Fragile Designs by Colleen Coble

Genre: Mystery, Romance
Publisher: Thomas Nelson
Publication Date: January 2024

Widow Carly Harris barely scrapes a living for herself and her infant son on her unpredictable career as an antique dealer. When her grandmother suggests that she and her sisters renovate the family’s large home and convert it into a bed and breakfast, she moves to Beaufort and begins the task of cleaning out the house. As she works, she finds a secret her late husband Eric hid — one that points toward her family’s unknown history and a possible connection to Eric’s enigmatic murder.

With the help of Lucas Bennet, her next door neighbor and a homicide detective, Carly embarks on the hunt for the provenance of a family heirloom she believes to be a lost Fabergé egg. However, the quest for the truth can come at a high price, including the cost of those she loves.

Fragile Designs delivers a tangled mystery that scales from small-town USA to Russian Mafia. Having heard great things about Colleen Coble’s books, I excitedly delved into this book. The plot, however, felt a bit too implausible. I enjoyed the antique heirloom angle, the few glimpses we got of the B and B remodeling, and the complicated family dynamics. But as the scope widened to incorporate mobsters and international crime, it became too farfetched.

Nonetheless, it provided an entertaining read that suspense and mystery fans can enjoy. I definitely want to give another one of her books a try, especially one that sticks with small-town issues and family/community relationships since I did enjoy those parts.

Review copy provided by publisher via NetGalley. Thanks!

In the Shelter of Hollythorne House (The Houses of Yorkshire #2) by Sarah E. Ladd

Genre: Romance, Historical Fiction
Publisher: Thomas Nelson
Publication Date: July 2023

Years ago, Charlotte Grey and Anthony Welbourne parted ways with hearts less whole than when they’d met. Determined to move beyond the past and memories, they forged lives far from each other, one marrying a wealthy estate owner, the other fighting wars overseas.

When Charlotte’s husband dies, she discovers that his pursuit of wealth has left behind numerous enemies. Some of whom wouldn’t hesitate to go after his infant heir to claim what they believe rightly theirs.

Now a member of William Walstead’s watchmen, Anthony is tasked with guarding a young widow and her infant child. When he meets his charges, the past and present collide, resurrecting old hurts and creating new ones. With danger rising on all sides, and sometimes closer to home than they realize, Anthony must risk everything to protect Charlotte and her baby, even losing his heart a second time.

While slightly more suspenseful than book one, In the Shelter of Hollythorne House leans more heavily toward romance. The villains were pretty obvious from the start which kept the mystery aspect at a minimum. Slow-paced and predictable, I found myself coasting through the story. It wasn’t bad. The characters, the setting, the narrative simply needed a little something more to make it pop for me.

That being said, Sarah E. Ladd still delivers a sweet, second-chance story that Regency fans can enjoy. This second book in The Houses of Yorkshire series will appeal to readers looking for a light, easy read with low tension and quick conflict resolution.

Review copy provided by publisher via NetGalley. Thank you!

Within These Gilded Halls by Abigail Wilson

Genre: Romance, Mystery, Historical Fiction
Publisher: Thomas Nelson
Publication Date: October 2022

Ashamed because of a foolish mistake, Phoebe Radcliff fled home to study art under the renowned Miss Drake. When her mentor employs her to renovate a ballroom, Phoebe is thrilled to prove she has outgrown her errors. But before she can barely begin, Miss Drake is murdered.

With her dying breath, Miss Drake reveals the clue to a treasure rumored to be hidden within Avonthorpe Hall. With the help of Lt. Graham Burke, Phoebe must unravel the clue and find the treasure before she completes the renovation, and her time at the hall runs out. However, they aren’t the only ones searching. Others also want the treasure, and some have gone so far as to kill for it.

Within These Gilded Halls delivers puzzling clues and a cast full of suspicious characters bound to keep the reader guessing. Abigail Wilson once again transports us to Regency life far from the London ballrooms and society.

Return readers will recognize Phoebe as the now grown-up girl from Masquerade at Middlecrest Abbey. In her youth, she made a mistake that she has been running from and attempting to atone for ever since. A large part of her motivation stems from proving she is not that girl anymore. Despite this, she remains very naïve, impulsive, and immature. This fits what we know of her. I suspect the author did this on purpose as nothing is more unbelievable than a returning character who does a one eighty the moment they become a protagonist. Phoebe and Burke suited each other as he grounded her while she loosened him up a bit.

