A fun, cozy mystery. I love that Lady Amy and her Aunt stand up for themselves, despite the era they are living in. It was great that Lady Amy got to reveal herself as the mystery writer, woohoo!

Looking forward to reading more books in this series.

James Harding, part time scoundrel and part time businessman is found dead in the River Avon. Within his pockets was a phone number. It belonged to Lord William Wethington. The police asked William to identify his body and is adamant that his friend who was drunk when he fell, was not someone who drank. His suspicion grew and so he asked a friend, Lady Ann Lovell who is a mystery author, to come and help figure out what actually happened. From here the author takes you on a roller coaster ride and the twists prevail. The ending will surprise you immensely. Did William have a motive? How many others wanted Harding Dead? You will be on the edge waiting to find out.


5 out of 5 stars


Thank you to NetGalley as well as the author/publisher for giving me the opportunity to read this book in exchange for my honest review.

Lord Wethington’s man of business is found drowned in the river Avon and he soon becomes the prime suspect it turns out the scoundrel the fleecing him and several other clients. With the help of Lady Amy, Lord Wethington endeavors to clear his name, while his mother decides to move in with, him pushing him to marry. Her efforts are not in vain however, as the more time spent in Lady Amy’s company the more enticing marriage seems.

I'm sorry, I loved your book, I've tried, but I could not finish the review on time due to corona.
I hope to get another chance

I really enjoyed reading The Sign of Death by Callie Hutton. I'm just starting to get into historical cozy mysteries and this series is my favorite of that particular genre. Lady Amy and Lord Wethington are really great characters and the reader gets to know them a bit more in this book. It's very easy for the reader to hope the two characters get into a romantic relationship because they have that back and forth, will they/won't they rapport. I'll admit that the murder mystery completely stumped me. Just when I thought I knew the answer, I was proven wrong. It was a very satisfying conclusion. I do love how the book ended and I'm looking forward to reading about what Lady Amy and Lord Wethington get into next.

The mystery was ok and the author tried to provide some red herrings. It just felt like I was reading about contemporary Americans attempting to recreate Victorian London. The characters and their actions didn't ring true for me. There was also several instances of repetition. Amy says more than once that she can't understand how people knew she and William were gentry and the like.

I read this one and the third book, The Mystery of Albert E. Finch (from the library), which keeps one guessing but had the same issues for me. I received this copy from Netgalley in exchange for my honest review.

RATING: 3.5 STARS
2021; Crooked Lane Books

Secret mystery writer, Amy is back at it, this time her friend, William is the suspect of a murder. James Harding has been found dead, and it took help to discover he had actually been murdered and now the two local cops want the easy way out. Amy and William have to step in again to find the real killer. While, Amy's publisher wants her to attend a reading event and unveil her identity. While James has his widowed mother visiting, and matchmaking. And, from the title you can tell the book selected for the society is The Sign of Four. Another fun cozy mystery adventure.

***I received a complimentary copy of this ebook from the publisher through NetGalley. Opinions expressed in this review are entirely my own.***

I appreciate the publisher allowing me to read this book. This is a great mystery that keeps you guessing until the end.

Amy and William are involved in their second Casper as William is a suspect in his business man’s death. The same pair of detectives are looking into this case as their last case. Many of their suspects are known to them, so they have easy access to ask questions. Was it someone who was being blackmailed or someone the victim was stealing from? Come along for the ride as their personal lives become challenging by having family in residence as they investigate.
Goodreads

Thank you to NetGalley and Crooked Lane Books for kindly providing me with a digital copy of this book for review.
Book number 2 in the Victorian Book Club Mystery series.
I absolutely loved this fun little cozy mystery. The loose setting of the Victorian book club really ticked a box for me and the references to the likes of Wilkie Collins and Sir Arthur Conan Doyle were perfect. I love Victorian literature.
I think at times the writing may have suffered over modernisation for the time, but this didn’t hinder my enjoyment- I don’t think anyone reads a cozy mystery for a bit of historical realism!
I’m very keen to carry on with the series as I found the characters really well drawn and the plot very engaging. Had a lot of fun reading this.

Bath, 1891 and Lady Amy and Lord William are embroiled in another murder mystery. I enjoyed everything about this book. The main characters are well rounded and the secondary characters are likeable. I particularly enjoy the Book Club, what a group of members. i enjoy historical cozies and I highly recommend this book and the first in the series.

Bath, England, 1891
This is the second book in the Victorian Book Club Mysteries. Lady Amy and Lord William again take on a sleuthing opportunity when Lord William's Man of Business is murdered.

Lord William is suspicious when he's told that his Man of Business drunkenly fell to his death into the icy River Avon. Lord William knows the man to be a teetotaler.

The local detectives again find the easiest solution by accusing Lord William when they find that the dead man had cheated him. It seems that Lord William wasn't the only person he cheated. Practically every one of the man's many clients was cheated in one way or another. It's up to Lord William and Lady Amy to identify the killer.

I had completely forgotten that I had requested the second book in this oh so delightful series ... until the third was available. Soooo I backtracked and devoured the first and sacrificed sleep for the second and I'm going to be absolutely devastated once I finish the third because then I'll have to wait. So much is going in with Lady Amy and I hope Callie Hutton writes quickly because the separation anxiety and withdrawal will be severe. This is absolutely a new favorite series for me!

