I did make it through this read, but there really wasn't anything to write home about for me, aka for nothing for me to run and talk about. Thank you though.

Lynn Messina has excelled with A Lark's Regret, a regency mystery of the ton. Verity finds out that a competitor is libeling the Duchess of Kesgrave in a rival paper. The Duchess buys the paper and seeks out the libeler as does Verity. They find him dead and are tied up by the murderer. Rescued by Nuneaton on behalf of the Duchess's husband, they decide to find out who was the murderer and the source of the malign stories. After looking at the scents of a group of suspects they find the murderer. How do they do this? Dialogue and activities are equally exciting. Enjoy.

In the fifth Verity Lark Mystery, readers follow Verity at a very difficult point in her life -- she’s giving shooting lessons to the sister-in-law she has ridiculed in print and her alter ego Mr. Twaddle-Thum published an apology for an error in an early murder investigation by a rival gossip from another paper, Mrs. Flimmer-Flam, who claims to correct other misapprehensions about the “murder” Duchess of Kesgrave. When Mrs. Flimmer-Flam claims that the Duchess of Kesgrave is not only solving murders but committing them and other untrue rumors about Twaddle-Thum, Verity decides to discover who is spreading these lies and stumbles on the body of Mrs. Flimmer-Flam. Packed with detail, entertaining characters, and high stakes, readers will love Lynn Messina’s latest novel and the changing dynamic between Verity and the Duchess of Kesgrave as they team up to solve this new mystery. The characters and historical details continue to impress, and the entertainment value of this book is absolutely fantastic as always. Messina really knows how to pull a mystery together and keep readers guessing, and her characters -- especially Verity and the Duchess of Kesgrave -- are still brilliantly detailed, evolving, and well-written in ways which fans of Messina’s historical mystery series will love.

I had this review all written out and ready to post and lost internet connection. So here I go again. Love this book as I love all of the books by Lynn Messina. I love her quirky characters and their quirky names ( Mr. Twaddle-Thum and Mrs. Flimmer-Flam) and of course I do love Verity Lark.

The author always brings a bit of fun and humour to her books but never misses the mark with her murder mystery aspect and I do like that. I can't help but love reading these books and always look forward to the next one. They are great reads with plenty to keep you invested, lots of secrets and twists and of course they are entertaining and enjoyable to read.

Thank you NetGalley and Book Whisperer for giving me the chance to read and review this book.

I keep trying to read something cozy thinking I need a break from more serious stuff but I never seem to find one that hits the spot for me. This wasn’t it either. Maybe I should just recognise that this kind of book isn’t my thing. It was well written and crafted just not for me.

I received an ARC of this novel from Netgalley in exchange for an honest review.

Verity Lark is a colorful character who sluthed around and solved a murder.

I thank NetGalley and Potatoworks Press for an advance reader copy of “A Lark’s Regret.” All opinions and comments are my own.

An exciting beginning -- the horror! -- sets readers immediately wondering what is going on in another installment of the continuing saga of Verity Lark and her convoluted machinations, who’s hardly recovered from the trials and travails in the last book, but, who’s counting. Author Lynn Messina does like to grab attention from the start, although it takes a while for everything to get going again (Verity does enjoy her word salads of explanation after explanation – faithful followers of the series well know that by now).

Yes, indeed, there’s a murder mystery to be solved here, and Verity, with the help of the greatest gossip in London, gets an evil-doer to confess to nefarious deeds. And along the way some serious confessions have take place. Ending with the duchess reaching out a conciliatory hand.

“A Lark’s Regret” moves along the saga of Verity Lark and her awakening family connections, more fodder for fans of the series, even when it is rather wordy in too many spots. It will be interesting to follow along as these characters, in an experienced author’s hands, deal with some new truths in future settings.

This was the the first Verity Lark story I've read. It is very detailed which slows down the pace a bit. I loved all of her disguises and the stories she creates around them. It was an interesting story.

I do enjoy seeing Verity’s self awareness grow!

Once again Verity Lark has found herself crossing the path of Her Outrageousness the Duchess of Kesgrave and this time over a dead body - the only surprise in that is that Verity witnesses it with her own eyes.

When a rival prattler of gossip attacks Her Outrageousness in a rival newspaper Verity finds herself drawn into the murder mystery with the help of Freddie, Hardwicke and the Twaddledome but surely her motives are only to find the killer and not motivated by any of her own feelings regarding her possible role in the Duchess being in the spotlight so to say.

With her usual aplomb, variety of disguises and expert planning Verity seeks to unmask the true killer and vindicate the Duchess. She also finds herself in the uncomfortable role of some self reflection as well as a queasy awareness regarding her feelings for Hardwicke.

Having followed Bea in her rise from insignificant spinster to Duchess and enjoyed these new stories of Verity and her unexpected relationship with the Duke and Duchess I heartily recommend this book as well as all of those that came before it. Knowledge of the previous books in this series as well as the Beatrice Hyde-Clare books are recommended as the story builds upon known events and characters from those books. Go enjoy some cozies!

