On a crisp winter day, family and friends met to celebrate the christening of Elizabeth, daughter of Robert and Lucy. As was customary in Regency times guests stayed in hosts' homes, though some may be unwelcome. One such guest, diabolical Basil Northam, was found quite dead days later in the rectory. Accusations flew and mostly settled on Lucy's father. Robert, the justice of the peace, had to remain unbiased as he and Lucy investigated the murder. An inheritance is also involved, adding more twists to the story. Deep snow prevents escape.

I sat back with a cup of hot chocolate to enjoy this wintry murder and suggest you do the same if you enjoy cozy mysteries set in Regency England. A range of characters from despicable to doting to determined make up the cast in this whodunit. The first line got my attention and it was held until the murderer was unveiled. Well written, fun and charming!

Though the last book in the series, it can be read by itself.

My sincere thank you to Kensington Books and NetGalley for providing me with an ARC of this book in exchange for an honest review. Much appreciated.

I’m bummed this is the last book in the series but it the end of this book was a nice way to wrap up the series.

I definitely recommend reading the series from the start. Knowing the family dynamics is helpful to understand some of the characters in this one. Robert and Lucy’s family are together for the christening if their daughter. Robert’s aunt Rose is married to Lucy’s father and Rose is pregnant. Rose’s adult daughter and her husband, Lord Northam are less than thrilled, especially since Rose has been getting them out of their financial holes for years. When Northam is found murdered, Lucy’s father becomes the prime suspect. Lucy and Robert investigate Northam’s death and there’s several twists in this and we see how terrible of a person Northam was. The whodunit was a satisfying end.

One of the best parts of this series is how well Robert and Lucy work together to investigate with their obvious trust and love of each other. This comes through nicely in this book. A book focusing on their families was a nice end to the series. I highly recommend this series.

I’ll miss this series but this was a good ending. It was fun interesting seeing all of the family come together and be suspects in the mystery though I was sad we didn’t see Lucy’s sister.