4 1/2 stars. A charming and entertaining historical mystery that will delight readers with period details and twists and turns. There is just enough historical material to give it flavor without inundating the reading with information that slows the pace of the story. The characters are well-developed and not carbon copies of what can be found in other historical mysteries. It is a delightful surprise to discover that the main character, Lily Adler, is not the only smart character in the book. This is not the setup of Sherlock Holmes; her friends—and some enemies—are intelligent and pick up on things she does not. The second in the series, it is not necessary to read the first one but it gives some references and flavor to her friends who are not in this as much as the first one. Unfortunately, Jack didn’t show up as much as I would have liked. Overall, a delightful read and I will gladly follow the continuing adventures of Lily Adler and company.

Thanks to Netgalley and the publisher for an ARC in return for an honest review

"Regency widow Lily Adler didn't expect to find a corpse when visiting a family friend. Now it's up to her to discover the killer in the charming second installment in the Lily Adler mysteries.

Regency widow Lily Adler has finally settled into her new London life when her semi-estranged father arrives unexpectedly, intending to stay with her while he recovers from an illness. Hounded by his disapproval, Lily is drawn into spending time with Lady Wyatt, the new wife of an old family friend. Lily barely knows Lady Wyatt. But she and her husband, Sir Charles, seem as happy as any newly married couple until the morning Lily arrives to find the house in an uproar and Sir Charles dead.

All signs indicate that he tripped and struck his head late at night. But when Bow Street constable Simon Page is called to the scene, he suspects foul play. And it isn't long before Lily stumbles on evidence that Sir Charles was, indeed, murdered.

Mr. Page was there when Lily caught her first murderer, and he trusts her insight into the world of London's upper class. With the help of Captain Jack Hartley, they piece together the reasons that Sir Charles's family might have wanted him dead. But anyone who might have profited from the old man's death seems to have an alibi...until Lily receives a mysterious summons to speak with one of the Wyatts' maids, only to find the young woman dead when she arrives.

Mr. Page believes the surviving family members are hiding the key to the death of both Sir Charles and the maid. To uncover the truth, Lily must convince the father who doesn't trust or respect her to help catch his friend's killer before anyone else in the Wyatt household dies."

I am ALL about the Regency right now. ALL ABOUT IT! It might have something to do with what's coming to my blog next year...

A fantastic follow up to Katharine's debut and the first novel in the Lily Adler series, The Body in the Garden, Silence in the Library was thoroughly enjoyable and filled with fun twists.
I love Lily as a character, she reminds me of a regency era Phryne Fisher, another favourite of mine. Her voice and energy is so unique and interesting, and I am really enjoying the will-they-won't-they romance/friendship between Lily and Jack Hartley.
The murder mystery was also really interesting and well done, with red herrings and twists galore.
All in all, a really delightful read, perfect for fans of mysteries, history, and a little bit of romance.

I must admit that I missed the first book in this Lily Adler mystery series and I am sorry I did! This was a very quick, entertaining, fun read.
Mrs. Adler seems to like poking her nose in where it has no business being., And when she pays a duty call to an old friend and family, she discovers murder, and poking she does.
Against her father's wishes and swimming against what is acceptable for a woman of her stature in society, Lily immerses herself neck deep in the murder investigation of her father's friend.
I love mysteries set in this period and especially like them when the main character is a rebellious woman who won't be silenced by the tight constraints of high-society, regency London. I love reading about what is "expected" from women back then, and watching as the heroine of the story makes everyone eat their words and doesn't give a fig about what impression she is making or about her reputation as a "lady" may be tarnished.
Lily shows them all in this intriguing second installment of this series. There is adventure throughout, and quick, witty dialogue, making for a very enjoyable night of reading.
5 stars, I can't wait for book 3, in the meantime I am going back and grabbing book #1!
Thank you to the publishers at Crooked Lane Books and to Net Galley for the free ARC of this novel, I am voluntarily leaving my honest review.

