Review & Guest Post - - Farewell Blues - - Birthday Giveaway #16

Farewell Blues

by Maggie Robinson

Lady Adelaide Mysteries - Book 4

Publisher: Poisoned Pen Press

Release Date: September 14, 2021

Reviewed by PJ

The Society Scandal of the Season...

Lady Adelaide Compton had prepared herself to say goodbye forever to Detective Inspector Devenand Hunter. It would be a welcome relief not to get mixed up in any more murders, even if it meant never working alongside the handsome detective again...wouldn't it?

But then Addie's prim and proper mother, Constance, the Dowager Marchioness of Broughton, is accused of murdering her secret lover, and there can't be enough gentlemen detectives on hand to find the truth. The dead Duke of Rufford appeared to lead a blameless life, but appearances can be deceiving. And unless Addie and Dev work together, Constance will hang—which is no one's idea of a happy ending.

PJ's Thoughts:

If you've been following my reviews, you know how very much I've enjoyed the first three books in this delightfully entertaining, cozy mystery series. Maggie Robinson brings Addie's journey to a close with this fourth, and final, book in the series and I admit, I've grown immensely fond of these characters (yes, even Rupert). However, as difficult as it may be to bid them adieu, surely Rupert has done enough to earn his wings by now and Addie should be able to joyfully live out her life without her late husband looking over her shoulder. But first, there's another murder mystery to solve and this time Addie's mother is at the heart of it. How ironic that Dev is the one Addie's mother turns to when all of London is convinced of her guilt. 

Farewell Blues is another page turner that, once I began reading, was impossible to put down. Humorous, suspenseful, witty, and poignant, this story was a wonderful farewell to one of my favorite recent series. The mystery is tightly plotted with a myriad of twists, turns, and possible suspects that kept me guessing (about both the murder and Dev and Addie's HEA) right up until the reveal. If you've been reading the series, you know there are also a couple secondary (potential) couples who have also been traveling a twisty path. Never fear, Robinson neatly ties up all three relationships in a manner that left me sighing happily. 

The mystery in each of the four books of this series stands alone so you don't have to read the books in order. However, to watch Addie's evolution play out in real time, as well as the progression of her relationship with Dev, and the ghostly Rupert, you may want to begin with book one: Nobody's Sweetheart Now. Whichever way you choose to read them, I predict you will have a rollicking good time! 

I'll also add that I don't know what Robinson has planned next but I do hope she will return to this cozy mystery genre at some point. She clearly has a gift for this type of writing. 

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Singing the Blues

by Maggie Robinson

 

Thanks so much to PJ and the Romance Dish for having me on this bittersweet occasion. Farewell Blues is the fourth and final Lady Adelaide Mystery, and I’m kind of sad about it. I’ve been with the same characters through four books, and I’ll really miss them. When I was writing four different historical romance series, the cast changed for each book/novella. As much as I loved all thirty-two (!) heroes and heroines, Addie, Dev and Rupert have worked their way indelibly into my heart.

People always ask, “Where do you get your ideas?” and I can honestly say I haven’t a clue. This is not so great for a mystery writer, LOL. I always wanted to write cozies (no suspenseful tension or gore for this scaredy cat), but wasn’t sure I could plot one. I usually never plotted anything, just sat down at the computer and…stuff happened.

That was fine for my romances, but mysteries need more structure. Like Hansel and Gretel, somebody needs to drop the clue breadcrumbs through the forest. Somebody has to be the baddie. Somebody else has to look like the baddie to trick you, gentle reader. Somebody else, poor thing, has to die.

Much to my surprise—and Addie’s—her husband Rupert turned up on the first page of Nobody’s Sweetheart Now, and Rupert was already dead. Yes, it seemed I was writing a ghost book, which I hadn’t planned to do at all. I’m not really a paranormal person, but Rupert didn’t care. He was there and I had to deal with it. Which, I think, I did, and had a lot of fun along the way redeeming him. And that was the dilemma. Rupert helped solve murders and saved lives, unbeknownst to handsome Scotland Yard detective Dev Hunter, and became pretty darned efficient. Why wasn’t he on his way to Heaven after all his good deeds? Rupert began to complain, and was justifiably tired of wearing the same pinstriped suit he was buried in through four books.

So the series had to wind up and give him his celestial wings and a fresh set of underwear. And being a reformed romance writer, I thought everyone else needed a happy ending too. So Addie and Dev, her sister Cee, and cheeky maid Beckett all get their HEAs. I hope you’ll agree!

In your opinion, how many books should the “perfect” series have? What’s your favorite long series?

Birthday Giveaway #16:

Today's giveaways are brought to you through the generosity of today's featured author, Maggie Robinson. Thank you, Maggie! Winners will be randomly chosen from comments posted before 11:00 PM, September 18. 

Three book giveaway! 

One commenter will get a signed trade paperback of Farewell Blues (U.S. only).

