*****

I was given this free review copy audiobook at my request and have voluntarily left this review. Some months after the events of the first book, Julia, the Dowager Lady Fieldhurst finds herself bored with the confining life of an aristocratic widow and as yet unable to resign herself to the dreary, black crepe-draped existence that proper society has in store for her. After accepting an invitation to a country party, she finds herself in the vicinity of another puzzling death – an event that inspires her to summon our intrepid young hero, John Pickett, from Bow Street to help her investigate the matter. Unable to take his mind off her, he promptly rushes to her side, posing as her footman in order to get to the bottom of the mystery. I found this book thoroughly entertaining, from its likeable protagonists and their budding mutual attraction despite the gulf their respective social classes places between them, through the intriguing whodunit plot, the comedy of manners and finally, the quaint setting. The narrator too, brings the story to life skillfully, and the result was that I spent several hours happily immersed in the world of John Pickett and his Lady Julia. If you like detective stories with a dash of the historical, a bit of humor and a sprinkling of romance, I think you’ll like this story.