This was a fun mystery in the Cassie Gwynn series! The protagonist is very independent and intelligent! She was really a fun character! I also like the mystery and thought it was well-done. Therefore, I recommend this fans of the Eleanor Swift mysteries, The Veronica Speedwell mysteries, and the Verity Kent mysteries!

This was a fairly interesting mystery. I did struggle a little keeping up with the characters. There were also portions that it didn't feel like much was going on. However there were lots of twists and I was ultimately able to guess the murderer at the end.

honestly i wanted to like this book, but it did not work for me. i wish it would have because i was so excited to read this one and to get to read it way early?! thank you so much netgalley!!!!!

Cassie Gynne heads to Florida in 1883 following the death of her father. She meets her aunt in jail after an eventful arrival but this is just the beginning for the unconventional pair! Her aunt's enemy is dicsovered dead at the bottom of a tower and Cassie is sure it is murder but regrets pressing for an investigation when her aunt becomes the prime suspect...
A Deception Most Deadly is an historical cosy murder mystery set in America in the 1880s.
Cassie and her aunt Flora are thoroughly modern women. Both are feisty and independent with a healthy splash of the eccentric as well. They find themselves embroiled in a murder investigation and Flore is quickly accused of being the prime suspect. Cassie begins her own search to clear her aunt's name and uncovers awhole host of secrets and lies.
I found the pace of the plot varied with some patches where little happened, and others where the twists and turns occurred relentlessly fast. I was kept guessing as to the culprit and motive until the very end.
The tone of the book is gently humorous, witty rather than laugh out loud funny. However, there are some wonderful turns of phrase that the author uses that made me smile. There is an emotional side to the book as well as Cassie is dealing with her grief for her late father as well as having entanglements of the heart, but will she choose the right man...?
A Deception Most Deadly is quite a quirky book in terms of the style of writing as well as the lead characters.

The first is a new series, I enjoyed this book very much. Cassie Gwynne barely arrives in Florida to visit an aunt she wasn't aware of when Aunt Flora is arrested for murder. Cassie has left New York to get away from memories of her father's recent murder during which she was severely injured. Her instincts say her aunt is innocent but there are others who would like to see her hang. While investigating the murder, Cassie finds out many things about her own family she never knew,

An enjoyable story, if you are fans of Beth Byers, Blythe Baker, or Verity Bright I encourage you to give it a try! Thank you to #NetGalley for the opportunity to read #ADeceptionMostDeadly.

A Deception Most Deadly is the first installment in A Cassie Gwynne Mystery by Genevieve Essig.

The premise of the book sounded so promising, a young heroine starting a new life and getting involved into solving a mystery. Unfortunately it fell flat for me.

For one thing I couldn't connect with the heroine and the menagerie and of people and animals was simply too much for me to follow and keep track of. I simply felt like too many things happening at the same time. And I have to admit it was overly quirky for me.

The story flows nicely and it reads easily. The ending was well done, but there were so many twists and turns.
Also it was unnecessarily long.

A great start to a new series. A Deception Most Deadly hit all the right notes for me; an intriguing mystery, a fun cast of characters and a hint of romance.
This first book does spend a good amount of time introducing us to the characters and it was slightly slow in places because of this. I expect the next book to move much quicker as a result.
Cassie has a very sad and tragic back story and there is a mystery behind her father's death. I am very interested in reading the drama and suspense that will unfold when Cassie decides to investigate.
Fans of Deanna Raybourn will undoubtedly enjoy this series

I received this book for free for an honest review from netgalley #netgalley

A little hard for me to get into at first but all together not a bad book.

This book had its high and lows for me. The beginning was tough to get through, I started and stopped it many times. I liked our heroine Cassie enough, but she seems quite immature even if for the time period. The book for me was more about setting up the series than a true mystery. It is however quite cozy for a cozy mystery, fairly predictable but I’m not bothered by that in this context. Overall a pleasant read, interested in seeing if the next books pick up the pace and action a bit.

This is the first book in the Cassie Gwynne series. It is set in Florida in 1883. From the first couple of pages you can tell the author has set the scene well, with the vivid description of the sights and sounds Cassie sees when she first arrives.

Cassie is an interesting character who is looking to start over after the death of her father. After his death she discovers letters from her Aunt Flora, so decides to travel to Florida to meet her. Flora is a great character that is really ahead of her time. She protests for animal welfare and is not scared to ruffle people’s feather’s which puts her at odds with many people.

When Cassie and Flora find a body, Flora becomes the main suspect and the police thinking they have their culprit and not eager to look for anyone else. This is when Cassie takes it upon herself to look into the affairs of the deceased.

