December 9, 2019
In Lloyd’s skillful seventh Kurland St. Mary mystery (after 2018’s Death Comes to Bath), it’s 1825, and Lady Lucy and Sir Robert Kurland, who are expecting their second child, hire their servant Agnes’s London cousin, Polly Carter, to lend an extra hand. The Kurlands’ two-year-old son loves the strikingly beautiful new nursemaid, but her allure causes conflicts among the men of the household and village. When Polly is strangled, obvious suspects include Kurland Hall’s senior footman and a groom at the local inn, both of whom were seen with her shortly before her death. Then Agnes confesses that the murdered woman wasn’t her cousin but an imposter, who the real Polly Carter asked be hired in her place for unexplained reasons. Playbills left among the victim’s possessions suggest that she may be a London actress who goes by the name Flora Rosa. The tension rises with Robert and Lucy’s visit to London, where their investigation leads from theatrical circles into the private lives of the city’s aristocracy. Lloyd supplies a well-judged mix of domestic dramas and high-society intrigue. Agent: Deirdre Knight, Knight Agency.