A Gentlewoman's Guide to Murder

Gentlewoman's Guide to Murder Series, Book 1

By: Victoria Hamilton

Narrated by: Heather Wilds

Scandal and slayings among Regency London's elite

The shocking murder of Sir Henry Claybourne leaves Regency London shaken and horror-struck. But for genteel spinster Miss Emmeline St. Germaine, the crime slices far too close to home. Just hours before the knight's death she held a dagger to him, threatening him to stay silent as she rescued a scullery maid he had procured for his pleasure.

Did the man - or woman - who murdered the knight know of her visit? Her secret identity at risk, her reputation and life in jeopardy, Emmeline must solve the crime or face scandalous exposure and ruination, or worse - the hangman's noose - for a crime she did not commit.

©2019 Victoria Hamilton (P)2019 Tantor

Critic reviews

"[An] outstanding series launch...Hamilton expertly balances the page-turning detection with the story of a hypocritical society where women, whether they are scullery maids or orphans, rarely get to make their own decisions." (Publishers Weekly)

Mediocre

I like Heather Wilds as a narrator, but I have to say with this story, there were a ton of characters to keep track of and her range of voices was too limited. I had to rewind often to listen to a part because most of the females sounded the same so I became confused.

The story itself was good in concept, but too tedious in execution. I’m a big fan of this genre but I felt like there were a million girls names mentioned and often all at once, so it was hard to keep them straight. The lead has some obvious backstory but it’s only barely hinted at throughout most of the book, and when finally revealed it’s not that shocking. I wanted to like this story but it was very average for the theme. The ending was also just not good. Seems like they edited out the actual ending and this was what remained.

If there’s another book in the series, it’s a maybe for me.

Interesting topic and storyline

It was a very interesting storyline. At times I was frustrated with the main character's feminist views and wanted her to just like the guy already. The saying that kept me from really enjoying the book was the narrator. it was painful to listen to at times.

Most irritating reader

Deadpan, halting and in no way lyrical .... she does do accents well, but the rest is so frustrating to read ... It was so distracting that it was difficult to decide if I liked the book or not.

Excellent novel by a skilled author

An unapologetic, survivor-centered book that names and calls out sexual violence? I was all in. Set in 1810, Regency London, where upper and middle class women are property of men and where poor girls are seen as expendable, this book doesn't use the euphemisms or glosses so often employed to explain away the abuses women and girls faced in order to move a mystery along. Nor does the author excuse the cultural systems in place that allowed predatory men to inflict harm and label it their right. Hamilton tells a story that centers strong women and as the story moves along, the ways that her thoughts become more complex opens her world to a group of other women, whose lives are intricately connected to her own. To be clear, Hamilton lays blame where it is deserved and does not tend toward sweeping statements unless the main character is struggling with how to make sense of just how many women's lives, across classes, included sexual violence and how even a single man can have had such a profoundly significant reach. I have worked in the field of SV for many years and listening to the women in this novel speak about such memories, some for the first time, was far too familiar.

I truly enjoyed this book and of the nearly 250 similar books I've listed to, count it among my favorites precisely because there are so many moments of women bonding to hold perpetrators accountable, even in naming the violence, that I wished showed up in other novels. If it helps, other authors I enjoy include Sherry Thomas, Deanna Raybourn, Rosemary Simpson, Charles Todd, and Theodora Goss, I also actually enjoyed that there was no romance. They can be fun when done well but in this case, would have been distracting.

Heather Wilds is one of my favorite narrators. I don't need all sorts of different character voices and truly enjoy how Wilds reads women's voices.

To prejudice

I like this reader, and I am all for strong female characters but the very out matched victimized women to almost every male being horrible is not good. I have a mother and a sister who were raped by an uncle, one at age three.. repeatedly. It happens more then anyone wants to admit, however, there are good men around. My brother Father, brother in law .. moreover the heroine is far to full of herself. Her brother an idiot. Actually the whole story is weak. The end far to rushed and deluded

Not what I was hoping for.

As a woman I tend to read books with female lead characters. What I didn't expect was to feel the victimization of my gender. Understanding that this book portraits historical accuracy causing angry emotions. I was hoping for a more light hearted story. This book is fiction but also horrifically honest.

Interesting premise

Reader used a flat sing song delivery off putting and very irritating. It lacked warmth and depth.

It was okay

The narrator has a pleasant sounding voice, but the way she reads the book is distracting. There is a strange rhythm that she is using, like when reading poetry or something. Sentences end awkwardly and it is easy to miss what was actually said because of how it is being said.

I think this would be more of a director issue.

Distraction due to narrator

I could not listen to the narration of the repetitive same rhythm of every sentence.

Long, boring and repetitive

Some much repeating of the basic storyline - could have been half as long! Really dragged it out.