A Terribly Nasty Business

A Beatrice Steele Novel

By: Julia Seales

Narrated by: Fiona Hampton

NATIONAL BESTSELLER • London provides fabulously deadly opportunities for a fledgling inspector in the twisty follow-up to Julia Seales’s bestselling debut, A Most Agreeable Murder, hailed by People as a “delightful cocktail . . . of wit, hilarity, and suspense!”

After achieving her lifelong dream of solving a murder, bringing a killer to justice, and proving she is not, in fact, a morbid creep, Beatrice Steele feels like everything is finally falling into place. She’s traded her etiquette-obsessed community of Swampshire for the big city of London, accompanied by her ever-trusty chaperone, Miss Bolton. They’ve settled in a lovely neighborhood, Sweetbriar, known for its proximity to the Sweet Majestic theater, picturesque pleasure gardens, and an unfortunate infestation of flying squirrels. But Beatrice’s favorite part is that Sweetbriar is also home to DS Investigations, the new office she opened with the prickly, annoyingly logical Inspector Drake to solve the city’s brutally thrilling crimes.

However, nothing is turning out how Beatrice imagined it would. Sir Huxley, famed gentleman inspector and Beatrice’s former crush, is still considered the real investigator in London, so the only cases left for Beatrice and Drake are lost pets and spectacles. Not that Beatrice has much time for crime-solving anyway, as her mother still expects her to find an eligible (rich) husband to protect their family from destitution. Beatrice is struggling to balance all the demands on her and begins to wonder if she can become a true detective in a city that feels full of false promises.

That is until a string of murders thrusts Beatrice and Drake into the center of a scandal that pits the neighborhood’s wealthiest against the arts community, spreading fear and chaos throughout the city. As they follow the trail through bewildering ballrooms, secretive shops, and odd operas, Beatrice must survive threats to her partnership, her business, and her place in society to break the case—before it’s too late.

Best Cozy Mystery with Female Sleuth

After working my way through many cozy mystery series, I was elated to read this one. Actually interesting plot, a more modern + independent female lead who relies on other women and great narration puts this atop by favorites. Can’t wait for the next book!

So fun!

A loving, entertaining, and thoroughly enjoyable riff on Jane Austen, Regency romance, “lady detective mystery”, and even a bit of gothic literature. Fun elements of the ridiculous and humorous keep the story light and entertaining, while also making for understated satire of literary tropes and social norms. I felt the book dragged at times, but I pretty much feel that way about every book. The narrator was fantastic.

well crafted plot and engaging characters

I love Beatrice's spunk and her willingness to do what is right for her. The romance in the book though minor is authentic and doesn't fall prey to cliched tropes. and misses Bolton's hats are stupendous... should be filmed just so we could see them.

I cannot wait for the next book!

I love the characters! I love the egg entendres. The book is smart and funny.

Never Wanted it to End

Loved it! Loved it! LOVED IT!! I have never wished for a book series to become a tv series more!! I liked the first book in this series but it felt rough. There was a lot going on and the characters weren’t really flushed out. BUT the author really hit it on the head in this one!! I love the quirky off kilter, hinting of supernatural and not quite regency era accurate world that has been created here! The footnotes and letters/articles/etc that are in each chapter are wonderful! The sister Mary subplot - superb!! (Can’t wait for that backstory in a future book)

Part of me wishes I had discovered this series after the 5th book so I could binge them all, but alas I will patiently wait until the next one.

The reader is AMAZING!!! Gives every character their own unique voice - which was no small feat considering she had to do many different accents!! Brava!! I hope she continues to voice every book!