This is the second of the Lily Adler mysteries and it's just as enjoyable as the first one. Lily Adler is a widow in regency England who discovers a dead body while visiting friends. With the help of Jack, best friend to her late husband, and Simon, a Bow Street constable, she solves the mystery. Meanwhile, she must deal with her father who has arrived for a visit. And it's her father's friend who was murdered which just complicates things a bit more.
Along the way, Lily meets quite a few new characters, renews acquaintance with several others, and uses her common sense to sort out what has happened.

This is one of those easy reading mysteries filled with characters you feel invested in. Lily is clever and bold and sometimes pushes the boundaries of the social mores of the time. There's a bit of development in her friendships with both Jack and SImon from the previous book. The writer still only hints at anything further in that area but also leaves the story wide open for flirting and possibly more with other characters she meets. As for the mystery, there are quite a few layers to unwrap in this story. Lily has a long history with the victim's family but it turns out there are secrets that she is unaware of until she delves more deeply into the family's affairs. As expected, it's settled quite nicely and open to future mysteries by the end of the book.

Overall a fun and enjoyable read. I give this 3.5 stars. Thank you to Netgalley and Crooked Lane Books for sharing an advanced reader copy. I reviewed this voluntarily.

Lily’s father has moved in, and can find nothing that Lily is doing right. He thinks her servants are not as polished as they should be, her food and drink not up to par, and it’s wrong that she has put aside her mourning clothes after only two years. After all, he’s still wearing mourning and his wife’s been dead more than twenty-five years.

He also takes issue with Lily’s friendship with Jack, a naval captain who is half English and half Indian, being rude to him at every turn. Lily gets angry, although Jack seems to take it all with a sense of humor.

Things get more tense when the new wife of a friend of Mr Alder’s dies and Lily is the one to have to break the news. When Simon Page, a member of the Bow Street Runners is called to the scene things really get involved.. Lily, Jack, and Simon all come together at the Wyatt home and while talking, Lily finds the murder weapon hidden in the fireplace. This discovery begins an investigation of the death, with Lily taking an active part. It is imperative that Lily do this without her father’s knowledge since not only would it add stress to Lily’s relationship with her father, she can’t be sure he won’t share any information obtained with Frank.

It seems the question to answer in order to determine the murderer is who had enough strength to move the dead body across the room. Frank, the son, has an alibi, as does Percy, the nephew, who has been dependent on Lord Wyatt for his allowance. Suspicion falls briefly on Lady Wyatt, his recent bride, but she is deemed too small to overpower the much larger Lord Wyatt and not strong enough to move a dead body across the room.

Simon knows the family will refuse him the opportunity to fully investigate the death so he reluctantly asks Lily to obtain some information for him. She is happy to do some investigating, even though she is investigating her friends. Although Simon hopes Lily will fade away once she’s told him what she discovered, Lily is determined to stay involved. She soon learns about Arthur, Lord Wyatt’s second son, who has undiagnosed psychiatric problems, and lives at home cared for by a maid. When the maid is killed, the three become more concerned about catching the killer before anyone else is murdered.

A chance comment gives Lily the idea to reexamine the case from a different point of view. Further investigation reveals the truth to Lily, but now she needs to get a confession and can only do so with her father’s help. Will he put aside his own prejudices and help Lily?

The book is well plotted with a steady pace. There is just enough information for the reader to have a flavor of the Regency period without feeling they are reading a history book. Pacing is good and, even if the reader figures out “who dun it”, they will need to read carefully to find the clues sprinkled throughout that reveal the how and why of the murder.

My thanks to Crooked Lane Books and NetGalley for an advanced copy of this book for review. The opinions expressed here are entirely my own.





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"Silence in the Library" is a mystery set in 1815 in London. It's the second book in a series, but you don't need to read the first book in order to understand this one. The author didn't spoil the whodunit of the first book, either.

This was a clue-based, puzzle mystery. Lily and her friends asked questions and snooped around to discover clues. They were mostly interested in motives while Principal Officer Page was the one to confirm alibis. I guessed whodunit and why from early on in the book, and I was mostly right. I overlooked a clue (also near the beginning) that explained how it was done. The main characters were likable and reacted realistically to events. Historical details were woven into the story creating a distinct sense of time and place.

There were no sex scenes. There was some bad language. Overall, I'd recommend this interesting mystery.

