Death Comes to the Fair
By: Catherine Lloyd
Rating: 5 of 5
I enjoy reading both mysteries and regency historical novels, so in Catherine Lloyd’s Kurland St. Mary Mystery series, I get both in a single book. This is the fourth book in the series and I recommend reading them in order. While they can be read stand-alone, I think that the character development and the events which build to this story are important to read first.
The rector’s daughter, Lucy Harrington and the local magistrate, (Major) Sir Robert Kurland are engaged and are busy with planning a London wedding that neither of them really want.
Sir Robert is also picking up the reins of his duties as the major landowner in the area and is given the task of judging contests at the fair. When he makes decisions based solely on merit instead of making sure that everyone receives a win, he unwittingly creates a firestorm of controversy and ill will against the individual who wins most of the glory.
When the prize winner shows up dead, the question becomes: was it an accident or was he murdered because of winning too many contests. As usual, Lucy and Sir Robert jump into the investigation. There are lots of twists and turns as they attempt to ferret out the who, what, when where and how of the whodunnit.
As always with this series, I had a ripping good time reading it. The characters are well presented, the mystery is solvable if you follow the clues, and the dialogue and plot make sense and are fun to read and experience. I look forward to the next in this series and am left wondering how it will proceed in the future.
I was provided a digital advance reader copy of this book by the publisher via Netgalley.
