Trouble On a Country Lane by Isabella Bassett (Lady Caroline Murder Mysteries Book 4)

 

Publication Date:

June 15, 2023

Genre: 

Cozy Mysteries, Historical Mysteries

Length:  

240 pages

Series:

Lady Caroline Murder Mysteries

Book description courtesy of Goodreads:

Beautiful, rich and young, for Lady Caroline, life is an easy road trip full of adventure. But when the road ends with a dead body, things quickly get complicated.

England, 1925 It’s summertime in England, and for Lady Caroline and her nimble roadster, life is as breezy and full of promise as a winding country road. Unfortunately, on the way to the latest party, the road ends with a body. And when a guest at the party dies next, Lady Caroline finds herself at a dead end. Now, devious mothers with grand designs, mysterious American busybodies, and unhelpful uncles all seem to conspire to keep Lady Caroline from uncovering the truth. With a befuddled police force, Lady Caroline must take the investigation into her own hands and unravel this frustrating tangle of events, lest the course of her life be changed forever. 

Trouble on a Country Lane is Book 4 of the Lady Caroline Murder Mysteries series. In the glamorous world of 1920s Europe, money and privilege rub shoulders, and greed, envy, and murder are never far behind. Follow Lady Caroline, intelligent and witty, with a fondness for breaking rules, on a fun romp through the golden age of murder mysteries. Each book contains the requisite eccentric characters, fun historical tidbits, and puzzling murders with no gore or gloom.

My Thoughts:

One of the reasons I have loved this series was the character of Uncle Albert. Early on I started realizing he wouldn't factor in much in this story and was disappointed. But it turned out to be a really fun read anyway! I also had put off reading this one because it takes place in England and part of the enjoyment of the series has been the exotic locations. But again, it was a fun story and included some history that intrigued me enough to look up more information about it. 

Lady Caroline spends most of the story at a country manor house trying to figure out why an American family is so keen on buying it and marrying their daughter off to one of the English sons residing there. In doing so she finds two murders to solve and has to do so while agonizing over her encounters with her love interest, James. She uses her skills honed in cases past solved with her loveable, bumbling Uncle who happens to play a very small role here but she visits him in one chapter. While the premise and time period are a common theme in these cozies, I thought this one was a lot of fun. I enjoy this series and plan on continuing with it. 

Can't Wait Wednesday: Rivals at Ashmore Castle by Cynthia Harrod-Eagles (Ashmore Castle Book Five)

For this week's Can't Wait Wednesday hosted by Tressa at the book blog, Wishful Endings, I'm featuring, Rivals at Ashmore Castle, by Cynthia Harrod-Eagles. I've read the first book in this series, The Secrets of Ashmore Castle, and enjoyed it and she has written another more famous series detailing British history from medieval times to World War II. This book set at the beginning of the 20th century looks like the perfect read for Downton Abbey fans like me! I need to continue with the series soon.

Historical Fiction

August 13, 2026

Book description courtesy of Goodreads

England, 1905

At Ashmore Castle, scandal is never far away...

When a train crash rocks Ashmore, unlikely heroes emerge - and old secrets begin to stir. Kitty is still finding her feet at the castle, though her sharp-tongued mother-in-law and the old earl's dark secret threaten her newfound confidence. Richard is certain he'll never love again now that Molly has sailed for America - until a new arrival catches his eye.

Downstairs, hearts and tempers are just as tested. Mr Moss nurses a quiet heartbreak, new footman Frederick isn't all he seems, and someone from Afton's past returns with unfinished business.

Meanwhile, Nina is facing motherhood and marriage with mixed feelings, Rachel's love life is teetering on disaster, and Alice's artistic ambitions lead her into dangerous territory.

From whispered secrets to forbidden passions, life at Ashmore Castle is full of surprises - but as rivalries flare and loyalties shift, the harmony of the castle is more fragile than ever.

 

Top Ten Tuesday: Books I HAD to Have Immediately but Still Haven't Read

This week's theme for Top Ten Tuesday, hosted by That Artsy Reader Girl, is Books I HAD to have immediately but still haven't read. Okay this one makes me laugh....because it's a looonngggg list with me! And I suspect with most of my blogger friends. And teacher friends. Anyone who loves to read and loves books and loves to browse books is always buying, borrowing, getting gifted books they have no time to read. So why do we keep doing this???

I have really tried to work on this this past year. To weed out what I know I won't ever read and focus on those that I know I'll like if I can just get going. The internet and apps have ruined me over the years. And my Kindle....too many choices. So here is my very short list that could be a mile long of books I just had to have but haven't gotten around to reading yet.

Click on the title to go to Goodreads to learn more about the book.

