A Death in Chelsea and At Dark of the Moon

A Death in Chelsea by Lynn Brittney, the second in the Mayfair 100 Murder Mystery series, named for the telephone number 100 Mayfair for the crime-fighting group based in Mayfair in 1915. 

I read Murder in Belgravia, the first in the series last year and enjoyed it.  Chief Inspector Peter Beech has assembled an unusual team that (gasp!) includes women. 

A society gossip columnist has been found hanged in her room.  The death isn't a suicide, as first suspected, and the fact that Adeline Treborne's defamatory and scandalous column has maligned some wealthy and powerful people means that the suspects are plentiful.

This book has the same strengths and weaknesses as the first book:  an interesting plot and well-researched details...and characters who are a bit too good to be true.  

 Nevertheless, it was entertaining, and I would read the next in the series.

NetGalley/Mirror Books
Historical Mystery.  March 14, 2019.  Print length:  326 pages.

Written in 1977 and set in 1804, At Dark of the Moon has a little espionage and a little romance.  

from description:  It had changed her life overnight. From her drab, unpromising post as governess, lovely Emma Harcourt was catapulted into a daring scheme of espionage. Suddenly she was an actress posing as the wife of Rupert Wynford, a perfect stranger.

I'm a bit of a sucker for governess novels, and this was a light, quick read.  On the other hand, it does feel old-fashioned and formulaic, not nearly as interesting as the blurb made it sound.

NetGalley/Sapere Books
Historical Fiction.  March 10, 2019.  Print length:  352 pages.