Fans of the Lady Julia Grey Mysteries will love these Georgian historical mysteries.After receiving a distressing letter from a friend, Lady Anne Addison wastes no time in traveling to Yorkshire to offer whatever help she can. She has no idea what she’ll find there, but she certainly wasn’t expecting to be met by tales of a werewolf terrorizing the area–nor the dead body she discovers upon … arriving. Driven by curiosity and a keen intelligence, Lady Anne dismisses the notion of such a beast, but she’s nonetheless drawn into the mysteries by the secrecy surrounding her friend and the infuriating yet enticing Lord Darkefell. With a murderer on the loose and the supposed werewolf ravaging livestock and terrifying the locals, Lady Anne puts her reservations aside and joins forces with the seductive Darkefell to get to the bottom of things. And though his nearness is a tempting distraction, Lady Anne manages to uncover one clue after another, unraveling the mysteries and drawing ever closer to the killer, even while her true feelings for the enigmatic marquess elude her . . .This book was originally published under the name Donna Lea Simpson.
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I enjoy historical mysteries, and Lady Anne has the feel of the Regency period, though I’m no expert on the early 1800s. Besides the mystery, which was well done, there’s also a romance between Anne–an independent spinster who intends to remain single–and the dark, overbearing Marquess of Darkfelle. And the romance is quite entertaining. The storyline, with a possible werewolf terrorizing the area and several young women dying, makes for a steady pace. Sometimes, for me, the writing could have been stronger, but I happily turned the pages to see what would happen next and to enjoy the characters.
An entertaining mystery with a feisty, persistent, almost fearless heroine and an overbearing hero who has met his match. There were plenty of twists and turns. I guessed the who; the how and why were quite intriguing. I look forward to reading about the developing relationship between the hero and heroine, who are both strong characters.
This was one of the most delightful mysteries I have come across in a long time. I am hooked! Lady Anne and the Howl in the Dark is the first in the Lady Anne Addison Mysteries series, which makes me very happy because that means I have more of these wonderful Georgian historicals to look forward to. Author Victoria Hamilton skillfully blends all the best elements of romance and suspense, and the addition of werewolf sightings is icing on the cake. The setting in Yorkshire felt chilling and dangerous – as did the Marquess of Darkefell when Lady Anne Addison first met him.
Lady Anne goes to Yorkshire at the request of her friend Lydia, the sister of Anne’s deceased fiancé. Lydia says werewolves are about. Anne doesn’t believe for a minute there are werewolves, but when she discovers a dead body upon her arrival she determines to do all she can to discover what is wrong and to fix it. This is not at all the way ladies of her time and station are supposed to behave. But as Lord Darkefell soon learns – to his alternating delight and dismay – Anne is not a typical lady and won’t be stopped. She is stubborn, willful, and often reckless. She is also intelligent and curious, fearless and loyal, and very alluring to the Marquess. Up to now Anne has considered her fiancé’s death an unhappy blessing and is quite willing to remain a spinster. She has more freedom than a married woman would have and because of her father’s position is wealthy in her own right and well educated. Why would she want to give that all up? But Darkefell has a hold on her that she can’t deny.
It was so much fun to watch the back and forth between Anne and Darkefell. Each is infuriated by the other but also unable to fight the pull between them. I have a feeling (and fervent hope) that Lady Anne and Lord Darkefell will end up together but her narrow escape from marriage to Lydia’s brother has made her very cautious; she will not go quietly, nor would he want her to be a different woman even if he is loath to admit it. The supporting cast of characters is rich and full, well-developed with intriguing backstories that made me want to know them better. Some you will love, like Mary and Osei Boatin, some not so much, but they will all draw you in. And the Yorkshire countryside is so well described you feel you are there.
