and come up with a list of suspects.

I have to admit that as the suspect list grew, the story got increasingly interesting and I started to enjoy it more than I expected to. The uncovering of clues and surprising revelations kept me hooked towards the end.

Another thing I liked about this book was Amy's steadfastness when it came to women's rights and the principle that women and men are equal. The author offers a glimpse into the patriarchy of the 19th century that Amy, fortunately, has no patience for.

The epilogue ends with a cliffhanger which I assume is laying the foundation for the next novel. Even though I enjoyed parts of this one, I can't say that I look forward to the books that will follow in the series.

[I'd like to thank Crooked Lane Books and the author Callie Hutton for this ARC. Publication date: 12 May 2020.]