One commenter will receive a download of Farewell Blues.

One commenter has their choice to download any previous book in the series: Nobody’s Sweetheart Now (Book 1), Who’s Sorry Now? (Book 2), or Just Make Believe (Book 3). All can be read as stand-alones. 

For more info on the Lady Adelaide Mysteries, please visit my website: www.maggierobinson.net Happy reading!

No Maybes About It!

by Anna Campbell

I really need to stop raiding Desire Author Rachel Bailey's bookcases!  She introduced me to the wonderful Three Sisters Island trilogy that formed the subject of last month's Second Helping Review. And now she's given me MAYBE THIS TIME by the fabulous Jennifer Crusie.

I've always had a fondness for ghost stories. If you looked at my bookcase, among all the luscious romances, you'd find a lot of books with titles like CREEPY LONDON GHOST STORIES, THE WORLD'S GREATEST GHOST STORIES, and THE MAMMOTH BOOK OF GHOST ROMANCE.

Hmm, ghosts and romance! Now, you're talking!

I've got such a fondness for ghost stories that I recently wrote one (THESE HAUNTED HEARTS). So that's putting my money where my mouth is!

By the way, MAYBE THIS TIME is a ghost story! ;-)

And a romance!

I'm in heaven. Or wandering lost between two planes of existence...

Andie (Andromeda) Miller is the type of heroine who I think Jenny Crusie does better than pretty much anyone else. She's intelligent, she's strong, she's made the hard choices and she lives with the consequences without whining, and she's got a bodaciously smart mouth. The snarky heroine! A JC specialty!

I like snark when it's not spiteful, and Andie is such fun to spend time with. She greets personal adversity, danger and the supernatural with many a one-liner and because she's brave and funny, you're on her side from the start. She's also got her heart in the right place as well as her head. I was completely charmed! Pun intended.

This story is a modern take on Henry James's famous novella THE TURN OF THE SCREW. I read this in first year uni and haven't read it since, so I have to say my recollection on the details is fairly shaky. But from memory, a young governess goes to an isolated house in England where she discovers two seriously creepy children under the influence of even creepier forces. I'm pretty sure it does not end well!

For me, MAYBE THIS TIME also had elements of JANE EYRE. Governess in creepy circumstances? Yup. And things end up better in MAYBE THIS TIME than they do in THE TURN OF THE SCREW, you'll be pleased to hear. Again, JE rather than TTOTS.

Ten years after her divorce from gorgeous lawyer North Archer, Andie agrees to help with two children to whom North acts as guardian. The children live in a creepy castle in the wilds of Ohio (makes sense in context) and so far any attempts to settle them with a governess have failed. Shades of THE SOUND OF MUSIC. North wants to get the kids to the city where they can lead a normal life including school, but every time anyone tries to remove the children from the castle, awful things happen, including death. He has the feeling that Andie's brand of practical common sense might be just the solution to his problem and he bribes her into accepting the job.

So our intrepid heroine, who has finally decided to move on from her youthful passion for North by getting engaged to writer Will Spenser, ventures into the haunted house. There are lots of fun scenes as she wins over the kids - I like those scenes in THE SOUND OF MUSIC too! There are some suitably creepy old retainers. Can't have a ghost story without a sinister housekeeper or two. And there are plenty of scary moments where the ghosts in the house flex their muscles against the positive force that is Andie.

One of the joys of a Jenny Crusie book is the plotting. She has this wonderful ability to build and build and build and then combine everything together into fireworks at the end. MAYBE THIS TIME is no exception.  There are lots of characters and it's a joy watching them interact to the purpose of comic chaos. In a JC book, there's always at least one great comic setpiece. It starts out quietly but the crescendo goes on and on, with more and more characters getting involved, until everything comes to an uproarious ending. The comic setpiece in this one shows Andie ending up as host over a single evening to psychics, TV reporters, Andie's fiance, ghosts, and the man she's never forgotten. I always catch my breath in awe at the beautiful construction of these scenes. Juggling a crowd of people is a pain when you're writing! And Crusie makes it all look so effortless. There's certainly an element of slapstick but it's really clever slapstick. Love it.

I haven't talked much about the hero of this one. Partly because for much of the book, while North is present in spirit (if not quite in the same way as the ghosts!), he's not on the page. He's again a familiar figure from Crusie's output - the gorgeous frat boy who hides hidden complexity and finds himself drawn to the dark side in the form of the snarky heroine. It's pretty clear from the start that he still loves Andie and it's pretty clear that she still loves him. The end of the journey is never in doubt, but the journey is huge fun, with a few scary moments along the way. Comedy and suspense are a difficult mix to bring off right but MAYBE THIS TIME succeeds in spades!

Are you a Jenny Crusie fan? Do you have a favorite? Do you like a touch of paranormal with your romances outside the full-scale paranormal genre? Do you like a smart-mouthed heroine?