A Most Agreeable Murder by Julia Seales - Book Review

Publication Date: 27th June 2023

Genre: Regency Mystery, Romance (ish), Parody  

3.7 Stars 

One Liner: OTT but fun (go with the right expectations) 

Beatrice Steele isn’t the one to follow the etiquette written for a lady. She would rather solve crimes (murders) if she could. But living in Swampshire, a small English township, means she cannot risk things even if most people know she’s an oddball. 

With a prankster for a father and a determined mother, Beatrice decides to tone down her love for murders and help her younger sister Louisa make the match of the year by Mr. Edmund Croaksworth. However, the said most eligible bachelor falls dead in the middle of the ball. 

Stuck inside due to a raging storm, Beatrice suddenly finds herself doing what she always wanted to do- investigate a crime. Of course, she has to work with a grumpy detective, but Beatrice is determined to find the killer. 

The story comes from Beatrice’s third-person POV (mostly), with additional information through other means (letters, script, news articles, etc.) 

As the GR blurb states, it has many elements from Austen’s works and a touch of Christie’s. 

What I Like: 

Well, this is a parody, a farcical take on the Regency Era and the ridiculous rules people had to follow. It exaggerates most elements to make them even more weird and silly. I liked a majority of it, though things get a little too OTT at times. 

The writing style, too, has a generous touch of absurdity. Something that’ll make you roll your eyes if you want serious stuff. Not sure if I would have enjoyed it as much on other days, but I picked this at the right time. 

I love the cover design and the elements on it. From the frogs (Swampshire is full of them) to the book, letter, sword, flowers, a vial, etc., everything finds a place in the story. 

Beatrice and Inspector Drake are interesting characters. Their banter is fun to read. It’s a sort of grumpy sunshine trope, but Beatrice is more of a summer storm. Drake is grumpy with proper justifications. I also like his background, which for a change, seems realistic for the given timeline. 

There is no explicit romance per se, but you get the chemistry to add to the atmosphere. There are other sort-of romantic plots, but it’s not the central focus. This works because we already have too many elements. 

The mystery was easy enough to figure out despite the revelations and twists. There’s one only way it could go, and that’s where it turns. Though Croaksworth doesn’t say adieu until 30%, once the investigation begins, it goes on at a decent pace. 

It combines family drama and closed-door mystery rather well. It’s the kind of premise that will either look great on the screen or make a mess of it. A middle road is unlikely and not preferred. 

Despite a few excessive elements, the humor is pretty neat and easy to read. It may not be funny all the time, but it’s not cringe. At the most, you’ll be bored with the silliness of it, though for me, it is entertaining enough to have a few chuckles. 

PC: Publisher's media kit

What Could Have Been Better for Me: 

I’m all for ridiculous plot elements in satire. I like absurd stuff in my own way. However, a couple of things have no proper explanation and don’t fit in (yeah, I’m referring to Mary). 

Some elements are dealt with with a heavy hand, which takes away from the intent and reduces the impact. Even in such books, a bit of dry humor is necessary to balance out the OTT-ness. 

Mr. Grub is character readers will love to hate. That’s his sole purpose in the book. But I could do without all that snot. Eww! Captain Pete’s speech style (all his sea metaphors) and Daniel’s rhyming quotes are not really funny. 

To summarize, A Most Agreeable Murder is a satirical take on regency and mystery tropes. It is a funny, trope-y, and lighthearted novel to enjoy on a lazy afternoon. I hope this would be a duology or a trilogy to answer a few questions and give us more of Beatrice and Drake. 

Thank you, NetGalley and Random House Publishing Group, for the eARC.  

#NetGalley #AMostAgreeableMurder

***

P.S.: Start the book with the right expectations. It’s not a Regency mystery (and there isn’t anything serious about it, though it provides some food for thought). It’s a parody of it, so things will border on ridiculous. I enjoyed the book more as I was prepared for this.