A Lady's Guide to Etiquette and Murder

Countess of Harleigh Mystery Series, Book 1

De: Dianne Freeman

Narrado por: Sarah Zimmerman

Frances Wynn, the American-born Countess of Harleigh, enjoys more freedom as a widow than she did as a wife. After an obligatory year spent mourning her philandering husband, Reggie, she puts aside her drab black gowns, leaving the countryside and her money-grubbing in-laws behind. With her young daughter in tow, Frances rents a home in Belgravia and prepares to welcome her sister, Lily, arriving from New York - for her first London season.

No sooner has Frances begun her new life than the ghosts of her old one make an unwelcome appearance. The Metropolitan police receive an anonymous letter implicating Frances in her husband's death. Frances assures Inspector Delaney of her innocence, but she's also keen to keep him from learning the scandalous circumstances of Reggie's demise. As fate would have it, her dashing new neighbor, George Hazelton, is one of only two other people aware of the full story.

While busy with social engagements on Lily's behalf, and worrying if Reggie really was murdered, Frances learns of mysterious burglaries plaguing London's elite. The investigation brings death to her doorstep, and Frances rallies her wits, a circle of gossips, and the ever-chivalrous Mr. Hazelton to uncover the truth.

©2018 Dianne Freeman (P)2018 HighBridge, a division of Recorded Books

Eager for next in series!

Loved the story, wonderful characters. The narration was fabulous. Can't wait for the next installment.

Passable story, weak narrator

Language and narrator’s voice are too modern for time period. Narrator’s voice does not have enough range for all the characters involved in story line.

a great beginning to a series

it is a clever entree into a genre full of hard up aristocrats. However I found the narrator to be rather flat in her delivery, taking quite a bit away from the twists and turns. I will read rather than listen to the next book.

Pleasant company

I did not find the narrator problematic. The story kept me company doing the post-Christmas clearing of bric-a-brac. I look forward to the second book for a summer clearing of the garage.

5 Star Review

Diane Freeman has written an excellent cozy mystery here. The plot line is surprising and entertaining. The narrator has a good command of both British and American accents. I look forward to purchasing more of this series.

Good story, poor narration

The story is okay but the narrator doesn't read it as a story but as a group of sentences, sentence by sentence. And she ends the majority of the sentences end on an upturned note. Hard to listen to once I figured out why it was annoying. Not much emotion in the narration.

Stumbled Upon

I stumbled upon this book in the suggestions section of another book. I thought I would give it a try on my daily walks. I quickly got sucked into the story and found myself wanting to listen more. I finished it in just a few days. I am glad that I found a new collection of books to listen too.

end was rushed

The ending was rushed and characters did not act as predicated. overall so so book.

Fun but not overly surprising.

(As posted in GoodReads)
A fun cozy mystery. The only surprising thing was the revelation of the earlier part of the history of the husband. But it was fun

Exciting historical mystery with singular, well crafted characters

The first Frances Wynn mystery does a wonderful job introducing the characters. Ms. Freeman makes her cast feel fully-formed with strengths and failings. These characters seem singular and imperfect, and the author avoids the overused approach of having them engage in bad decision making for the sake of added drama.