An enjoyable read with a full cast of characters that was only very slightly confusing because I didn't read the previous one. The little personal connections that were mentioned here - relationships between characters, mostly - were missing for me in order to fully connect everything. Otherwise, it was an interesting and entertaining mystery. Lily is a bright young woman and surrounds herself with people who appreciate her and her intelligence, as well as her confidence to use it. Mr Page, the detective from Bow Street investigating the death of Sir Charles, certainly appreciates her input and ability to go places he isn't especially welcome (visits to upper-class families to carry out enquiries).

A relationship twist wasn't really - at least not for me - but there is a lot going on here, and it moves along at a good clip. There is obviously a romance blossoming between Lily and Jack, but it's very respectful, intelligent, and understated, so it feels nicely placed against the mystery which, as it should be, is foremost in the book. Lily's father has invited himself to her home, which she tolerates only because she was raised well; otherwise, she endeavours to spend as little time as possible around him, not least because he disapproves of her friend Jack, who is Anglo-Indian, no matter that he is a decorated navy captain. At the end, however, he surprises her with his cooperation to catch the murderer.

A great read, and I'll be keeping my eyes open for the next one in the series.

When Lily Adler shows up at an old family friends home to go riding with the new Lady Wyatt she arrives to find Sir Charles has died. When Simon Page, a Bow Street constable arrives they discover Sir Charles was murdered. With a house full of suspects and nobody telling the truth, Mr Page enlists Lily's help to be his confident inside the home. Would would want to kill Sir Charles?
A mystery that has lots of twists and told in the way of old fashioned English mysteries . The characters of Lily Adler and Simon Page are well suited and I enjoyed them. Will enjoy seeing this two characters in many more delightful mysteries to come.

Silence in the Library follows the widowed Mrs. Lily Adler as she helps to solve the mystery of the death of her fathers good friend, Sir Charles. With the help of the her late husbands best friend, Jack, and a Bow Street Constable, Simon, Lily meets people she never knew and goes down paths she never thought she would to get to the bottom of the mystery.

I found this book to be extremely enjoyable. I liked Lily, as well as the other main characters Jack and Simon. Additionally, the side characters were also extremely likable and entertaining. Schellman did an excellent job building their personas. As for the plot, I also found that intriguing. The mystery itself was not obvious, and I enjoyed that the focus of the book is on solving the crime, with very little romantic focus (if any at all). I liked that it allowed me to be more engaged with the mystery.

I also found Schellman’s pacing and writing to be well done. It was a light read, one I didn’t find myself trudging through. There were no lulls, and I thought it steadily progressed in a way which holds the readers attention. I’m interested to read more of her books, for that purpose alone.

This book is a sequel.

The book tells the story of a murder, from the perspective of Lily Adler, a widowed woman who has developed a detective instinct.

When her father's best friend is murdered, Lily is once again caught up in a web of mysteries and lies; taking advantage of her free entry into London high society and with the help of her friends, Colonel Jack Hartley and Lady Ofelia Carroway, they assist Detective Simon Page in unmasking the murderer.

I generally cannot resist a mystery novel set in the Regency era; even if said novel is a sequel and I definitely haven't read the first book. Needless to say, I took the risk and I read it and I loved it.

It is not very difficult to fill in the missing spaces in the story, because very little reference is made to them.

Perhaps the only thing that I disliked was Lily uses the attraction that a certain gentleman has towards her to achieve a certain end, but from then on I like her strong and independent personality, her predisposition towards breaking standards without losing her essence, I like her very much. Perhaps I am a bit impartial, because I am also the woman that her father wanted to be a man, therefore I feel identified with her, but I think it is not difficult for you to like her. I had a big surprise with this book.

The mystery is not a great thing, I think that the strength of this book are its characters and the relationships that are forged between them. Even I, who am terrible at guessing the murderer, because I always have doubts, this time I guessed it halfway through the book, not the reasons, but I did know who them was/were.

I simply adored "The Body in the Garden" and was beyond excited to read the next installment in the Lily Adler series! This book did not disappoint. I love the fun historical murder mysteries. And the covers are always stunning!