I love how Wilson intertwines her story worlds and characters throughout her books. While all are standalone novels and a newcomer wouldn’t know the difference, the experience is that much richer for readers who have followed Wilson from the start. It’s like our own treasure hunt as we search for little ways the characters and stories connect. I recommend Within These Gilded Halls to fans of Regency mysteries.

Review copy provided by publisher via NetGalley. Thank you!

Trust Me by Kelly Irvin

Genre: Mystery, Suspense, Romance
Publisher: Thomas Nelson
Publication Date: February 2022

A decade ago, Delaney Broward’s life imploded when she discovered the body of her last living family member — her brother — and her boyfriend went to prison for the crime.

Hunter Nash is finally walking out a free man after serving for a murder he never committed. He is determined to prove once and for all to Delaney and everyone else that he is innocent. But he didn’t count on someone killing her best friend hours after his release or the police showing up at his door ready to pin the crime on him for a second time.

Delaney has no desire to let Hunter re-enter her life, but when he begs her to help him prove his innocence, she agrees determined to eliminate any doubt as to Hunter’s guilt or find a true killer who has eluded justice for ten years.

A tale of redemption and forgiveness, Trust Me by Kelly Irvin is a novel I wanted to love but unfortunately didn’t. I gravitate toward romantic suspense tales with a mystery to solve, and Irvin approaches the page with a quick-paced and engaging writing style that I liked. However, I soon found myself not caring for the characters and therefore ambivalent about their story.

The protagonists simply didn’t ring true. For someone who supposedly suspected Hunter of murdering her brother, Delaney agreed to be alone with him too easily. She never showed the trepidation or fear one would expect, which led me to wonder if she ever truly suspected him in the first place, and if she hadn’t, why treat him and act the way she did? On his part, while Hunter exemplified forgiveness, he didn’t come across as someone who spent years locked away. His personality did not match that of a man who had been isolated from the outside world and forced to survive in close proximity to hardened criminals.

Consequently, I often set aside the book, not returning for several weeks. I can’t say Trust Me was a bad book, which leads me to believe, I simply wasn’t the right reader for it. Irvin’s engaging tone does have me wanting to try another of her books to see if I connect with the story and characters more. Mystery readers who like the San Antonio art scene could enjoy this.

Review copy provided by publisher via NetGalley. Thanks!

The Letter from Briarton Park by Sarah E. Ladd

Genre: Romance, Historical Fiction
Publisher: Thomas Nelson
Publication Date: March 2022

Left to be raised by the headmistress of a school for girls, Cassandra Hale never knew her family. Not their identity. Not their station. Nothing. When the headmistress reveals on her deathbed the existence a two-year-old letter from a Mr. Clark who seems to know about Cassandra’s past, she packs up and travels to Briarton Park. Upon arrival, she discover she’s too late, the letter writer having since passed. Determined to uncover her heritage and with nowhere else to go, Cassandra stays in Anston village.

Most days, widower James Warrington is just trying to survive life without his wife while caring for his two young daughters, unhappy sister, and disgruntled mother-in-law. When Cassandra appears at his doorstep with a letter from the previous owner of Briarton Park, he feels bound to aid her, especially after the help she provided his family. It doesn’t take long for them to realize that there are those who might not want the truth of Cassandra’s identity to surface.

A story about identity, family, and belonging, The Letter from Briarton Park transports readers to Regency England. Sarah E. Ladd pens a sweet love story with a hint of mystery. Cassandra is a character one can easily root for. Despite a lifetime of hurt and betrayal, both from those she’s known and those she’s never met, Cassandra still has a kindness and innocence about her that the reader can’t help but feel drawn too. I especially enjoyed watching her relationship with James’ sister.

James fits well the role of hero. I liked that James and Cassandra’s actions clearly reflected their growing feelings. They didn’t go around trying to hide what they felt, causing angst. I appreciated how they continually stepped in to help each other, never expecting anything in return. That being said, I would have liked to witness on a deeper level what made them fall in love with each other specifically.

Though I suspected the culprit early on, his/her true motives and connection to events eluded me until the end. Ladd set up the latter in such a way, that when the truth surfaced, it didn’t shock me because I could see how everything had led to it. I recommend The Letter from Briarton Park to readers of Regency romances.

Review copy provided by publisher via NetGalley. Thank you!