The Cozy Mysteries of Andrea Penrose

I am always thrilled to discover a talented author with a series I haven't yet read. I buy the back list and settle down for hours of enjoyable reading.

This year, I discovered Andrea Penrose and her two cozy mystery series set in Regency London. If you are fans of Tasha Alexander's Lady Emily series, Deanna Raybourn's Lady Julia Grey series and Veronica Speedwell series, and Anna Lee Huber's Lady Darby series, you will love Andrea's books. I love the cast, the setting, and the plots. I forgive the few crutch words such as conundrum, dastard, and snick snick. Writers all have them. Mine changed with each book.

The first book I read was Murder on Black Swan Lane from Penrose's Wrexford and Sloane series. The cast is unique. The lady sleuth, artist Charlotte Sloane, secretly skewers popular society with her pointed lampoons. The Earl of Wrexford is a gentleman scientist. A creative crime-solving posse makes or breaks a cozy series in my opinion and this series has one of the most delightful. Charlotte has adopted two street rats, Hawk and Raven. Wrexford has worthy allies in his valet Tyler and housekeeper McClellan.Then there are Wrexford's friends Sheffield and Cordelia. Finally, there is Henning, the doctor who performs postmortems. Thanks to run-ins with a Bow Street Runner, Mr. Griffin, they are never short of mysteries to solve. There are currently seven titles in this series and I hope it continues long into the future.

The newest Wrexford & Sloan will be released  September 26, 2023 

https://www.amazon.com/Murder-Merton-Library-Wrexford-Mystery-ebook/dp/B0BRDLJHQL/

When I finished the Wrexford and Sloane series, I embarked on the Lady Arianna Hadley series. Thanks to her disgraced aristocratic father, Arianna had quite the swashbuckling past. Removing them from the strictures of polite society makes her characters far more interesting. Arianna is a master of disguise with a talent for mathematics. She returns to England to get revenge. Her love of chocolate makes her a suspect in poisoning the Prince Regent which brings her into contact with the Earl of Saybrook, an expert on chocolate tasked to find the culprit. I love the extended cast in this series too. The couple becomes embroiled in many cases to save the fate of the country thanks to their spymaster frenemy, Lord Percival Grentham. Saybrook’s great aunt Constantina, the dowager Marchioness of Sterling, is a fun member of the sleuthing team too. They gather enemies and allies throughout the seven book (hopefully continuing) series. My only complaint is that it makes me crave chocolate.

Lady Ariana's seventh mystery was released on March 22, 2022:
https://www.amazon.com/Swirl-Shadows-Arianna-Regency-Mystery-ebook/dp/B09MY8P6MW

So grab a cup of your favorite hot beverage, be it tea or cocoa or coffee, and settle down for an enjoyable adventure in the story worlds of Andrea Penrose.

Hint: Books make great gifts.

Andrea Penrose Books on Amazon
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Andrea Penrose on Twitter 

Andrea's Website http://andreapenrose.com/

A Few of My Favorite Cozy Mysteries

Books make great gifts.

This week, I am over on the Blood Red Pencil discussing my favorite new find of 2021: Andrea Penrose and her cozy historical mysteries: the Wrexford & Sloane series and the Lady Arianna Hadley series. Both are at the top of my cozy favorites list which includes Deanna Raybourn, Anna Lee Huber, and Tasha Alexander. 

https://bloodredpencil.blogspot.com/2021/11/andrea-penrose-and-art-of-cozy-mystery.html

I love the English settings, creative casts, original sleuths, and satisfying plots with just a small dash of Romance, just the way I like it.

In the Wrexford & Sloane series, The Earl of Wrexford and lampoonist Charlotte Sloane tackle cases involving the threat of Napoleon to the security of England. They have a wonderful raggle taggle posse which includes two street rats and a couple of well trained domestic servants.

The swashbuckling Lady Arianna is a master of disguise with a talent for mathematics and a love of chocolate. She returns to England to get revenge disguised as a cook. Her love of chocolate makes her a suspect in poisoning the Prince Regent which brings her into contact with a chocolate expert, the Earl of Saybrook, which sends them off together to save Prince and country.

Follow Andrea Penrose on  Amazon: 

https://www.amazon.com/Andrea-Penrose/e/B00E5SKHB0

In which I praise Tasha Alexander, Anna Lee Huber, Deanna Raybourn, and Jacqueline Lapore. If anyone knows what happened with Ms. Lapore I would love to know. Her books are amazing but there are only two in the series. I would love to find more books by her.

http://dianahurwitz.blogspot.com/2014/12/a-few-of-my-favorite-things-too.html

Veronica Speedwell is a world traveler with a love of scientific inquiry and butterflies. She partners with Stoker, a reclusive and bad-tempered natural historian with a passion for taxidermy, to solve mysteries together.

Lady Julia Grey is suspected of killing her husband and is investigated by Nicholas Brisbane, private inquiry agent. Together they solve the mystery of her husband's demise and partner up for future investigations of the romantic and murder kind.

Follow Deanna Raybourn on Amazon: 

https://www.amazon.com/Deanna-Raybourn/e/B001H6IPEY

World War I widow and secret service agent, Verity Kent is determined to prove that her husband was not a traitor. Spoiler alert: she learns Sidney is in fact alive and they are thrown into multiple cases involving veterans and state secrets.

In The Anatomist's Wife series, Lady Darby, forced to illustrate the grisly works of her her abusive anatomist husband, flees to Scotland after he dies. But when a murder is committed Kiera is dragged in to the investigation along with inquiry agent Sebastian Gage. Thus begins their mystery solving adventures.

Follow Anna Lee Huber on Amazon: 

https://www.amazon.com/Anna-Lee-Huber/e/B007G2ODGM

Newly widowed Lady Emily, lover of languages and antiquities, must solve the mystery of her husband's demise with the enigmatic  investigator Sebastian Gage. The two of them traverse the globe in this fifteen book series solving murders.

Follow Tasha Alexander on Amazon:

 https://www.amazon.com/Tasha-Alexander/e/B001H9XR12/

In Descent into Dust and Immortal with a Kiss, a Gothic thriller series, Emma Andrews is a vampire slayer who travels to a girl's school to confront her nemesis Dracula.

Follow Jacqueline Lepore on Amazon:

https://www.amazon.com/Jacqueline-Lepore/e/B002IYV6XQ

I give all of these books five stars and recommend pairing them with a hot beverage of your choice be it coffee, tea, or cocoa.

Books look very nice wrapped and under a Christmas tree or as a stocking stuffer added to one's reading device via gift card.

Stay tuned for more of my book recommendations for the holiday season.