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A review by sarah_moynihan
A Nefarious Engagement by Lynn Messina
5.0
Despite everyone's expectations to the contrary, 'plain' spinster Beatrice Hyde-Clare has secured herself an engagement with the hadsome and illustrious Duke of Kesgrave, Damien Matlock. Daunted by the changes this will bring to her life in regards to her status and responsibilities, she is more than welcomes a destraction.
Her distraction comes in the form of a shocking revelation. Not all is as she once understood it when it comes to the tragic demise of he parents. Staggered by the implications of this possibility Bea feels compelled to investigate. The investigation will teach her more about her parents than she has ever had the fortune to know before. But perhaps knowledge isn't always power and some truths are better left hidden in the past?
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A Nefarious Engagement is the fourth book in Lynn Messina's Beatrice Hyde-Clare Mysteries series. I suppose you could get away with reading this book as a stand alone, as the author details the relevant background information that are pertinent to this mystery. But I highly recommend that you read these books together as a series and in order. It's the best way to truly appreciate the wonder that is Miss Beatrice Hyde-Clare.
I adored meeting Mrs. Palmer's character and I hope we get to see more of a friendship between her and Bea as the series continues. Bea needs some females around her that also go against the grain of society and are as witty and educated as her. Plus she needs some females in her life that she doesn't have such a complex relationship with, like members of her family that took her in after her parents died or a woman who was close friends with her deceased mother and feels guilty for not reaching out sooner. As happy as I was to meet Mrs. Palmer, I was even more so to see Kesgrave's grandmother again. I adore that woman.
My respect for Damien really increased in this book. Sure he's not in this book as much as the others, but that's because he's giving Bea the space she needs to adjust to the engagement and her new status as the future Duchess of Kesgrave. This was actually one of my favorite aspcects of the book.
Without giving any spoilers, I knew who our villain was as soon as a certain glint in the sunlight was mentioned in passing. And it NEARLY killed me as I waited anxiously for Bea to put the information together as well. I knew it would be worth it when it clicked for her, but I was having the hardest time being patient.
And now I somehow have to find the strength to wait until November 15th to continue onto the fifth book in the series, A Treacherous Performance. But I'll be strong, I suppose three weeks won't kill me. While I wait, I plan to check out Lynn Messina's other Regency series, Love Takes Root.
Her distraction comes in the form of a shocking revelation. Not all is as she once understood it when it comes to the tragic demise of he parents. Staggered by the implications of this possibility Bea feels compelled to investigate. The investigation will teach her more about her parents than she has ever had the fortune to know before. But perhaps knowledge isn't always power and some truths are better left hidden in the past?
__________________________________
A Nefarious Engagement is the fourth book in Lynn Messina's Beatrice Hyde-Clare Mysteries series. I suppose you could get away with reading this book as a stand alone, as the author details the relevant background information that are pertinent to this mystery. But I highly recommend that you read these books together as a series and in order. It's the best way to truly appreciate the wonder that is Miss Beatrice Hyde-Clare.
I adored meeting Mrs. Palmer's character and I hope we get to see more of a friendship between her and Bea as the series continues. Bea needs some females around her that also go against the grain of society and are as witty and educated as her. Plus she needs some females in her life that she doesn't have such a complex relationship with, like members of her family that took her in after her parents died or a woman who was close friends with her deceased mother and feels guilty for not reaching out sooner. As happy as I was to meet Mrs. Palmer, I was even more so to see Kesgrave's grandmother again. I adore that woman.
My respect for Damien really increased in this book. Sure he's not in this book as much as the others, but that's because he's giving Bea the space she needs to adjust to the engagement and her new status as the future Duchess of Kesgrave. This was actually one of my favorite aspcects of the book.
Without giving any spoilers, I knew who our villain was as soon as a certain glint in the sunlight was mentioned in passing. And it NEARLY killed me as I waited anxiously for Bea to put the information together as well. I knew it would be worth it when it clicked for her, but I was having the hardest time being patient.
And now I somehow have to find the strength to wait until November 15th to continue onto the fifth book in the series, A Treacherous Performance. But I'll be strong, I suppose three weeks won't kill me. While I wait, I plan to check out Lynn Messina's other Regency series, Love Takes Root.