An airship bound for London is thrown off course by a murder on the first night of its transatlantic voyage in this locked-room historical mystery debut.

What a fun "closed room" historical mystery this book was. It features a plucky, undaunted, female protagonist and almost all the aristos are looking down their noses at her. She'll show them!

American airship heiress, Cora Beaumont, is accompanied by a number of souls on the maiden voyage of airship, "The Lady Air," as they fly above the Atlantic on their way from New York City to England. They are one chaperone, Mrs. Beesly, Cora's dear friend Ophelia Hortense, her soon-to-be fiancé, Terrance Tristan, and his brother Nicholas, the future Duke of Exford and Debensley. While Terrance struggles with the thoughts of impending marriage, Cora has far more at stake - that of her financial independence. If that isn't enough, bodies are piling up. If she doesn't get to the bottom of the misadventures, she may quickly kiss her future prospects goodbye.

Author April J. Skelly has crafted a delightful cozy mystery, with an excellent plot line, well-developed quirky characters, and lots of charm. The writing is solid and flows effortlessly. The research which went into the book's writing is rich and cleverly shared with the reader. There are harrowing moments endured by the beloved protagonist that keep the reader on tenterhooks and then gently places all back on solid footing. There are a number of red herrings and potential suspects thus maintaining the suspense throughout the story. As good as this story is, it is my desire that this is the start of a wonderful mystery series. Hope springs eternal!

I am grateful to April J. Skelly and her publisher, Crooked Lane Books for having provided a complimentary copy of this book through NetGalley. Their generosity, however, has not influenced this review - the words of which are mine alone.


Publisher: Crooked Lane Books
Publication Date: April 22, 2025
No. of Pages: 320
ISBN: 979-8892421058

This new book's summary immediately grabbed me: a trans-Atlantic voyage on an airship; locked-room mystery; Victorian setting; promises of romance = yes, please!

And overall, I have to say I really liked it, and actually thought I was embarking on a Steampunk adventure given the airship settings (and how spacious and modern they were described for 1890). The pacing was very engaging and fast-paced so that I kept at it until the very end without switching to the other 4-5 books I usually have on the go.

As an avid historical mystery reader, especially of the Victorian era, however, I did feel the author's writing style and usage of phrasing and aristocratic titles could be improved and more historically-appropriate, even with most of the story being told from the female main character, Cora's, American's perspective. For example, my understanding is that unmarried women can use their honorific titles 'Lady Ophelia', but would only become 'Lady Davenport' when they married (to match their titled husband's title of 'Lord Davenport'). This kept switching throughout with several of the titled characters, which at first distracted and then just annoyed me.

In terms of character development, I found myself really becoming invested in Cora, Ophelia and Nicholas. For the most part, they have well-rounded personalities with mostly believable motives, although I sometimes felt the timing was too fast for how these evolved though. I really did like Cora and her intellect, interests and abilities that were frowned upon, especially for young women of wealthy backgrounds of her time. I also really appreciated Lord Nicholas Tristan from the start for his good heart and care of Cora and those around him. He was refreshingly progressive and almost too modern for someone of his privileged ranking and background. I was able to justify it more with the aforementioned Steampunk context I chose to base this on though.

The plot structure was also engaging and coherent, and I enjoyed all the late night traipsing by Cora and Nicholas to discover what was going on. I liked the addition of the acting troupe as well, and felt they could have been used more. Without spoiling anything, the big reveal was excellent, however, the ending felt rushed and became confusing when they landed in England. Is there more to come?

Overall, it was a very promising start with some potentially great characters whom I could become more invested in if they were to be given more adventures. I'm intrigued by the political seeds evoked as this was during the suffragist movement era and how that could impact Cora's character, vocational and romantic developments. I would definitely keep reading for more of her and Nicholas...and hopefully her return to some cool archeological mysteries!

Thank you to Crooked Lane Books and NetGalley for sharing this ARC, I look forward to seeing the next installment of Cora's adventures!

When I read mystery in 1890 set in an airship, I screamed count me in!

Overall, it was a fun quick read. If you enjoyed Bridgerton and want historical romance with a mystery plot, you'll certainly love this.

From the beginning I knew that some creative liberty had to be taken for the airship specifically. Even though they were invented by then, I don't think they were used for actual commercial travel til decades later. And even then, it wouldn't have been the multi-class extravagance that the author uses here. But I generally don't mind if it's used for the right reasons. And to a great extent here it's used as a cool backdrop and setting for the plot.

This is a historical romance book with a mystery plot not a historical mystery with romance subplot. Every chapter is filled to the brim with sentences about the two main characters' attraction to one another. Every move or update to the mystery is to highlight how 'different' the FMC is and attract the handsome MMC's attention.

