The author wrote such a compelling story. I really enjoyed the plot of the story. The characters seemed so real

Lord William Wethington and Lady Amy Lovell are good friends who attend a mystery book club together and solve mysteries. And, when William's business associate dies, they must look at everyone who had it in for the man.
This was a great historical mystery with characters that you laugh with, and want to roll your eyes at. The plot was ingeniously written with enough red herrings to keep you thinking until the end. I can't wait to read the next one! I received an advanced reader's copy from NetGalley in exchange for my honest review.

"The Sign of Death" was an incredibly enjoyable read that was at the same time cozy and capable of drawing you in for the ride. This novel features the next adventures of Lord William and Lady Amy acting as a team to help solve a murder when the police's sights turn towards Lord William as the culprit. The dual nature of the narrative, with sections being told by both main characters, offered unique perspectives and opinions and allowed the mystery to progress in a natural way, while also giving the reader insights into the main character's thoughts and actions, personifying them easily for the reader and compelling them to want to find out more. The mystery of the murder itself was interesting and plausible, thought I wish there had been more clues as to the murderer sprinkled in. Overall, "The Sign of Death" was a great read, and I'll definitely be checking out the rest of the series as it progresses.

While I don’t usually read historical cozy mysteries, the cover and description of this book really caught my eye.
It was filled with humor and I enjoyed meeting the cast of this unique cozy mystery.

Loved, loved, loved it! Funny, mysterious, romantic, all the good stuff that you would look for in a great book.

This is a cozy mystery set in 1891 in Bath, England featuring William, Viscount Wethington and Lady Amy, who is secretly an author of "lurid" murder mysteries. The characters met in Book One of the series and while this is Book Two, it's the first I've read in the series and I had no issues. This was a charming book with a great mystery and characters that are relatable and fun. It is nice to get both POV's.

The book opens with William receiving a missive from his mother that she has decided to move to Bath. He is alarmed as his mother has made no bones about wanting him to marry and provide her with grandchildren. William has also asked to meet with James Harding, his man of business, about some anomalies he has noticed with his financial accounts. His man of business never shows up and is later found floating in the river. It appears he was drinking heavily and fell in but William knows that he was a teetotaler. The police discover that William and Mr. Harding are partners in some shady business (totally forged) and arrest his for Mr. Harding's murder.

Amy and William have worked with these particular police officers in the past, and know they won't bother to do any further investigation if they have someone they can pin the crime on so they know they need to do some sleuthing on their own.

James Harding was not a good man, he's embezzled from other clients and has been blackmailing others. There is a lot of investigating to do and lots of twists and turns as many had reason to wish Mr. Harding dead. It was a good mystery and the resolution was not easy to figure out until the end-and still a twist.

There is also romance in this story which added to the enjoyment.

I received an ARC from the publisher via NetGalley but the opinion expressed is my own..

This is the second book in the Victorian Book Club Mystery Series. Lady Amy, who is a mystery author, gets involved in a real life mystery. Her friend Lord William Wethington is questioned by the police when his business partner Mr. James Harding is found dead in the river Avon, and Amy has to help Lord William prove his innocence.
I love cozy mysteries, and this was all I had hoped for. It was such a delightful and fun read, with some lovely characters.

As I was browsing the list of advanced reader copies to request (thank you, Netgalley!), I spied the words "Victorian Book Club Mystery". What's not to like about any of that? What I found in The Sign of Death by Callie Hutton was an entertaining romp with plenty of quirky characters, red herrings and actual book club discussions around some of the great mystery stories of the day.

Lord William Wethington and Lady Amy Lovell are content with their comfortable lives in Bath, England until William learns from his loving but interfering mother that she’s coming to live with him, and Amy, a successful mystery author writing under a pseudonym, is ordered by her publisher to show up in person at the Mystery Book Club of Bath book fair. To add to the confusion, William and Amy are suddenly thrust into the midst of a new mystery - the death of James Harding, William’s man of business. Mr. Harding's reliability has been questionable of late, so when William is asked to identify the man’s body, he realizes that his concerns may have been valid. Headstrong Amy insists that she will help and they set out to discover just how shady Mr. Harding’s dealings have been. With blackmail and embezzlement being Mr. Harding’s crimes of choice, there are no lack of suspects but as luck would have it, William seems to be the police’s favored suspect.

Now, not only does William have to worry about being wrongly accused of murder, he has to undo the damage that Harding has done to his finances and reputation, not to mention keeping his mother from proposing to Amy on his behalf. In the meantime, Amy is having to deal with her father’s displeasure about her publisher’s ultimatum. William and Amy have to work quickly before William is convicted of a crime he didn’t commit, they get themselves killed by the real murderer, William’s mother gets him married off and Amy’s professional identity is revealed!

Even though The Sign of Death is the second book in the series, it was effortless for me to get immersed in the unconventional lives of Lady Amy, Lord William and their friends and families. There was plenty of what you expect to find in a cozy Victorian mystery – tasteful murders, local landmarks, assemblies, social calls and the occasional visit to a seedy pub – but still enough quirkiness in the characters and situations to make the story fresh. The two family’s hijinks to bring William and Amy together in matrimony, while they are trying (somewhat) to avoid it, is amusing, as is Amy’s frustrated attempts to be a proper Victorian lady.

There are a few minor things that, for me, are a little distracting and unrealistic for the customs of the time, such the amount of time William and Amy spend alone together and the number of times William kisses Amy in public. However, these are minor issues and don’t detract from my overall enjoyment of the book. So I highly recommend that you get that cup of tea, settle into a comfy reading nook and enjoy this delightful mystery!