I enjoyed this book and look forward to seeing more of Cassie.

This book is long, and there's a lot of exposition to get thru before the fun starts. I got a little bored with it and kept moving on to look at other stuff. I thought I figured out who the murderer was right away, but it turns out I was wrong about that guess. I did guess who it was halfway thru and felt frustrated that Cassie couldn't figure it out. The clues were a little obvious. Usually, this is the type of cozy mystery I enjoy most, where the victim is someone so nasty that everyone has a motive for murder. In this book, however, it drags the story out too long because there are SO many characters to introduce. There's also a lot of information dumps about the history of Fernandina. It ties into the mystery, but again, it makes the story feel a little too long and dragged out. The story picks up in the second half, and I wasn't bored with it anymore.

Just wonderful. Thrilling and suspenseful. A beautifully plotted mystery. Loved the historical element. Highly recommend this one.

There was a lot I liked about this mystery, but the problem I had was that there were just too many people, too many plot lines. Still I will pick up the second book hoping that now the family mystery is out of the way, the next one will be more straightforward.

I really wanted to enjoy A Deception Most Deadly but unfortunately I found the beginning so slow and found it very hard to be invested in the book.

I struggled to get into this book, and found it quite slow and drawn out to start with, which was a shame. Still for those who love a lot of description and explanations in their historical mysteries - along with an animal companion - it might be a hit!

This introduction to a new series by Genevieve Essig is terrific! Set in the late nineteenth century on the fictional island of Fernandina, Florida, I really liked Cassie Gwynne who I found to be likeable and logical; she’s an animal lover, too, acquiring a kitten named "Hesychia" (shortened to Esy). I also adored Aunt Flora, but I'm not going to say why. It’s always great to start a new series of historical cosy mysteries and this one was no exception to that. I did not guess the outcome and the characters were colourful. I'm eagerly anticipating book two. 🙂🐈

I received a complimentary copy of this novel from Bookouture via NetGalley at my request and this review is my own unbiased opinion.

First of all, I would like to thank Netgalley and the publisher for the opportunity to read and review this book.

I loved the story, like the cover says it is an "utterly, addictive, historical, cozy, murder mystery. It was one of the things that attracted me to request this book and boy it didn't disappoint. The story has more twists than I'm used to with murder mysteries keeping it interesting till the very end. The scenes and settings are enough explained to give you this nice historical feeling. But the story was still very relatable.

I can't wait to see what Cassie does next!

3.5 stars.
Genevieve Essig’s Cassie Gwynne is a bright and curious young woman, suffering deeply with grief over the sudden death of her beloved father. She arrives in Fernandina, Florida, to get to know a previously unknown aunt, Flora.
Cassie is nervous, and as soon as she lands, she witnesses a burglary, meets one of the Sherriff’s deputies, meets her aunt Flora who spending a little time in jail for protesting a case of animal cruelty—Cassie rapidly gets the sense that she’s amongst a lively and colourful bunch of people.

Cassie discovers Flora, in addition to attempting to save mistreated animals, is also an in-demand perfumer. Cassie also discovers that her aunt has a thoroughly dislikable neighbour whom no one in town can stand and with whom her aunt has a loud altercation soon after they arrive at Flora’s cozy home.

Cassie is not hung up on social conventions, easily socializing with the diverse and mixed crowd of friends who surround Flora. Cassie is also charmed by her aunt, and enveloped immediately in Flora’s warmth and kindness.

The next morning, Cassie and Flora discover the man’s body, and the incompetent Coroner charges Flora with the man’s murder very soon afterwards.

Thank goodness Flora has a bunch of devoted and concerned friends, as well as Cassie’s observant eyes, and penchant for asking questions. Having helped her lawyer father with his work, she’s got a sense of how to think and look for evidence, which serves her well when she unearths lots of clues, and motives for a number of townspeople.

I found it pretty easy to narrow down the suspects and figure out who the culprit was fairly early on, I still enjoyed this story. I think Flora’s love and forgiving nature, and who she surrounded herself with, was a large part of this, and how readily she opened her arms and heart to Cassie. Considering how fast I read this book, I’m eager to know what’s next for Cassie, Flora and the rest of this kind and supportive bunch of people.

Thank you to Netgalley and to Bookouture for this ARC in exchange for my review.

This introduction to a new series is a great one. Cassie is likable. Even better, she’s an animal lover.
The characters and setting are introduced in a time period that’s fresh and new to me.

A brilliant first to a new cosy crime series I’m very excited to read more of. I did not guess the outcome and the characters were really fun and colourful.