Abominably Sugared Lozenges, Awkward Murder, and a Most Officious Ghost
(2026)(The second book in the Regency: Ghosts & Gentlemen League series)
A novel by Marisa Paxon
I am the narrator of this book, yes, that much-abused intelligence who carried the whole affair already and has now been ordered to hawk it on the doorstep as well. Apparently guiding you through a death in the Assembly Rooms, an outrage in confectionery, and two emotionally overmanaged people in Regency Bath was not considered enough work.
So here you are: a dryly comic Regency cozy mystery with a ghost problem. Mr Henry Foskett, solicitor to the spa committee, is the sort of man who mistakes repression for virtue. Miss Clara Lethbridge, paid companion to an invalid with excellent opinions and worse lungs, notices every social seam everyone else calls a trifle. Then Mr Reginald Pettifer, master of ceremonies and devoted persecutor of the town with abominably sugared lozenges, drops dead in public and has the indecency not to stay properly gone. I had to carry all of that, together with the biscuits.
What follows is murder by sweetmeat, social ambition with its gloves on, a clue trail hidden in private packets and public manners, and Bath doing what Bath does best, which is prefer a tidy lie to an untidy truth. If Henry and Clara fail, a dangerous man gains access where he should not, the wrong people are protected for the sake of comfort, and I am left watching yet another respectable room call cowardice good breeding. You can see why I am short with everyone.
Perfect for readers who like clever Regency settings, exacting heroines, restrained but delicious romantic tension, nuisance ghosts, and the particular pleasure of watching polite society be peeled open with a silver paper-knife. This is a fully complete stand-alone story in the Ghosts & Gentlemen League world, so you may begin here without requiring a family tree, a map, or fortitude.
Expect a clue-rich mystery with a satisfying logical reveal, non-gory murder, and a closed-door slow-burn romance with an HEA. In other words, you get danger, wit, competence, longing, and a dead man who remains offensively available for comment. Go on, then. Open the book. I have already done the hard part.
So here you are: a dryly comic Regency cozy mystery with a ghost problem. Mr Henry Foskett, solicitor to the spa committee, is the sort of man who mistakes repression for virtue. Miss Clara Lethbridge, paid companion to an invalid with excellent opinions and worse lungs, notices every social seam everyone else calls a trifle. Then Mr Reginald Pettifer, master of ceremonies and devoted persecutor of the town with abominably sugared lozenges, drops dead in public and has the indecency not to stay properly gone. I had to carry all of that, together with the biscuits.
What follows is murder by sweetmeat, social ambition with its gloves on, a clue trail hidden in private packets and public manners, and Bath doing what Bath does best, which is prefer a tidy lie to an untidy truth. If Henry and Clara fail, a dangerous man gains access where he should not, the wrong people are protected for the sake of comfort, and I am left watching yet another respectable room call cowardice good breeding. You can see why I am short with everyone.
Perfect for readers who like clever Regency settings, exacting heroines, restrained but delicious romantic tension, nuisance ghosts, and the particular pleasure of watching polite society be peeled open with a silver paper-knife. This is a fully complete stand-alone story in the Ghosts & Gentlemen League world, so you may begin here without requiring a family tree, a map, or fortitude.
Expect a clue-rich mystery with a satisfying logical reveal, non-gory murder, and a closed-door slow-burn romance with an HEA. In other words, you get danger, wit, competence, longing, and a dead man who remains offensively available for comment. Go on, then. Open the book. I have already done the hard part.
Used availability for Marisa Paxon's Abominably Sugared Lozenges, Awkward Murder, and a Most Officious Ghost