I really enjoyed this audiobook, although I thought the murderer was somewhat obvious and overlooked from the beginning. Despite thinking this (and suspecting this person was the killer), I enjoyed the humorous and embarrassing situations young young John Pickett finds himself in. He obviously has little experience with the workings of upper society, politics, or high class ladies. John’s belief in Julia’s innocence and his dedication to pursue every possible clue and avenue to discover the real killer is admirable and intriguing. The suspects are numerous, and he follows every lead to its final conclusion, making use of of taverns, prostitutes, and all the other sources his lower-class background provides to locate additional information. He’s not afraid or shy about confronting members of the ton or government offices, either. It is listening pleasure to hear him follow the clues and tease out the possibilities. Although another reviewer noted that nothing significant occurs in this novel romantically, John’s impossible attraction to Lady Fieldhurst sets up possibilities for future encounters and romance. All the characters are finely drawn, including the secondary and ancillary roles, and there is plenty of verbal and situational humor throughout.
The narration was pretty good overall, although Camille’s words were often hard to understand through the accent, even after replaying the sections several times. Fortunately, the general meaning wasn’t too hard to figure out.
My thanks to the author for providing a free review copy of this audiobook. I am voluntarily providing this honest review.