The characters themselves are fine.
Overall I enjoyed the book, but I found myself not connecting with them as much as I thought I would.

I grew tired of how we had to read over and over again about how 'unlike the other girls' the FMC is. I love a strong female lead. It's why I pick the books I do. It just felt so repetitive.

Every chapter had to bring up how she's American and how she's against wearing corsets and is so different from the snobby noblewomen (except for Phee who has my heart and I wish she had been the main character!)

The side characters felt a bit caricateurish in that their animosity was overplayed to make us feel bad for the FMC and see the MMC defend her. Especially the captain who I don't think would've criticized her so openly when she's engaged to such an influential family even if he was a sexist pig.

The MMC is handsome and swoonworthy but overall very modern. A man like him historically wouldn't have been nearly so open-minded. But hey, I enjoyed him as the romantic interest, keeping in mind the creative liberty taken.

The mystery itself was fun but I feel the ending was a bit abrupt and the motives of the murderer were a bit weak. But I think overall it was fine.

So, all in all, read this if you're in a romantic mood and enjoy the creative extravagant setting. And say hi to Phee for me, she's delightful.

This book is an easy 5 stars! 'A Lethal Engagement' jumps right into a late 19th-century adventure with a fantastical airship, high stakes puzzles, slow burn romance, and tensions in the fight for women's rights in England and India. The story follows 2 POVs: Cora, a compassionately courageous American heiress set to marry into the high-class Tristan family, and Nicholas, the dreamily honorable heir to the dukedom. I found Ophelia to be a delightful friend and cousin to the main characters throughout the story. Trigger warning that the murder scenes are a bit graphic in description, but it does contribute to the plot.

If you enjoy reading amateur detective mysteries, then I recommend this book to you! I certainly hope this becomes a series, because there is so much more to this budding romance and investigative duo that I want to see.

Special thanks to the Publisher, Crooked Lane Books, and Net Galley for a complimentary copy of this book. Opinions expressed in this review are completely my own.

Thank you to NetGalley for allowing me to read an advance copy of this lovely story.
I chose this book hoping for a fun mystery, trying to break out of my comfort zone as someone who is decidedly not a romance or a historical fiction reader.

I admit it took a bit for me to get into this one, as the beginning was a bit slow, but by the end I was devouring every page! The mystery was just deep enough to not be blatantly obvious, but with enough hints for me to actually say "I f***ing KNEW IT!" with satisfaction when the truth was revealed.

And the romance?? Omg! I never thought I'd be swooning over such small things as brushing fingers or stealing glances, but the tidbits of romantic tension building up throughout this book probably had me even more invested than the actual murder mystery. The author perfectly invokes the electric feelings of a new crush, where every tiny touch feels monumental, with the added zest of it being societally scandalous - WITHOUT an awkward love triangle, miscommunication tropes, or all the spice that makes some books uncomfortable to read in public.

Overall I thoroughly enjoyed A Lethal Engagement, and I will definitely keep an eye out for future titles by April J. Skelly.

I had a lot of fun reading this.
As a debut novel, it was great and shows a lot of promise!
There were twists and turns and premise was definitely different than the usual.
The romance was fine but I definitely wanted more and no epilogue thus no HEA for sure, so maybe this is going to be a series?
There is some not time period appropriate language and some random phrases that kinda make you step out of the story a bit to consider them.

My biggest issue- without giving spoilers- is the murderer wasn’t any of my guesses or anyone that made sense. And then the way it is wrapped up was again confusing.
I feel like we needed 5 more chapters.

A Lethal Engagement is a wonderful historical(ish) mystery and it's going down as one of my favorites. I loved the story and atmosphere April Skelly created. Our main character Cora was the perfect balance of a polite society woman with a bit of a rebellious streak and a penchant for asking a lot of questions. I was kept guessing throughout the book and I would love to see this as a series!

The premise sounded intriguing: gilded age, locked room mystery, transatlantic voyage — but ultimately left me feeling lukewarm. One reason I love historical fiction is because I love history, and books/movies often send me down a rabbit hole of historical research. I was confused at the beginning of this book because of the descriptions of a large airship, in 1890, with multiple decks and passengers and luxurious settings, including a hothouse. Even the Hindenburg many decades later at the actual height of transatlantic airship travel was considerably more spartan. So artistic license was taken, which certainly isn’t a deal breaker for most fiction, but fizzles for me with historical fiction. Almost like steampunk without the steam, and I’m just not a fan.

I digress. It happens often.