I was lucky enough to listen to an audiobook version of Lady Anne and the Howl in the Dark. Between author Victoria Hamilton’s superb plot and narrator Danielle Cohen’s superb narration, I often extended my daily walks because I couldn’t bear to stop listening. Fun fact: it took me a while to realize that Victoria Hamilton and Donna Lea Simpson are the same author. No wonder I love all her/their works. Just means more for my TBR. I received my copy of Lady Anne and the Howl in the Dark from the author but was not required nor expected to provide a review. All opinions are my own. I thoroughly enjoyed this story and am thrilled that there are more adventures with Lady Anne and Lord Darkefell waiting for me.
I enjoyed this audiobook so much! the details, romance & a touch of mystery. a perfect combination, creating a excellent storyline. the details make you feel like you can envision the characters, places & the events as they unfold. keeps you guessing till the end. Sheer gothic perfection!
Originally published with the same title, but under the name Donna Lea Simpson, Lady Anne and the Howl in the Dark is the first historical mystery in a series of three.
Lady Anne has been called to her friend’s side in Yorkshire, where a werewolf is reportedly stirring up trouble. Things begin to go wrong from her very first step. She must find her own way to the estate through the foggy, dark night, but stumbles her way into a murder on her way across the lawn. Everyone around her seems to be holding back information, so she takes it upon herself to solve this mystery and find the murderer.
Lady Anne is a great character, mostly because she’s not perfect. She firece and independent with more daring than most. If I had to think of one thing to encapsulate the whole of her character it would be “curiousity killed the cat.” She will throw herself into any situation, no matter how risky or how nervous she is, solely because she must find the answers she is persuing.
I don’t dislike Lord Darkefell, but I also didn’t care for him overly much. He’s very broody and arrogant, plus he seems to think that his wants and needs are more important than hers. He just assumes she’ll want him and simply be thankful that the handsome, mysterious Lord Darkefell would ever take interest in a plain spinster like her.
That being said, they still make a great investigative pair. Even though half the time they spend working together on the investigstion is not exactly by choice.
The story starts out great and ends great with story progression, but there is a bit in the middle where the pacing seems to slow down a bit due to additional minor plotlines thrown in that distract from our main mystery. Here the story isn’t quite as engaging, but then everything picks back up again and we’re back on track. The plot isn’t the most believable. It plays out a bit like a game of Clue, including a gathering at the house where we have the narrowing down of suspects and a big reveal. But it is still very enjoyable and pretty entertaining. Besides, who doesn’t like a good game of Clue?
I look forward to reading the remaining two books in the series and would recommend this book to fans of historical mysteries and the Lady Julia Grey series by Deanna Raybourn. The book is primarily a mystery with the addition of a romantic pairing for our lead character. If you’re wondering about the romance aspect of this book, I would say that it is a clean romance.
I requested and received a copy of this book from NetGalley through Beyond the Page Publishing. This is my honest review.
The first book in the Lady Anne Addison Mysteries series and is fabulous!
Fans of the Lady Julia Grey Mysteries will love these Georgian historical mysteries.
After receiving a distressing letter from a friend, Lady Anne Addison wastes no time in traveling to Yorkshire to offer whatever help she can. She has no idea what she’ll find there, but she certainly wasn’t expecting to be met by tales of a werewolf terrorizing the area—nor the dead body she discovers upon arriving. Driven by curiosity and a keen intelligence, Lady Anne dismisses the notion of such a beast, but she’s nonetheless drawn into the mysteries by the secrecy surrounding her friend and the infuriating yet enticing Lord Darkefell.
With a murderer on the loose and the supposed werewolf ravaging livestock and terrifying the locals, Lady Anne puts her reservations aside and joins forces with the seductive Darkefell to get to the bottom of things. And though his nearness is a tempting distraction, Lady Anne manages to uncover one clue after another, unraveling the mysteries and drawing ever closer to the killer, even while her true feelings for the enigmatic marquess elude her . . .
This book was originally published under the name Donna Lea Simpson.
Lady Anne is an interesting main character, she is smart and uses logic to find out the truth. There was a wonderful cast of characters and the plot moved at a good pace. I can’t wait to read the rest of the series.
I recommend this series to anyone who likes historical mysteries.
I requested and received a advance readers copy of this book from Netgalley and the publisher. All opinions are my OWN.