Thank you NetGalley and the publisher for the digital ARC in exchange for my honest review.

This is the second book in the Lily Adler Mystery series. I had not read the first book and found the author inserted enough background information for me to easily put all the characters in their places in this plot. The characters don't feel very well developed because they were still just set dressing by the time I finished the novel; I didn't feel any connection, either liking or disliking, with them. Ambivalence is probably not what the author was trying to accomplish. There is a formality which Mrs. Lily Adler maintains which is probably perfectly correct for the time period but it does tend to make me feel I *still* haven't gotten to know the characters. Also, it is not difficult at all to solve the puzzle and that's unfortunate.

At the end of the book there is some interesting historical information included by the author which I found enjoyable. Also included are the names of people the author wishes to thank, among those editors and beta readers. I find that sometimes an author will get hung up on using a particular phrase or word while writing their story and that is the case here. I wish some of the well-wishers had mentioned to the author that she was using the same phrase too often. It turned out to be laugh-out-loud funny when I pictured all the characters sitting in a room looking at each other out of the corner of their eye. That phrase jumped off the page for me because it was used too often and it just pulled me right out of the atmosphere that was being created.

Thank you to NetGalley and Crooked Lane Books for an e-galley of this novel.

Silence in the Library is the Regency London female-driven detective story I didn't know I needed! Lily Adler doesn't let being a widowed 27-year-old woman in early 1800s England stop her from using her sharp skills to make her way in the world and solve a crime or two along the way. Confined to the rules and attitudes of the time, Lily pushes the limits of her abilities to get involved in the murder of a family friend. The writing is light and accessible with plenty of details and imagery, and the main character is intelligent, witty, contemplative, and sociable. While the name Adler may be a nod to Sherlock (?), Lily certainly has more social etiquette than our recent pop culture Holmes.

I didn't realize until I was into the book this is the second in the series, and I can't believe I've never come across the first one. That's next on the list so I can catch up, and hopefully we have many more of this series to look forward to.

This is a book I can easily hand-sell in-store and I look forward to talking to customers about it. For fans of Sherlock and Poirot.

I connect with this book in ways I didn't anticipate. I really felt Lily's pain, anguish, frustration, and anger when she interacted with her father. Schellman did a wonderful job with that relationship, even if it was painful to walk that path with that character.
The mystery was secondary to the character development. I like where these characters and their relationships are going. I enjoyed getting more glimpses into Mr.Page's life, thoughts, and motivations. All of the characters, really, were 3 dimensional and relatable. I felt connected and invested in them.

An excellent Regency mystery. I enjoyed it very much. Mrs Adler was an interesting character and the side characters were all fully fleshed out too. The mystery itself was well done and I enjoyed it a lot.

Lily Adler, a young widow in Regency London, is unhappy when her obnoxious father turns up unannounced for a visit and demands that she pay a call on his old friend. She complies, and the old gentleman's new wife suggests they go riding the next day. There is to be no riding that day, as there has been a murder at the house, and Lily finds herself working with Constable Page to determine the culprit. Lily is bright and independent in an era which frowned upon that kind of woman, reminiscent of Lady Darby in the Regency mysteries by Anna Lee Huber. Thanks to Netgalley and the publisher for the ARC.

Thanks to NetGalley and the publisher for this eARC in exchange for my honest review.
Widow Lily Adler shines in this cozy Regency mystery. Second in a series, this mystery is a charming page-turner I just couldn't put down. It's a standalone, no need to have read book one, "The Body in the Garden" although you’ll want to after following Lily in action as she works to unravel the murder of a family friend with the help of attractive Jack Hartley. Then another murder occurs, raising the stakes even higher. Will they succeed before someone else dies? Will their friendship become something more along the way? A delight for fans of historical mysteries and slow-burn romances.
Bonus points: includes a character who is on the spectrum.

Mysterious, evocative, and a little bit fun, SILENCE IN THE LIBRARY brings us into the world of nineteenth-century London, where danger seems to be lurking about every corner. Lily Adler is a worthy detective, and mystery lovers will find so much to enjoy about this engaging sequel.

MUST find the first installment in the series, this book was well written and had wonderful characters.