A Most Agreeable Murder

In this action-packed debut comedy of manners and murder, a young woman assumes the extremely inappropriate position of investigator after a wealthy bachelor dies dead at a party.

tenacious and ardent According to the rigid code of conduct that governs Swampshire, her little English township, Beatrice Steele has never been a proper lady since she is horribly lousy at needlework, has no musical skill at all, and creates artwork that is so awful that it scares people. She does, however, lead a very contented existence with her cunning father, manipulative mother, and two younger sisters, the lovely Louisa and the forgettable Mary. She keeps a sinister secret, though: she is completely engrossed in the true crime stories that appear in the newspaper. She would be permanently exiled from respectable society and labeled a morbid weirdo if anyone in her etiquette-obsessed neighborhood discovered.

She has determined to put her obsession behind her for the sake of her family. Since Edmund Croaksworth, an eligible bachelor, is scheduled to attend the upcoming fall gala, the Steele family is hoping Louisa will win his heart. If not, the family's estate will be inherited by their repugnant cousin Martin Grub, and they will either be destroyed or, worse still, forced to go to France. Beatrice has to act appropriately, which is challenging when an attractive but disgraced investigator unexpectedly shows up at the event.

In the midst of a minuet, Beatrice is the only one keeping everything together as Croaksworth passes away. The evening devolves into a flurry of terror, betrayal, and panic as it becomes evident that they are stuck with a murderer while a storm rages outside. Despite the intense card games, complex tonics, and notorious squelch holes in Swampshire, Beatrice needs to put her own desires and justice above politeness and etiquette before anybody else gets killed.