Sophia Rose Reviews: Murder on Black Swan Lane by Andrea Penrose

Today my friend Sophia Rose is back with her review of Murder on Swan Lane by Andrea Penrose a debut in her new historical mystery Wexford and Sloan series. 
Enjoy!

Murder on Black Swan Lane by Andrea Penrose

#1 Wrexford and Sloan

Historical Mystery

Publisher:  Kensington Books

Published:  6.27.17

Pages:  340

Rating: 5 stars

Format: ebook

Source: Purchased

Sellers:  Amazon

ADD TO: GoodReads

 

GoodReads Blurb:

In Regency London, an unconventional scientist and a fearless female artist form an unlikely alliance to expose unspeakable evil . . .

The Earl of Wrexford possesses a brilliant scientific mind, but boredom and pride lead him to reckless behavior. He does not suffer fools gladly. So when pompous, pious Reverend Josiah Holworthy publicly condemns him for debauchery, Wrexford unsheathes his rapier-sharp wit and strikes back. As their war of words escalates, London’s most popular satirical cartoonist, A.J. Quill, skewers them both. But then the clergyman is found slain in a church—his face burned by chemicals, his throat slashed ear to ear—and Wrexford finds himself the chief suspect.

 

Sophia Rose's Review:

The Wrexford and Sloane series was always a 'when' not 'if' for me. The blurb, the genre, the time period, and many glowing reviews had me committed before I even cracked open the first book. Now, I finally read Murder on Black Swan Lane and, no surprise, I devoured it in two sittings.

Regency period London, an aristocratic Lord Wrexford, who gets tagged for a gruesome murder, ends up turning to the reclusive woman satirist who pilloried him in her drawings a time or two. Mrs. Sloane has her own reasons for seeing the murderer brought to justice even if it means using her talents toward detecting and partnering with a man she thought she had pegged, but he surprises her.

The author does a bang up job of introducing her characters and series set up while driving forward with a cunning murder mystery. Great mixture of character development, historical detecting, science and art of the period and a plot sprinkled with well-built suspense and action. Incidentally, the broader cast of characters introduced with the main pair were colorful and engaging, too.

Wrexford and Sloane are a dazzling pair and I most definitely want more of them and Regency-era mysteries. Now I, in turn, recommend this stellar book to other historical mystery fans.

 

Author Bio:

Andrea Penrose is the USA Today bestselling author of Regency-era historical fiction, including the acclaimed Wrexford & Sloane mystery series, as well as Regency romances written under the names Cara Elliott and Andrea Pickens. Published internationally in ten languages, she is a three-time RITA Award finalist and the recipient of numerous writing awards, including two Daphne Du Maurier Awards for Historical Mystery and two Gold Leaf Awards.

A graduate of Yale University with a B.A. in Art and an M.F.A. in Graphic Design, Andrea fell in love with Regency England after reading Pride and Prejudice and has maintained a fascination with the era’s swirling silks and radical new ideas throughout her writing career. She lives in Connecticut and blogs with a community of historical fiction authors at WordWenches.com. She also can be found at AndreaPenrose.com and on Instagram @AndreaPenroseBooks.

Sophia’s Bio:

Sophia is a quiet though curious gal who dabbles in cooking, book reviewing, piano-playing, and gardening. Road trips and campouts, museums and monuments, restaurants and theaters are her jam. 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.

As a lifelong reader, it was inevitable that Sophia would discover book blogs and the joy of blog reviewing. Sophia is a prolific reader and audiobook listener which allows her to experience so many wonderful books, authors, and narrators. Few genres are outside her reading tastes, but her true love is fiction particularly history, mystery, sci-fi, and romance. Though, sorry, no horror or she will run like Shaggy and Scooby.

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GoodReads:  https://www.goodreads.com/author/show/13418187.Sophia_Rose