Book: Death Wears A Mask

Author: Ashley Weaver

Genre: Fiction/Mystery/Historical/Romance

Summary: Following the murderous events of the Brightwell Hotel, Amory Ames is looking forward to a tranquil period of reconnecting with her reformed playboy husband, Milo. She hopes a quiet stay at their London flat will help mend their relationship. However, Amory soon finds herself drawn into another investigation when an old friend of her mother's asks her to look into the disappearance of valuable jewelry snatched at a dinner party. Amory agrees to help lay a trap to catch the culprit at a lavish masked ball. But when one of the illustrious party guests is murdered, she is pulled back into the world of detection, caught up in both a mystery and a set of romantic entanglements where nothing is as it seems. -Minotaur Books, 2015.

A bucket full of meh.

It's been 5 books now, since Amory decided to take her rogue of a husband back, and frankly, I'm sick and tired of wallowing with her in her anxiety about her marriage.  Trust him or don't; keep him or kick him out; fish or cut bait.  I don't actually care either way, though I suspect the series would be a lot better without her lifeless husband around.  That's right: the 'rogue', the ladies man apparently nobody can resist, is about as exciting as white paint.

The mystery this time around wasn't enough to distract me from the angst, as it was set in a theatre (which trope never appeals to me), and the mystery might have been clever, except it was just too ridiculous.  The author set her plot for stun, but over geared it and overshot the mark, landing somewhere in between incredulous and you've-got-to-be-kidding-me.

It's not a bad book, it's just not a very good one either.  Everything about it felt like an example of stretching a point too far.  The series started strong, so this might just be the runt of the litter and the next one will improve.  But I'm not rushing out to buy it.

I read this for the Halloween Bingo square Darkest London.

Book: Murder at the Brightwell

Author: Ashley Weaver

Genre: Fiction/Mystery/Historical

Summary: Amory Ames, a wealthy young woman questioning her marriage to her notoriously charming playboy husband, Milo, is looking for a change. When she accepts a request from her former fiance, Gil Trent, she does not know that she'll soon become embroiled in a murder investigation that will not only test her friendship with Gil, but will also upset the status quo with her husband. Amory accompanies Gil to the luxurious Brightwell Hotel on the south coast of England in an attempt to prevent the marriage of his sister, Emmeline, to Rupert Howe, a disreputable ladies' man. However, it soon becomes clear there is more than her happiness at stake, when Rupert is murdered and Gil is arrested for the crime. Matters are further complicated by Milo's unexpected arrival, and as the line between friend and foe becomes increasingly blurred, Amory must decide where her heart lies and catch the killer before she, too, becomes a victim. -St. Martin's Press, 2014.

Glad I have the next in the series, because I really enjoyed this.

I just intended to read a chapter or two, but I seem to have gotten sucked in.