Murder in PostScript by Mary Winters
A Lady of Letters Mystery #1
Historical Mystery
March 28, 2023 by Berkley
ARC

Review by Angela

I love historical mysteries, but the ones I tend to pick up are dark and sinister. Murder in PostScript is a lighter, cozier addition to the genre. It introduces a down-to-earth protagonist who starts out as a mysterious advice columnist, Lady Agony, and ends up solving a murder.

Amelia Amesbury is just a regular country girl who married a rich, but sickly, member of the aristocracy, but just two short months later she finds herself both a widow and a Countess. Guardian to her late husband’s niece and wealthy thanks to her marriage, she’s content with her lot in life… but to stave off boredom she agrees to help her childhood friend, Grady Armstrong, editor of the local penny paper, by taking up her pen and doling out advice in her column.

Then she receives a letter addressed to Lady Agony asking for help, the sender claims to have witnessed a murder. This of course means that Amelia must search for this murderer and fulfill the request of her readers

I enjoyed this cozy historical mystery immensely. Amelia is a wonderful protagonist; witty, charming, honest, and sensible. Her backstory isn’t too complicated or angsty, and she doesn’t have enemies lurking around every corner waiting to bring her down. She loves her niece, as well as her staid, and somewhat cranky, aunt-in-law. She is helped out in her investigation by one of her late husband’s friends, Simon Bainbridge, the Marquis of Bainbridge. And honestly? Their chemistry is what makes this mystery so enticing.

There is the typical historical mystery investigation, with Amelia and Simon visiting suspects and piecing together clues, and slowly but surely these two grow closer, eager to be in each other’s company and beginning to care for the well-being of each other. I sense a romance in the future!

I won’t get too much into the plot, but suffice it to say there were plenty of twists and turns, and I remained engaged right up until the end. The secondary characters were delightful, and I look forward to seeing them more fleshed out in the future. I look forward to seeing what shenanigans Amelia and Simon get up to in the next book in the series.

Grade – B

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