Today I once again turn over the blog to my friend Sophia Rose who brings us her thoughts on this cozy from the English Regency period.
Enjoy!
Death Comes to Bath by Catherine Lloyd, Narrated by Cat
Gould
#6 Kurland St. Mary Mystery
Historical Cozy Mystery
Publisher: Tantor
Audio
Published: 8.27.19
ISBN: 1496702123
Time: 8 hours 34
minutes
Rating: 4
Narrator Rating: 5
Format: MP3
Source: Tantor Audio
GoodReads Blurb:
On a visit to Bath, Major Sir Robert Kurland and Lady
Lucy Kurland discover that the English spa town is not beneficial to everyone's
health . . .
After Sir Robert's injury from the battle of Waterloo begins troubling him
again, his wife Lucy insists they relocate from the village of Kurland St. Mary
to Bath, along with her sister Anna, so that Robert can take the waters and
recover.
At the Roman baths, Robert befriends an elderly and pugnacious businessman, Sir
William Benson, ennobled by the Crown for his service to industry. Their
acquaintance is short-lived, however, when the man is found drowned in the
baths. Robert vows to find his killer, with Lucy's aid.
The members of Sir William's family seem the most obvious suspects to benefit
from the wealthy man's death, but his will has gone missing. To deduce who sent
Sir William to a watery grave, Robert and Lucy must investigate with the utmost
discretion—before they too find themselves in over their heads .
Sophia Rose's Review:
I spotted this series a little while ago and just now had
the chance to give it a go. I love
reading books from the English Regency period and adding in a mystery becomes
icing on the cake.
This was obviously a series that had been out for a while
and, as I discovered, while listening, it probably would have worked much
better getting it in order since the romance, family, and friend relationships
developed over the course of the series.
Now, that said, the mystery was restricted to this book and
the primary players in the mystery were all new and introduced as well as the
setting so, in a sense, it was pretty easy to read/listen to it as a standalone
or out of order.
I had a good time on the case with Robert and Lucy who were
an interesting pair in their own right along with their friends and Lucy's
sister. The mystery was joined by a few
personal plot threads from their circle of family and friends. The Regency background along with the Bath
setting were well written.
It did pace out slower and had a few small lag moments, but
I didn't mind since it got back going readily enough.
This was my first time experiencing Cat Gould's narration
work and I thought she was a fab match for this style of story and a period
mystery. I liked the way she voiced the
main players and the servants for gender, age, and class and I liked her pace
and tone throughout.
All in all, this was a fun and engaging historical cozy
mystery that made me eager to go back to the beginning of the series and start
from there to get the whole backstory as well as progress forward when the next
book in the series releases. Definitely
recommend.
Author Bio:
Catherine Lloyd was born just outside London, England, into
a large family of dreamers, artists, and history lovers. She completed her
education with a master’s degree in history at the University College of Wales,
Aberystwyth, and uses the skills she gained there to research and write her
historical mysteries. Catherine currently lives in Hawaii with her husband and
youngest daughter..
Website: https://www.catherine-lloyd.com/
Sophia’s Bio:
Sophia is a quiet though curious gal who dabbles in cooking,
book reviewing, and gardening. Encouraged and supported by an incredible man
and loving family. A Northern Californian transplant to the Great Lakes Region
of the US. Lover of Jane Austen, Baseball, Cats, Scooby Doo, and Chocolate.
Sophia’s Social Media Links: