Murder In Season, A Lady of Letters Mystery by Mary Winters
Author Interview + Book and Author Info + Author Pet Corner!
Don’t miss my review of Murder in Season — click the link here.
Murder In Season
Join Countess turned advice columnist Amelia Amesbury as she tries to juggle a new Season and a new murder in this charmingly deadly historical mystery.
“A beautiful debutante, a wealthy widow, and a dead would-be baron. What could be more exciting?”
Countess by day, secret advice columnist by night, Amelia Amesbury has life happily balanced on a quill’s edge . . . until her sister Margaret shows up in London under a blanket of scandal and Amelia is catapulted out of mourning and into the ton’s unforgiving Season.
However Madge’s Season debut is marred by a rather inconvenient death at the dining table as the infamous Mr Radcliffe takes ill and is later confirmed dead by poisoning. With Madge being the last person to have cross words with the soon-to-be baron, the ton’s gossip mill – and the police – are looking to pin the murder on her.
Adding to the ton’s troubles is a jewellery thief targeting the most lavish of Society’s houses. Is the murderer and the thief one in the same? It falls to Amelia once again to uncover the secrets buried deep within the pages before her sister goes down for the crimes.
Perfect for fans of witty historical mystery and Regency romances with a similar feel to Verity Bright and T.E. Kinsey.
Book Info
Historical Cozy Mystery
3rd in Series
Setting – London, 1860
Publisher : Severn House; Main edition (December 3, 2024)
Hardcover : 240 pages
ISBN-10 : 1448314046
ISBN-13 : 978-1448314041
Digital ASIN : B0D6YWTKRG
To purchase Murder in Season, click on any of the following links: Amazon, Barnes & Noble, Bookshop.
Murder in Season — Author Interview with Mary Winters
Murder in Season is the third book in the Lady of Letters Mysteries. In the first book, we discover that Countess Amelia Amesbury writes an Agony Aunt column for the local paper. Tell us what that is, and how she came to write that column under a pen name:
Thank you, Elena, for hosting my interview. I always enjoy visiting your blog! (Always great to have you here!)
An agony column is similar to an advice column (think: Dear Abby). In the Victorian era, however, columns were different than today’s. First, topics were much more diverse. Correspondents wrote in about everything. They might have a question about a war or king. They might want to know how to get a blood stain out of a handkerchief. They might feel the need to correct a friend or family member anonymously. Needless to say, I really enjoy reading these columns. My research doesn’t feel like work at all.
Regarding how Amelia came to pen the column, she has a childhood friend who is an editor at a London penny paper. When his agony author quit, he asked Amelia to pen the column. She answered with a resounding yes!
Amelia Amesbury is a countess but not through aristocratic ancestry. Tell us how she came to be in that position:
Amelia became a countess when she married Edgar Amesbury, who was an earl. He died two months after their marriage. She lives with Lady Tabitha, Edgar’s aunt, and Lady Winifred, Edgar’s niece, who are both peeresses by birthright.
Murder in Season is set in 1860. What do you love about the Victorian era and why did you choose to set the Lady of Letters Mysteries then?
I love so many things about the era. It’s a rich epoch of history.
On the West End of London lived the Mayfair elite. Here, I enjoy learning about manners and social mores.
On the East End of London lived the poor and working class. Here, I enjoy learning about industry that brought so much change to the city.
For the first time, social mobility became possible, and correspondents to the penny papers became concerned with fitting it. Thus arrived agony aunts to help them navigate the changes.
Murder in Season brings a little more romance into the picture for Amelia and Simon. Adding romance into a series has its own pace, too much too soon, and readers lose the excitement. Too little too late, and readers lose interest. How do you find the right balance?
It is a balance, and I know readers enjoy hearing about the development between Amelia and Simon Bainbridge.
I think (hope!) they will be pleased with the amount of romance in this installment. I never want the romance to overshadow the mystery, but as a series continues, readers (and I) need to feel satisfied with the characters and their romantic decisions. My goal is to meet those needs while telling a compelling mystery.
You’ve written both contemporary and historical series. What do you love best about both?
I enjoy writing contemporary because it involves less research. Sometimes the pace is a little quicker, and that also makes it fun to write.
I enjoy writing historical because I don’t have to worry about modern conveniences such as cellphones. It’s nice to step outside today’s hectic world and imagine a different one.
What are you working on now?
I am finishing my edits on Murder in Matrimony, the 4th book in the Lady of Letters series. It is due to my editor in February. I am also starting a new historical mystery.
Final words of wisdom for aspiring writers:
Keep writing—through success, failure, rejection, uncertainty. It’s the hardest but best thing you can do.
Congratulations on your latest mystery! I can’t wait for book four.
Author Pet Corner!
Bosco, thirteen.
Brownie, twelve.
O’Malley the two-year-old.
I’m very impressed Mary got all three pets in one photo!
Author of Murder in Season — Mary Winters
Mary Winters is the Edgar Award-nominated author of the Lady of Letters historical mystery series.
Book one, Murder in Postscript, was a finalist for the Mary Higgins Clark Award. Mary is also the author of two cozy mystery series and writes short fiction.
Three of her short stories have appeared in Alfred Hitchcock’s Mystery Magazine.
When she’s not writing, she’s teaching, reading, or spending time with her family. She lives with her husband, daughters, and spoiled pets in the Midwest. Find out more about Mary at MaryWintersAuthor.com.
To learn more about Mary, click any of the following links: Website, Blog, Facebook, Instagram.
Visit all the Stops on the Tour!
January 15 – Jody’s Bookish Haven – SPOTLIGHT
January 15 – Christy’s Cozy Corners – REVIEW
January 16 – Baroness’ Book Trove – REVIEW
January 16 – Books, Ramblings, and Tea – SPOTLIGHT
January 17 – View from the Birdhouse – REVIEW
January 18 – FUONLYKNEW – SPOTLIGHT
January 18 – The Mystery of Writing – AUTHOR INTERVIEW
January 19 – Boys’ Mom Reads! – SPOTLIGHT
January 20 – Celticlady’s Reviews – SPOTLIGHT
January 20 – Sapphyria’s Book Reviews – SPOTLIGHT
January 21 – Socrates Book Reviews – SPOTLIGHT
January 22 – Reading Is My SuperPower – REVIEW
January 23 – The Editing Pen – AUTHOR GUEST POST
January 24 – Cozy Up With Kathy – REVIEW
January 25 – Escape With Dollycas Into A Good Book – SPOTLIGHT
January 26 – Sarah Can’t Stop Reading Books – REVIEW
January 27 – Maureen’s Musings – SPOTLIGHT
January 28 – Frugal Freelancer – SPOTLIGHT
Elena Hartwell | Elena Taylor
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