1. Midsummer Mysteries by Agatha Christie

2. A Court of Betrayal by Anne O'Brien

3. The Princes of Ireland by Edward Rutherfurd

4. Blood Royal by Eric Jager

5. Plantagenet Princesses by Douglas Boyd

6. Eleanor of Aquitaine by Alison Weir

7. The Castle of Kings by Oliver Potzsch

8. The Count of Monte Cristo by Alexandre Dumas

9. Simon the Coldheart by Georgette Heyer

10. Blood On the Tracks (Railway Mysteries) Edited by Martin Edwards

Stacking the Shelves #98

 

Stacking the Shelves is a weekly meme hosted by Reading Reality. It's a place to showcase any books I have purchased, borrowed, or been lucky enough to have been given an advance copy of. Hope you find something that looks interesting to you or that makes you remember a favorite book you need to finish. Happy reading y'all!

The Bangalore Detectives Club (Bangalore Detectives Club Book One)

Hoopla Digital Borrow: Free

I love mysteries and I love books set in India so this one looked like a win. It is a 1920's cozy murder mystery series which is not hard to come by but books set in India definitely are! This features a married doctor's wife turned sleuth who works to find out who murdered someone at a fancy country club. It will take her to the highest and lowest parts of society.

The Game of Kings by Dorothy Dunnett (The Lymond Chronicles Book Two)

Kindle Deal: $1.99

This is a book that many have praised and so it is considered somewhat of a classic to me. Set in 1500's Scotland written in the 1960's it traces the story of the Crawford family and the main character's attempt to save his Scottish homeland from English invaders. 

Countenance of War by J.R. Tomlin (The Black Douglas Trilogy Book Two)

Kindle Deal: $2.99

I have book one in this series and have read another by this author. She has several series set in medieval Scotland and this one concerns the Black Douglas, a real Scottish warrior named James who fights Edward I's attempts to conquer Scotland.

The Enemy and Miss Innes by Martha Keyes (Tales From the Highlands Book Two)

 

Publication Date:

June 2, 2021

Genre: 

Cozy Mysteries, Historical Mysteries

Length:  

311 pages

Series:

Tales From the Highlands

Book description courtesy of Goodreads:

All that stands between him and freedom? Turning her hatred to love.

Elizabeth Innes has a tongue too sharp for her own good, and she is never more ready to employ it than when faced with the MacKinnons. With just one piece of evidence connecting their clan to a near-deadly attack, she is determined to prove the laird guilty and see him brought to justice. So, when chance throws her in the company of one of the MacKinnon men, she resolves to take advantage of the opportunity to glean more information.

Malcolm MacKinnon has long lived under the thumb of his cousin and laird, Angus, who keeps a secret with the power to ruin him. With his mother and siblings entirely dependent upon Angus's capricious generosity, he cannot afford to offend his cousin. When Angus proposes a way for him to finally be free of his shackles, Malcolm is more than ready to oblige. All he must do is help Angus seek revenge upon the rival, neighboring clan. The way to do it? Gain the trust—and love—of one of their young women.

As Malcolm and Elizabeth pursue their goals, they find their tasks much more difficult than anticipated, with challenges to their loyalties at every turn. Both must decide how far they are willing to go for revenge—and love.

My Thoughts:

This was my third Martha Keyes book to read. I like the setting of Scotland and hadn't read any of her romance books set in England. While she does a good job of creating atmosphere through dialect and description, her books are definitely geared toward the reader who likes the "enemies into lovers" story with a happy ending. In this book, the plot revolves around Elizabeth and Malcolm who work to trick one another into falling for them in order to obtain information that can help their families. Of course, in doing so they fall for one another, resulting in their surprise as well as that of their families. Having read the first book and gotten to know the clans and their families, I was looking forward to seeing what happened to the sister, Elizabeth, of the first book's main character. Malcolm, being part of a rival clan from the first book made him intriguing too.

While I have enjoyed some of her other books, this one just wasn't my cup of tea. I think this has more to do with my own personal tastes than Keyes writing, however, this book did feel a bit repetitive and short on content. A lot of time was spent with Malcolm's "secret" in the background and Elizabeth's exasperation with him. There were whole chapters on the dog, Fergus, and how he was bringing them together. I can appreciate the readers who want a romance more than historical fiction but in this book the history part was almost non existent. It was definitely more romance and if you like that then you will probably love this book.

There are two more in this series that I might read later just because they involve different characters and a different story line. I started thinking halfway throughout the book that it might just be the actual people in the book I wasn't bonding with. In her other books, I just liked them more. 

While it wasn't my favorite, my previous reading makes me want to try again, if nothing else than to just finish out the series and see what happens to the families.