Also so happy to see Neunton!

Thank you NetGalley and Lynn Messina for the review copy

I always look forward to each new entry into the Verity Lark series, and this one was well worth the wait. As always, it is filled with wit and good humor along with a superior cast of characters and a great mystery.

It seems Twaddle-Thum has a competitor, Mrs. Flimmer-Flam, and she’s out to get Her Outrageousness, The Duchess of Kesgrave. That will never do! Not only has Flimmer-Flam called the duchess a murderer, but she’s also maligned the good name of Twaddle-Thum. So, all hands are on deck to track down Flimmer-Flam’s identity and set the record straight.

Who is behind Flimmer-Flam? Is it just someone with a grudge against the Duchess? Is it more than one person? How many bodies will there be before the mystery is solved?

I thoroughly enjoyed the story, but I did find it a bit slow in places. I loved seeing Verity’s anxiety in dealing with the Duchess – and how they might actually work through it all. The growth in Verity’s relationship with Hardwicke was a delight to watch as well because of her reaction to actually realizing she has feelings.

If you're looking for a witty, humorous read with wonderful characters and a great mystery, you should give this book a try.

I voluntarily read an early copy of this book. All thoughts and opinions are my own.

I love that Messina has 2 series running concurrently, one from the point of view of The Duchess of Kesgrave, and this series from the point of view of the Duke's recently discovered half sister, Mary Price, now called Verity Lark. Verity a very clever woman, with many disguises, the first being pretending to be her brother Robert so that she can be a newspaper reporter.
For some reason I found this book way funnier than the previous ones. It begins with Viscount Nuneaton's discovery that Bea, the aforementioned Duchess has run out of her house in a fury. As he follows her, his comments are simply hilarious. As the Duke is away with his grandmother, Nuneaton feels responsible for her.
The first few chapters I was laughing out loud so frequently my daughter asked what was so funny.
The plot begins when a Mrs Flimm Flammer takes a page out of Mr Twaddle thumbs gossip book and excoriates The Duchess. Who is behind it??
When Viscount Nuneaton comes to call on the Duchess because the Duke is away, he is told she has gone to the newspaper to find out who this new columnist is. She BUYS THE NEWSPAPER.
Meanwhile, Verity who is actually Mr. Twaddle Thumb is a also trying to find Mrs. Flimm Flammer. Soon the plot thickens.
A murder has occurred (as it does in every book) and the Duchess and Verity become involved. Verity investigates, using many disguises. In addition, she is becoming distracted because she is afraid she is falling in love with Hardwicke. She fights feelings and emotions so we get a lot of internal dialogue. She finally acknowledges his competency (he is a spy after all and knows how to ferret out information.)
This book happens immediately after the previous book ( I do recommend reading these inn order). Verity is trying to get out of a promise she made the Duchess. You shall see how that works out.
As per the ending, will we see the 2 series merge at some point?
Thanks to NetGalley and the Book Whisperer for the EARC. I love this series and I highly recommend reading the entire series from book one and also read the Bea series also.
This is my honest review.

Welcome to a madcap Regency mystery series that has serious undertones and is deeply entwined with the writer's other Regency mystery series starring Beatrice Hyde-Clare, often referred to as Her Outrageousness by Verity Lark, a reporter, in private and in her column that ridicules the Duchess for her mystery solving. But when a new scandal/society columnist starts claiming the Duchess is not only solving murders but committing them and portrays Lark as hopelessly naive, Verity is determined to find out who this reporter is and expose them. Only, the reporter is found murdered and the Duchess standing over the body. Verity will have to work fast to expose the truth fast before someone ends up dead!

I have to admit that I started off a bit lost. It switched from a couple of view points and left a scene where the Duchess is found with the body of an obvious murdered person and then off to Verity going on about needing to write letter she doesn't want to to Her Outrageousness. So if you haven't read both series you don't know who she is referring to. Messina does provide some explanation, eventually, so you can figure the basis of what is going on but there is a lot reader are missing out on. There are several minor story arcs that are also going on including a love interest for Verity that definitely would be more fulfilling if you had read at least this series from the beginning (which I haven't).

Overall, the mystery was decent. I guessed who it was by half way through but there were a lot of shenanigans that could keep a reader entertained until the end. There is some silliness in the series, particularly when it comes to pseudonyms. Some people might find that annoying or refreshing.

Thanks to Netgalley and the publisher for an ARC in exchange for an honest opinion.

A Lark's Regret brings together the action of two series - the Verity Lark series and the Duchess of Kesgrave series. For this reason, A Lark's Regret may be difficult for a new reader to follow, as the relationships, weird names and nicknames (Her Outrageousness, the Turnip), and tying up of loose ends from previous books are complicated. As Verity tries to reveal the person and reason behind a plot to ruin the Duchess's name, culminating in the murder of a new gossip columnist, Verity adopts multiple disguises to obtain information. The number, detail, and length of these "disguise" scenes slowed the action for me, and I found myself skipping pages to get to the main points. The mystery buried in the extraneous detail was interesting, and watching Verity slowly shed the wall she has built around her emotions is enjoyable. In the range of 2-3 stars. Thanks to NetGalley and Potatoworks Press for the eARC.