The mystery itself was a puzzling whodunnit with a mostly unsatisfying ending. Without giving spoilers, I felt like the choices made by the murderer didn’t add up, either with victims, methods, etc. The addition of a burgeoning romance between Cora and Nicholas, despite her engagement to his milksop of a brother, was ok but not stellar. The dialogue was a bit too ‘breathless’ for my taste, and it was irritating that despite how strong minded Cora was, she never spoke up to Terrance about his crummy treatment of her. I don’t mind alternating POV writing, but with this book the chapters are very short and the narration flips between Nicholas and Cora all the time and made it hard for me to keep track of whose perspective I was currently reading.

Last gripe: modern phrases like ‘that’s a wad of cash’ or ‘I pushed the thoughts away to unpack later’ were irritatingly out of place, especially the latter one. I’m tired of hearing people ‘unpack’ thoughts and emotions — it’s overused enough on social media, let alone cropping up in novels.

Thank you to NetGalley and the publishers for the opportunity to read this book in exchange for my honest, but in this case not very complimentary, thoughts.

A Lethal Engagement is a compulsively readable historical mystery. April J. Skelly’s writing is fast-paced and fun, without ever losing its Victorian sparkle. A wonderful read!

For a debut book, I would give this one a solid 3.5 🌟. The premise is different, an airship that was unique. The writing style was engaging, but the characters could have been flushed out a bit more. Especially the romance, it felt like it ended on a hfn?? Overall, it's a decent read.

#netgalley #ALethalEngagement

An enjoyable read, with a unique locked room mystery premise. The setting on an airship is intriguing. The main character seemed just on the wrong side of knowledgeable and competent given the role she has as owner of the airship—I expected a bit more from her. The romance aspect could have used more tension/angst/swoon/other high emotions for my taste but perhaps that will come in a sequel.

Thanks to Crooked Lane Books and NetGalley for this digital ARC.

I was drawn to this book based on the cover - it reminded me of another favorite series, the Veronica Speedwell mysteries. This book did not disappoint! Very unique Gilded Age mystery/romance taking place in an airship traveling from the US to UK. Cora commences the ship's voyage with a new engagement to Terrance Tristan. But she is strangely drawn to Terrance's brother Nicholas. Cora inherited the airship's company after the passing of her father. So she is determined to get to the bottom of an unexpected murder on board. Clues keep piling up, and Nicholas and Cora race against time to solve the mystery. Everyone is a suspect, and there is nowhere to go on an airship traveling over the ocean.

I highly enjoyed this book, looking forward to the series continuing!

Thank you to the publisher and NetGalley.

This was a wonderful romantic historical mystery! I typically prefer single-POV stories, but I actually really enjoyed having both the FMC and MMC POV here, and I absolutely loved the start of the romance between Cora and Nicholas. The story is set up for a sequel, and I do hope for the relationship to continue to progress - ideally with a bit more spice - between the two, as the series unfolds. I will certainly be looking out for the sequel.

This one had such potential (a locked room Regency-era mystery/romance on an AIRSHIP -- what a set up) but the characters fell kind of flat for me.

Cora is the daughter of an American businessman and owner of the airship. Her father allowed her many freedoms as a young girl -- accompanying him on his business around the world -- but it is now time for her to fulfill her promised of an arranged marriage to an Englishman, the second son of a duke. Cora likes Terrence just fine, despite the fact that he seems to be awfully distracted every time they are together.

His older brother, Nicholas, is a completely different story. The two have instant chemistry they try desperately to ignore. When a murder occurs on the first night of their voyage, the two are left to discretely team up and investigate as owner of the ship and highest ranking noble on board. They will need to solve the crime quickly before more people are hurt or worse, their reputations are ruined.

Would have loved a little more sparkle from both of these characters. We got the story from both of their POVs but they were kind of boring and the tension between them felt PG at best. It's hard with locked room mysteries to introduce enough suspects without character overwhelm and honestly the conclusion of this one felt rushed as result.

Would definitely give another book by this author a try though! The writing was good the protagonists just weren't for me.

A LETHAL ENGAGEMENT is a fun read perfect for fans of historical mysteries. The romance angle adds an additional level of enjoyment; while it is not necessarily resolved, it sets the stage nicely for a sequel. I like Skelly's writing style; while it can be a bit formal, it does fit the time period well. Her characters are well-crafted. I enjoyed getting to know Cora and Nicholas and was also intrigued by Ophelia. The mystery is fun to try and solve and the clues strewn throughout the narrative are carefully plotted. Ultimately, the story manages to portray the strength and intelligence of women while remaining true to the time period.

Thank you to the publisher and NetGalley for an advance e-galley; all opinions in my review are 100% my own.

Thank you to NetGalley and to Crooked Lane Books for the ARC of A Lethal Engagement by April J Skelly.

