Murder, Mislaid Luggage
(2025)and Other Coach Delay
(A book in the Regency: Corpses & Courtship Club series)
A novel by Marisa Paxon
I am the narrator of this book. I carried the whole affair, the mud, the manners, the deaths, the inconvenient feelings, and now they have decided I should stand at the door and coax you in as well.
Welcome to a Regency posting inn on the north road, where the fog behaves like a locked door and the road behaves like a threat. Meg Allerton runs the place with brisk competence, a sharp tongue, and a lost property cupboard that could host a small, cheerful civilisation. Into this domestic miracle rolls Miss Celia Bristow, velvet-cloaked, wedding-bound, and announcing that her father’s jewels are worth more than the entire building, which is always a wise thing to say out loud in front of strangers.
By morning, Miss Bristow is dead in her chamber, the door still locked as she demanded, and the only thing looser than tongues is the story everyone is telling about where they were between midnight and four. Her chain is snapped, the key is suddenly a matter of public interest, her maid is nowhere to be found, and the inn is full of people with damp boots and dry consciences.
Unfortunately for everyone, the law arrives in the form of Jonathan Carstairs, His Majesty’s new magistrate, newly sworn, already tired, and possessed of a fondness for latches, ledgers, and asking questions in a straight line. Meg has to keep the house running, keep the guests contained, keep the evidence intact, and keep her temper from strangling anyone in turn, all while the truth wriggles about under polite conversation like something alive.
Perfect for readers who like locked-room inconveniences, sharp banter, social pressure in confined quarters, and the particular satisfaction of watching arrogant people realise the walls are listening.
Expect a clue-rich, fair-play Regency whodunit with a satisfying logical reveal, a complete closed-door slow-burn romance, and a happy-for-now ending. The murder is non-gory, the humour is dry, and this is a fully complete, stand-alone case in the Regency: Corpses and Courtship Club series, meaning you can begin here and then, if you insist, go looking for other bodies elsewhere.
Go on then, click Look Inside, step into the corridor, and try not to touch anything, the doors are already lying.
Genre: Mystery
Welcome to a Regency posting inn on the north road, where the fog behaves like a locked door and the road behaves like a threat. Meg Allerton runs the place with brisk competence, a sharp tongue, and a lost property cupboard that could host a small, cheerful civilisation. Into this domestic miracle rolls Miss Celia Bristow, velvet-cloaked, wedding-bound, and announcing that her father’s jewels are worth more than the entire building, which is always a wise thing to say out loud in front of strangers.
By morning, Miss Bristow is dead in her chamber, the door still locked as she demanded, and the only thing looser than tongues is the story everyone is telling about where they were between midnight and four. Her chain is snapped, the key is suddenly a matter of public interest, her maid is nowhere to be found, and the inn is full of people with damp boots and dry consciences.
Unfortunately for everyone, the law arrives in the form of Jonathan Carstairs, His Majesty’s new magistrate, newly sworn, already tired, and possessed of a fondness for latches, ledgers, and asking questions in a straight line. Meg has to keep the house running, keep the guests contained, keep the evidence intact, and keep her temper from strangling anyone in turn, all while the truth wriggles about under polite conversation like something alive.
Perfect for readers who like locked-room inconveniences, sharp banter, social pressure in confined quarters, and the particular satisfaction of watching arrogant people realise the walls are listening.
Expect a clue-rich, fair-play Regency whodunit with a satisfying logical reveal, a complete closed-door slow-burn romance, and a happy-for-now ending. The murder is non-gory, the humour is dry, and this is a fully complete, stand-alone case in the Regency: Corpses and Courtship Club series, meaning you can begin here and then, if you insist, go looking for other bodies elsewhere.
Go on then, click Look Inside, step into the corridor, and try not to touch anything, the doors are already lying.
Genre: Mystery
Used availability for Marisa Paxon's Murder, Mislaid Luggage