This is the second book in the series and i enjoyed it just as much as the first book! William and Amy are back investigating after the death of William’s man of business, as suggested by the epilogue of book one.

The writing is excellent and I enjoyed reading it. The mystery had some nice twists and turns and I didn’t know the whodunit until I got closer to the end.

I like Amy and William’s characters and Callie Hutton does a good job of a believable growing relationship between the two of them as the book progresses. Amy’s Aunt Margaret is probably my favorite character in the series and I like seeing the tiny bits and pieces of her relationship too. Bonus points for Amy’s dog Persephone making me laugh a few times.

I’m really liking this series so far and am really looking forward to book 3!

I have to confess this was my first cozy mystery book. And i am telling you after Reading this book, it Will not be my last. Wow this book has it all an intriguing mystery and a slow burning romance. The characters in this book Are amazing and very diverse . I loved all their quirky personalities.and i loved their strength . A must read book. Thank you to netgalley for letting me read this e arc in exchange for an honest review

amateur-sleuth, cosy-mystery, family-dynamics, friendship, law-enforcement, murder-investigation, mystery-writer, england, historical-novel, historical-research, 19th-century, situational-humor

I loved this fun cosy mystery set in Bath, England! Lady Amy is the clandestine author of murder mysteries and her friend and co-conspirator, Lord Wethington. Lord W is notified that he is to come to the morgue to identify a floater. The victim is Lord W's man of affairs who might be involved in some shady things. Enter a pair of police detectives with odd sense of humor, a threat to Lady Amy's anonymity, and the prospect of Lord W's mother moving in with him with the intent of marrying him off in order to obtain grandchildren followed by Lady Amy's father who has similar ideas. Good sleuthing with a humorous backdrop.
I requested and received a free ebook copy from Crooked Lane Books via NetGalley. Thank you!

I received this ARC via Netgalley and Crooked Lane Books, in return for an honest review. While the second book in this series, it is easily read as a standalone. This is a combination of historical mystery and romance. It succeeds well with both efforts. Lady Amy and Lord William each live in Bath around the end of the 19th Century. They both belong to a local mystery book club that provides enough intrigue for most people. When Lord William learns his financial manager drowned and Lord William already suspected the man of possible financial misdoings, suspicion falls on Lord William. Aided by Lady Amy, they investigate who else would want to kill him and why. It turns out there are several candidates, including fellow book club members. Add in the arrival of Lady Amy’s father and Lord William’s mother and things get tricky for the intrepid duo. While both William and Amy are of age, their respective parents are determined that its well past time for them to each settle down and who is a better candidate than each other?
This is a fun and well-written book. The characters are engaging and, if you like some romance with your mystery, then this should really appeal to you. As the second book in the series, things progress at a reasonable pace in their relationship and its development is very believable. I look forward to the next book in the series!

Amy and William are back at it again...

Lady Amy Lovell and Lord William Wethington like to read mystery books yet somehow their real lives have become full of murder and mystery and other shenanigans...

While minding their own business in their mystery book club William gets a note that sets in motion a disastrous chain of events. The man who handled his finances is dead and the police ask him to make the identification. Naturally his partner in crime Amy tags along because she can’t help herself never content with just reading about adventure and investigations. What should have been a simple task leads them down the road to William being the number one suspect in the police investigation. The dead man had many secrets and none of them good with a whole lot of people wishing him dead and having been ready to murder him.

Of course Amy will not stand for any of this and is determined to get to the bottom of things even though their continued meddling annoys the police and makes William look guiltier. If murder and mayhem weren’t enough of an issue to contend with both Amy and William have to deal with their worst nightmares.... their parents deciding to take up residence in their homes. Amy’s father and brother come to town for an extended stay. And William’s mother decides she wants to live with him now and get out of London for a quieter life. Her father and his mother both have the same idea in their mind that their children need to get married.
Despite the pressure from their parents and the observations of others Amy and William both have to decide if their friendship is something more. A few stolen kisses and spending time together almost daily should be an indicator of things but they are both stubborn and both believed they were opposed to marriage. But it’s good if you find the “right” person, right?

I do love Amy and William and I found their families delightful especially his mother. It’s interesting for William to now be a suspect instead of Amy. And I like the way their relationship has developed across both books. I appreciate the fact that the aren’t just rushing into something and it’s more just their friendship changing into something more. Having read way too many books set in the 1800s where people meet and think each other is attractive and then are in love for no reason made this one a nice change.
It was a good addition to the series and I do so hope that their is more to come. Unfortunately (but still rather fortunately) since I received my copy from Netgalley and the publication date is see set for April 2021 I imagine I will have to be patient.

This was a first for me from this author, and it will certainly not be my last. I enjoyed this novel very much. Having not read the first book in the series, I caught on very easily. The writing is very well done. The two main characters are both fun and very likable. I loved the fact that the novel had two main protagonists. It made for a entertaining and refreshing read. If you enjoy a solid good cozy historical mystery this one is for you, highly recommend!

Have read Callie's historical romance, but this was first cozy historical mystery.
I went back to read the first book in series. While not necessary I felt I understood the characters better.
Set in Bath, England in mid 1800s, Lady Amy and Lord William are pulled into another murder.
Like in the first book they can't help, but try and help the police. Which is not welcome.
Lady Amy and Lord William were likeable protagonist. Secondary characters Lady Margaret and Eloise were likeable too. I hope there are more in this series.