Verity Lark it seems does indeed regret!

Once again Verity Lark mesmerises me worth her convoluted grasp of happpenings. Her masterful disguises of various characters she uses to seek information, to confuse and confound her targets. What is she seeking? Always answers to challenges that seemingly escalate into problems, including murder.
And now Verity has to confront her sister-in-law and her nemesis, the Duchess of Kesgrave, Her Outrageousness. Mr. Twaddle-Thum, Verity’s literary character is trying to put the rumor genie back in the bottle. Twaddle-Thum is being aped and out rumoured by the mysterious Mrs.-Flimmer Flam. Flimmer-Flam’s target is the Duchess, but not in a good way, rather it’s exploitive and nasty, designed to bring about the Duchess’s ruin.
So what would society make of the Duchess in a lowly boarding house with a man dead at her feet, accompanied by none other than Michael Barrington, Viscount Nuneaton?
Apart from giving the Duchess pistol shooting lessons, it’s now up to Verity to make sure the Duchess is not arrested for murder!
I so enjoyed the repartee between the residents of Robert Lark’s home, Verity’s supposed brother, their discussion of problems, Delphine’s contributions, Freddie’s remarks, and now Lord Colson Hardwicke!
All very witty and lively, amidst the high jinks.

A Book Whisperer ARC via NetGalley.
Many thanks to the author and publisher.
(Opinions expressed in this review are completely my own.)

It would be easy enough to say this was another great entry in the Verity Lark mysteries or the Beatrice Hyde-Clare mysteries. It's definitely true. But I feel this one stands above the other books in so many ways. Bea has worked out that Twaddle Thum is the work of Lord Colson Hardwicke and Verity does nothing to disabuse her of this notion. But the two soon come face to face after both investigate the latest gossip in town and find the culprit, murdered. A few things are clarified for Bea while Verity spends an awful lot of time in anguish about her actions towards the duchess.

I suspect some might find Verity's constant self-reflection a bit tiring, but it definitely suits this character, which is truly a complicated one. Verity finds it hard to trust others, having been let down so many times before. But when it becomes apparent she has wronged the duchess, she continues her anguish and never forgives herself or will let the duchess forgive her. To hear Verity's skewed view of things, she will never be good enough to matter, to be in love, or even to be loved. She is self-contained in all ways. With Hardwicke and their budding relationship, she has definitely moved in the right direction. But in relationships outside her core group, she is never sure of herself. Of course, she fails to recognise the parallels of Bea's life might make her a bit more understanding than she perceives.

I truly delighted in the scene that revealed the truth of Twaddle Thum. Then I delighted in the more frequent interactions between these two characters. We didn't have the benefit of Kesgrave in this tale, and I think it was right for the big reveal. He will take his place again in the next BHC story, I'm sure. Even the ending was lovely and I just look forward to more from this pair.

I am rating this 4.5 stars as it was truly wonderful. Thank you to Netgalley and Book Whisperer for the free advanced reader copy. I have given my opinions under no obligation.

Thank you so much to NetGalley and Lynn Messina for providing me with a complimentary digital ARC for A Lark's Regret coming out July 11, 2025. The honest opinions expressed in this review are my own.

I’ve really enjoyed this series. It’s one of my favorite time periods. This one felt different because there were some new things developing. It felt a little longer than the usual books and some parts weren’t very exciting for me. But I would continue reading the series.

Part of a series featuring many many intriguing characters. A complicated story with plenty of twists and turns. A good read.

Thanks to Netgallery and Lynn Messina for this ARC

I like this story gave it a 4.75 rating only because this the fifth book in the series so I was not familiar with some call back but still the pace, story and setting were great and made up for it and I will definitely go back and read the earlier books as well as the adventures of Beatrice Hyde Clare.

Verity Lark and her dear friends continue to apply logic, chutzpah and an astounding number of disguises to thwart another devious murder plot with the upper society of Victorian England. You must read the series in order to enjoy these books plus read the equally delightful Beatrice Hyde-Clare series as they each move their narrative along. But, it’s WELL worth you effort to read some quirky tales of underdogs and society’s vaulted members to get the whole picture…intricate murder plots, a little romance, and unexpected fun.

When an author blends two long-running series, as is done here, there's a lore problem. To be sure everyone's up to speed there must be some exposition, and that runs into the dread problem of the infodump. It's inevitable. It slows stuff down, from action to scene-setting, and increases the word-count a good deal.

Because I'd never read a Verity Lark story I was glad for it, but honestly it seemed sort of wasted time and effort because Bea really doesn't do or add much to Verity's actions.

Potatoworks Press charges $6.99 for a Kindle edition. Not because I told you to!