Murder in Masquerade (A Lady of Letters Mystery) by Mary Winters
Author Interview + Book & Author Info + Author Pet Corner!
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Murder in Masquerade
Extra, extra, read all about it! Countess turned advice columnist Amelia Amesbury finds herself playing the role of sleuth when a night at the theatre turns deadly.
Victorian Countess Amelia Amesbury’s secret hobby, writing an advice column for a London penny paper, has gotten her into hot water before. After all, Amelia will do whatever it takes to help a reader in need. But now, handsome marquis Simon Bainbridge desperately requires her assistance. His beloved younger sister, Marielle, has written Amelia’s Lady Agony column seeking advice on her plans to elope with a man her family does not approve of. Determined to save his sister from a scoundrel and the family from scandal, Simon asks Amelia to dissuade Marielle from the ill-advised gambit.
But when the scoundrel makes an untimely exit after a performance of Verdi’s Rigoletto, Amelia realizes there’s much more at stake than saving a young woman’s reputation from ruin. It’s going to take more than her letter-writing skills to help the dashing marquis, mend the familial bond, and find the murderer. Luckily, solving problems is her specialty!
To purchase Murder in Masquerade, click any of the following links: Amazon, Penguin Random House, Target & Barnes and Noble
Interview with Mary Winters, author of Murder in Masquerade
Hi Mary, great to have you back for another interview. I’m thrilled to introduce readers to your latest release, Murder in Masquerade, out today with Berkley.
Thank you for having me on your blog, Elena, and congratulations on your upcoming release, A Cold, Cold World. I’m so excited to read it! (Thank you!!)
Murder in Masquerade follows the antics of Countess Amelia Amesbury. Amelia has a secret writing hobby, tell us about that and how it leads her to investigating murders:
Amelia is the author of the popular agony (or advice) column Lady Agony.
Correspondents write in with their questions or problems, and she responds in the weekly penny paper under the pen name Lady Agony.
In book one, Murder in Postscript, a reader writes in about witnessing a murder, which leads to her investigation. In book two, Murder in Masquerade, Simon Bainbridge’s sister, Lady Marielle, writes to Lady Agony about eloping with a suitor, and she and Simon must stop her.
Murder in Masquerade also features the sexy Marquis Simon Bainbridge. What should my dear readers know about him?
He is a hunk, but he can also be aloof and distant at times.
He was good friends with Amelia’s deceased husband, Edgar, so he attempts to keep their relationship platonic. However, their attraction to each other is hard to deny, and the more time they spend together, the more difficult they find it to be just friends.
Murder in Masquerade is set in the Victorian era in England. How did you go about researching the era and the location?
I continue to read books about the Victorian era as well as agony columns.
I have a subscription to historical British newspapers that is indispensable. Reading agony columns helps with not only research but also inspiration! Each chapter begins with a letter to Lady Agony, so I love perusing columns for ideas.
The first book in the series, Murder in Postscript, was nominated for the prestigious Mary Higgins Clark Award through the Mystery Writers of America. Tell us what that nomination means to you:
I am so honored to be nominated for this award!
The nominees in my category are incredibly talented, and it’s a joy to share the nomination with them. I love contributing to the mystery community, and the nomination makes my work feel valuable.
What can we find you doing when you aren’t killing people on the page?
I love reading, doing puzzles, traveling, and attending my daughters’ sporting events. I also love to bake—as you do!—especially this time of year. (So much baking!)
What are you working on now?
I’m working on the third book in the series, Murder in Season.
Final words of wisdom for aspiring writers:
Read outside your genre. It will help you better understand your craft.
Author Pet Corner!
Mary’s adorable writing, reading, and riding companions!
Mary Winters — Author of Murder in Masquerade
Although I have degrees in Literature and Creative Writing, my love affair with Victorian fiction didn’t start in the classroom but with a monthly book club. I was a young eighteen years old, working a job I didn’t particularly enjoy, when I made the fortuitous decision to join a subscription service. From the moment I received my first chunky paperbacks and pink wine glass, I was hooked. I loved coming home and delving into my historical romances. They were the gateway to other historical fiction, including mysteries, like the Amelia Peabody series.
When I enrolled in college, I had already written my first novel, not surprisingly a historical romance. My professors frowned upon the genre, but I saw the heroines as nonconformists, constantly challenging the conventions of the time. Their fortitude inspired my own writing a great deal.
By the time I entered graduate school, I put away my romance novel and wrote a literary novel for my thesis. Then, when I graduated, I put away my literary novel and started a mystery series with an amateur sleuth professor (see my cozy series at MaryAngelaBooks.com).
But always my love for Victorian literature remained, and in 2019, when my family and I took a trip to England, it was reignited. Seeing Regent’s Park, Piccadilly, Grosvenor Square—all those places I had first read about so many years ago—I knew I wanted to write another book, a mystery, set in the time period. That book became Murder in Postscript. I’m thrilled to see this first dream come true.
To learn more about Mary, click on any of the following links: Website, Facebook & Instagram
Elena Taylor/Elena Hartwell
Header image from Pixabay