A Lethal Engagement is dually narrated by NYC heiress Cora, and the British, first son of a duke, Nicholas. Cora is engaged to Nicholas's brother Terrence, a business arrangement crafted by their fathers in their childhood, though they have not seen each other in many years. They are flying on Cora's family-owned airship from America to London to announce the engagement - a terrifying circumstance for Cora, as the British peerage does not think highly of American heiresses. If only cattiness were the least of Cora's problems - instead, a body is discovered brutally murdered early on in the voyage, leaving Cora and Nicholas scrambling to find the killer and protect the reputation of Cora's family company and the pending union of their families.

The mystery was interesting and not one I easily solved from the clues throughout the novel, though, upon reflection, I did think of a few plot holes that may have muddled the story which I'll leave in the publisher notes so as not to provide any spoilers in this review.

I liked Cora and Nicholas as characters, and I think they are both tenacious in their own ways. Cora is doing the best she can in a time when women must be dependent upon men, and Nicholas is willing to change his views on how society functions in ways that show his character is capable of growth many other men are not ready for at this time. I do wish Nicholas would have stood up more for Cora as it related to Terrence, or that perhaps he had thought more of how he treats Cora throughout the journey in relation to her engagement -- I think this might have added some depth to their budding partnership as opposed to thinking many of the actions are just from the heightened state of danger the two are constantly in on this journey. The way they both seem surprised by their attraction but also ignore it while still moving forward with her engagement to Terrence is probably the most realistic angle of society marriages and also terribly depressing - so it makes sense why it's buried, but I wish it wasn't.

I struggled in the first 10 percent of the book - it took me a bit to get into the rhythm of the writing style and the transatlantic slang, and some of the dialogue seemed a bit stilted/forced before it seemed to find its groove. I think constantly having Ophelia be both "Phee" and "Ophelia" in alternating sentences in all of her scenes was also a bit jarring because I kept thinking there was an additional character -- I'm not sure if this was just confusion around how often to use titles and full names and nicknames when dealing with the ton, but it seemed to happen with a lot of interpersonal character interactions in a way that lifted me out of the story.

I also think some of the side characters could have been a bit more solid - the two British ladies, Tilly and Georgianna, are written as straight villains, and while they can definitely be vapid without issue, they serve no purpose other than to be rude and one-note. I was also confused by why they were able to run around unchaperoned while Cora and Phee are not - it seemed an odd mishmash of propriety being applied at times.

I also wish I knew a bit more about this historical time frame - I was researching the usage of airships, and it seems like while they were invented in 1890, they weren't used for travel until the early 1900s-1920 or so. Given that and that the story is a merging of the British Victorian era and the US Gilded Age I was a bit confused about this earlier technological travel advancement added to these two eras. Perhaps there will be more emphasis on this and further historical exploration in the sequel.

That being said, around 20% of the way through I just devoured the plot and the story, reading most of it in one sitting. I think this is a really entertaining read, with a fresh, different take on the 1890s historical cozy mystery. It's also fun to have a really intentional merging of British and American characters and to see their national values comes across in their characters in the context of the time period.

The story is set in an unusual setting (for a "Regency" romance) - an airship, which is an exciting premise. Also, the heroine is supposed to be an independent (business) woman, which for me is a great draw to the book. Nevertheless, if not for the current reminders that she has "built" the ship (made the blueprints?) and she has helped her father in business and engineering, it wouldn't be obvious from the described behavior. She didn't seem to have a great deal of thoughts or opinions, let alone any business sense. Phee, as a character, was a bit overdrawn. The male main character is described as very forward-thinking and thus a perfect love interest, which is great and expected in an escape read. But did it have to be a duke? As frequently stated by the heroine: dollar princesses and nobility is already a sensation, so an earl or marquess would have been enough, in my opinion. The dukedom makes the story more questionable.
The mystery was nicely mixed with the romance. Although the mystery was solved at the end, while the romance was more on the cliffhanger side (at least, it's how I read it). Was it supposed to be a teaser for a sequence?
It is my first book by the author, so I didn't know what to expect in terms of plot and style. Unfortunately, I would describe the style as on the "wooden" side. The narrative does not flow smoothly, and while the constant change of POV is a nice feature, it does feel forced after a while. Also, there are still some spelling issues throughout the text.

I have received a free advance copy from NetGalley, and I am leaving this review voluntarily.

I enjoy a good historical romance, so when I read the summary of this book - I didn't hesitate to sign up for the ARC. I thought it was interesting, and had fun reading it.

April J. Skelly is such an amazing author. She never disappoints. Such an amazing read I had. 5 stars read from me. So so good. I recommend everyone to read this book asap.