Book Club October 2024- A Most Agreeable Murder
By: Julia Seales
Published Year: 2023
Publisher: Random House
Pages: 352
Summary (Provided by Goodreads): Feisty, passionate Beatrice Steele has never fit the definition of a true lady, according to the strict code of conduct that reigns in Swampshire, her small English township--she is terrible at needlework, has absolutely no musical ability, and her artwork is so bad it frightens people. Nevertheless, she lives a perfectly agreeable life with her marriage-scheming mother, prankster father, and two younger sisters-- beautiful Louisa and forgettable Mary. But she harbors a dark secret: She is obsessed with the true crime cases she reads about in the newspaper. If anyone in her etiquette-obsessed community found out, she'd be deemed a morbid creep and banished from respectable society forever.
For her family's sake, she's vowed to put her obsession behind her. Because eligible bachelor Edmund Croaksworth is set to attend the approaching autumnal ball, and the Steele family hopes that Louisa will steal his heart. If not, Martin Grub, their disgusting cousin, will inherit the family's estate, and they will be ruined or, even worse, forced to move to France. So Beatrice must be on her best behavior . . . which is made difficult when a disgraced yet alluring detective inexplicably shows up to the ball.
Beatrice is just holding things together when Croaksworth drops dead in the middle of a minuet. As a storm rages outside, the evening descends into a frenzy of panic, fear, and betrayal as it becomes clear they are trapped with a killer. Contending with competitive card games, tricky tonics, and Swampshire's infamous squelch holes, Beatrice must rise above decorum and decency to pursue justice and her own desires--before anyone else is murdered.
What I thought
For the month of October, Meghan wanted a cozy mystery and we stumbled across this one. Mixture of Jane Austen and Agatha Christie? Count me in.
Beatrice is the eldest of 3 daughters living in a small town between London and Bath. At a dinner party, one of the guests drops dead. Beatrice has an interest in crime and murder, which is not allowed in the Lady’s Guide. But, since all the guests are stranded at this party due to a storm, it is up to her and Inspector Drake to solve this mystery.
This book was so much funnier than I thought it would be. It’s very tongue in cheek and pokes fun of itself for being a historical mystery. Beatrice was fun and I enjoyed her two younger sisters too. Especially her youngest sister, Mary. The band of characters is so much fun and I found myself enjoying all of them. They were also written in such a way that I felt like I knew them.
The mystery itself was fun because it is a closed door mystery. There is no gore and there is no DNA involved. It’s a good, old fashioned whodunit. Inspector Drake and Beatrice must interview all of the dinner guests and no one can leave. There were a bunch of twists as well. I wasn’t completely surprised by who the murderer was, but I was surprised by little things along the way.
I also loved the banter between Beatrice and Inspector Drake. I am looking forward to the next book in the series and seeing their relationship grow. I think it will be fun and funny to watch them solve mysteries together. If you are looking for a mystery that also feels light, this is definitely one to check out. I haven’t been as into mysteries lately because they can be so dark and depressing, but this one was a joy.
What Book Club Thought
Everyone really enjoyed this one. This was the first book in a while that every single one of us finished so that’s always a good sign! Meghan even made the recipes in the back of the book which were all delicious. It was a fun book to chat about. We enjoyed talking about all of the theories we had along the way and what parts we figured out versus what parts surprised us. We also enjoyed talking about the silly moments. I think we’re all looking forward to reading the next book in the series. It’s such a fun cast of characters and I can’t wait to see what shenanigans they get up to next!