I really enjoy the other series written by Beaton and wasn't sure if this Edwardian detective series would stand up in comparison to the tales of Hamish Macbeth. I was pleasantly surprised that the book was so engaging, I really enjoyed the historical storytelling, the setting of high society and the modernity of it all.

L’enquête est définitivement reléguée au second plan.

Not bad. I picked this up at a book sale - it's the third book in the series. Set in Edwardian England, Lady Rose Summer is very spirited and feels constrained by expectations for socializing in polite society and the pressure to marry well. She is engaged to Captain Harry Cathcart, a private investigator (alas, a tradesman). They have an engagement "of convenience" to prevent her from being sent off to India with other young women who need to find husbands, but Harry is not a very reliable suitor and Rose would rather be having adventures or helping him with investigations than participating in social events. When a beautiful young woman whom Rose befriended is murdered, Harry assists Scotland Yard with the case, and later Rose is targeted by an assassin who thinks she knows something about the murder. The book goes back and forth between the investigation, Rose defying her parents and getting involved, and misunderstandings between the couple. I liked some of the supporting characters - Rose's companion Daisy who is in love with Harry's valet, Becket and others. The characters are likable and the book illustrates the restrictions on women during the time - wearing corsets, Rose having her mail opened by her father, and in general not being taken seriously. A light, enjoyable mystery.

I am still very much enjoying the series but I am starting to notice little things that annoy me. First, the engagement ring. Harry, in the last book, gave her an engagement ring when he proposed, but in this book it says that he forgot a ring so Lady Rose had to buy her own. Inconsistencies like that bother me. There are also a bunch of spelling mistakes (that I had noticed in the first two books). Daisy is also starting to get on my nerves. She seems to have lost all of the depth we saw in the first two books.

enjoyed this one more than the previous 2

I liked this one slightly less than Hasty Death, but the characters continue to be very entertaining to follow and I really want to see what happens with Rose/Harry and Daisy/Beckett.

I know this series has been finished for a long time, but I'm really hoping the last novel will actually have a conclusion and not be merely cancelled without Chesney rounding off her characters.

Here's to hoping.

Into the Shadows
Review of the Blackstone Audio Inc. audiobook edition (August 2008) of the original Minotaur hardcover (April 2005)

'I am half sick of shadows,' said
The Lady of Shalott
- excerpt from the poem The Lady of Shalott by Alfred Lord Tennyson, used as the epigram for Chapter 1 of Sick of Shadows

Sick of Shadows continues with the story of Lady Rose Summer and Captain Harry Cathcart in the 3rd of 4 Edwardian Murder Mysteries. I'm finding that the mystery elements are mostly secondary to these plots and are more like MacGuffins. The main story arc is the 'will they or won't they' indirect courtship of the 2 principles, with their companions Daisy and Beckett already planning themselves to tie the knot and hoping to push Rose and Harry in the same direction. It is fairly light and the background setting of the Edwardian era with occasional social commentary is well done.

I've completed my pandemic reading splurge of cozy mysteries by M.C. Beaton, the penname used by [a:Marion Chesney|50258|Marion Chesney|https://images.gr-assets.com/authors/1226562598p2/50258.jpg] (1936-2019) for her popular Hamish Macbeth and Agatha Raisin series. Chesney first became a writer with various historical romances from 1977 onwards, before branching out into the crime genre with her first Hamish Macbeth in 1985 and first Agatha Raisin in 1992. Romances are not my genre, but Chesney's mini-series of 4 Edwardian Murder Mysteries sounded like enough of a crossover between her historical fiction and her cozy mysteries to follow up on.

The narration by veteran [a:Davina Porter|500666|Davina Porter|https://images.gr-assets.com/authors/1276540528p2/500666.jpg] (approx. 230 book narrations to her credit) was excellent throughout. Porter is especially good with her range of voices that is able to effectively mimic male as well as female tones.

All of the Edwardian Murder Mysteries series are available free to Audible Plus members.

Trivia and Link
The somewhat similarly titled [b:I Am Half-Sick of Shadows|33215762|I Am Half-Sick of Shadows (Flavia de Luce, #4)|Alan Bradley|https://i.gr-assets.com/images/S/compressed.photo.goodreads.com/books/1480603459l/33215762._SY75_.jpg|8586623] (2011) is the 4th book in Alan Bradley's popular Flavia de Luce series.

3.5 stars

I spent more time with the physical book than the audiobook, but I must mention that Davina Porter's narration is wonderful!

The on again / off again engagement is getting a tad tiresome, and the scene with Berrow and Banks and the car was utterly ridiculous. It was filler. Granted it set up the resolution that those two wouldn't cause further trouble, but it was more elaborate than it needed to be.

Also, I cannot believe that a writer of M.C. Beaton's level did not keep good notes for her series. In Hasty Death, Captain Cathcart proposed to Rose with a ring!, yet in this installment, Rose laments that she purchased her small engagement ring with her own money.

Overall, this is a fun, light read.

Enjoyable simple mystery.