The Sign of Death is the second book in the Victorian Book Club Mystery Series. This is the first book I have read by this author. I really enjoyed the banter between Lady Amy and Lord William. The cast of characters was wonderful. There were different storylines that blended well together. I did not figure out the murderer in the book and loved the twists. Would definitely recommend as it is an easy, enjoyable read.
Thank you NetGalley for the eARC. All opinions expressed are my own.

I kept thinking about this series when I watched Miss Scarlett and the Duke earlier this year. Lady Amy and Lord William banter as well anyone. They amble about Bath, attend Mystery Book Club meetings and try to keep various family members at bay about their relationship. Lord William is one of the few to know Lady Amy's secret, that she pens mysteries under the pen name E. D. Burton at the behest of her father and publisher. When Lord William's man of business, James Harding, is found in the river, the police head right to Lord William because his papers are on the body. A really good Victorian mystery..

Lady Amy Lovell understands how William, Viscount Wethington feels when he is under suspicion in the murder of his man of affairs, after all, she has in that same position before. Together William and Amy need to find who actually killed the businessman and why. In the midst of their investigation, they have a few personal issues arise - Lord Wethington's mother has decided to move in with him (trying to get him married) while at the same time Lady Amy's father and brother arrive for a lengthy visit.

This is a fun series set in the Regency period. The characters are enjoyable and the stories well-written.

My goodness, William and Amy found themselves at odds with the law, no matter how inconspicuous they tried to be. Although they did try very hard, well, to be honest, they didn’t try all that hard to stem the flow their relationship was heading, but, no matter, something besides murder mysteries was pulling them together. Folks, trust me when I say this one is a must-read, an addition to your bookshelves, it was intriguing, captivating, enticing, and an exciting, fun read.

The Sign of Death, set in January 1891 in Bath, England, is the second part in a series.



William Viscount Washington has enough to worry about. His mother, who has made it her business to see him married, is planning to move into his palatial home. To make matters worse, he had been suspecting that James Harding, who handled his financial affairs, was guilty of some irregularities in handling his money. And now he is dead.

Somebody pushed a drunk James into the river. It’s not hard to believe James capable of theft and villainy, but William knows that James was a staunch teetotaller and would never consume a drop of alcohol. Could another of his clients have done him in?

Matters come to a head, when the police, constables Carson and Marsh, suspect William of having murdered James. William needs to find the real killer or face the prospect of being sent to jail or, worse, strung by the neck himself.

William’s best friend, Lady Amy Lovell, is a young society woman who is also secretly a well-known murder mystery author, ED Burton. She is excited at the thought of attempting to solve the mystery and anxious to clear William of blame.

But will the two succeed in proving William’s innocence or will they meet with foul play themselves?



What I liked was the fact that the author didn’t feel compelled to endow Amy with external beauty. We are told that Amy fills out her clothes. Nor is William the kind to hold her weight against her.

Since both William and Amy are readers and members of a book club, we are treated to references to AC Doyle’s Sherlock Holmes books and the stories of Edgar Allan Poe.

Unlike Sherlock Holmes who enjoys something of a cult status with the police, detectives Carson and Marsh don’t appreciate the meddling on the part of William, particularly as he is a member of the nobility and ranks high on their list of suspects. Both main characters are also great advocates of women’s rights at a time when such views were not the norm. In fact, Mr Colbert, a member of the book club, mentions that women are good only wiping children’s noses and gossiping. It is not an uncommon view, which is why women authors then received greater traction if they wrote under a male pseudonym.



All the characters are very likeable, even the ones playing bit roles, such as Amy’s Aunt Margaret, and the members of the book club.

The character of Amy, in particular, was sweet. She has a tendency to put on weight, but has a positive body image. She is feisty and unafraid, an equal partner with William in the murder investigation. Also, at a time when women didn’t have their own careers or business interests, Amy is a successful best-selling author of mystery fiction. A woman holding her own in a man’s world.

There is a charming sub-plot about ED Burton being required to show up as a special guest at a book fair. The dilemma of how to handle this situation plagues Amy, given that anonymity was the only condition when Amy’s father gave his consent to let her publish her books.



The banter between William and Amy was sweet and clever; it was good to see a fictional relationship based on friendship and mutual respect.



But there were some minor errors which I must point out. Lady Amy’s full name is given to us the fourth time it is mentioned, not the first. Also, there were times when the transition between paragraphs was too abrupt.

The language isn’t always appropriate to the time. Aunt Margaret describes James Harding as an “arse.” It felt odd to see the word, axe, spelt the American way as ‘ax.’ At another point, Amy asks William’s mother if she would like a tisane, a herb tea. The word itself emerged from the French language in the 1930s.

Other than these errors, I found this work cozy mystery a good read.

The mystery is entertaining, weLl-plotted with a fuller story line than the first. The characters are developing nicely in to well-round characters. The mystery is infused with a little humor and a little history which makes for an enjoyable read experience.

All thoughts and opinions are my own, and in no way have I been influenced by anyone.

Another enjoyable historical cozy mystery in this series.
I was happy to catch up with the fleshed out characters and the solid mystery kept me guessing.
I'd have preferred some less modern language but the historical background is vivid.
Recommended.
Many thanks to the publisher and Netgalley for this ARC, all opinions are mine