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A review by dawn_marie
A Malevolent Connection by Lynn Messina
2.0
A Malevolent Connection was my least favorite offering in Lynn Messina's usually enjoyable Beatrice Hyde-Clare Mysteries.
In this volume, Bea learns that Kesgrave's uncle is planning to murder her, hoping that her death would leave Kesgrave so grief stricken that he would not marry and produce heir, thereby inheriting the dukedom. But alas, the uncle's plot is thwarted when he, himself, is murdered.
The murder plot itself was rather straight forward and follows Ms. Messina's pattern of laying out all the clues - plus a few red herrings - so that the reader and Bea can solve the murder.
I normally find Bea an interesting character, but not in this volume. While I understand that after a lifetime of being told she is "worthless" that Bea would still hold some of those thoughts, however it felt that these thoughts have become Bea's defining characteristic. I really do not need to spend an entire chapter in Bea's head where she laments whether or not Kesgrave truly loves and respects her or if she is worthy of her new position just because Kesgrave made a decision without her. Or how many times do we need to hear that Bea's first season was ruined? These extremely lengthy self-directed diatribes interrupt the flow of the narrative and lessen my overall reading enjoyment.
In this volume, Bea learns that Kesgrave's uncle is planning to murder her, hoping that her death would leave Kesgrave so grief stricken that he would not marry and produce heir, thereby inheriting the dukedom. But alas, the uncle's plot is thwarted when he, himself, is murdered.
The murder plot itself was rather straight forward and follows Ms. Messina's pattern of laying out all the clues - plus a few red herrings - so that the reader and Bea can solve the murder.
I normally find Bea an interesting character, but not in this volume. While I understand that after a lifetime of being told she is "worthless" that Bea would still hold some of those thoughts, however it felt that these thoughts have become Bea's defining characteristic. I really do not need to spend an entire chapter in Bea's head where she laments whether or not Kesgrave truly loves and respects her or if she is worthy of her new position just because Kesgrave made a decision without her. Or how many times do we need to hear that Bea's first season was ruined? These extremely lengthy self-directed diatribes interrupt the flow of the narrative and lessen my overall reading enjoyment.