Leanne Olson

by Anastasia Hastings, narrated by Mia Hutchinson-Shaw

Releasing February 16, 2023 from Dreamscape Media / St. Martin’s Press

Of Manners and Murder is a very fun cozy mystery that feels like Murder, She Wrote set in London in 1885.

The story begins with our heroine Violet taking over for her aunt in writing the Miss Hermione advice column.  Violet’s a headstrong and brave young woman who isn’t interested in finding a husband or societal gossip.  When she reads a letter from a writer who is later murdered, the adventure-loving Violet decides to solve Ivy’s murder.

The book is just as silly and fun as you’d expect.  Violet questions suspects throughout Ivy’s small town and begins to uncover their secrets.  Along the way, she meets an American man named Eli and there’s some nice banter and sexual tension there, though it’s not primarily a romance.

The mystery itself was fun and though I figured it out fairly early on, it was still a lot of fun watching Violet solve it.  I loved her plucky, meddling character.

Mia Hutchinson-Shaw is a great narrator, filling Violet with intelligence and humour.  I didn’t love her chapters as Sephora as much — she played her as very silly and stupid, which was a bit grating.  It’s hard to say how much of that was a text vs. narration issue.

Overall, I loved Of Manners and Murder and I will definitely be continuing with the Dear Miss Hermione series.

🌟🌟🌟🌟 

Thank you to NetGalley and Dreamscape Media for my review copy of this audiobook.