A Terribly Nasty Business by Julia Seales - Book Review

Series: Beatrice Steele #2

Publication Date: 24th June 2025 

Genre: Historical Cozy Mystery 

3.5 Stars 

One Liner: Mindless fun but with important themes 

After solving a murder (in the previous book), Beatrice Steele feels like things are finally falling into place. She relocated from Swampshire to London with her trusted chaperone, Miss Bolton. Beatrice and Inspector Drake start their detective agency, D.S. Investigations. However, the elusive Sir Huxley is still considered the only real detective in the city. 

When a string of murders put her and her investigating partner in the middle of a mess, Beatrice must survive the threats on their lives, the disturbances in their partnership, the pressure from her mother to marry well, and a lot more! 

The story comes in Beatrice’s third-person POV with snippets like news articles, letters, notes, etc. 

My Thoughts: 

Well, in a way, it’s not different from the previous book. But it becomes a bit darker. I would recommend starting at the beginning. This series is an OTT farcical blend of Austen and Christie’s works. So, you have a P&P-type set-up with a murder mystery. 

The writing style is quirky, satirical, and fun. Maybe not as fun as book one, but it is still good. I laughed out loud many times at the deliberate absurdity of the situation. 

Since the FMC moved from Swampshire to Sweetbriar in London, frogs have been replaced by… flying squirrels. Not as fun, sadly, but deadlier! 

I like the themes, though. Suppression of arts and artists, the noblemen trying to control society with restrictions, banning arts, gender bias, vehemently opposing women’s freedom, etc., are central to the plot. However, the book doesn’t feel preachy or heavy, thanks to the lighthearted writing style. 

The mystery starts on an interesting note. Since it is a cozy book, you can easily figure out the twists and reveals before the main characters. But the pacing is good, so you don’t have to wait long for them to catch up. 

Beatrice seems uncertain and tentative in the new setting. While it aligns with the plot changes, I did miss her spunk from book one. Luckily, she gets back on track towards the end. 

There’s the dreaded love triangle, which wasn’t too bad due to the lingering comic presence. It seems to have been sorted to an extent. I can only hope there won’t be a curveball in the next book. 

That ending is a perfect bait for book #3! I’m so curious about what will happen. As long as there won’t be unwanted complications in the love track, I’ll be eager for the next installment. 

Oh, the comedy quotient is a bit less in the second half as the seriousness increases. I never thought I’d say this, but I miss Mary (we get updates about her, don’t worry)! We still don’t have any explanation, though there are many clues. 

To summarize, A Terribly Nasty Business indeed deals with a terribly nasty business of murders, control, and infuriating men with a generous dose of silliness and fun. Rounding up since it was entertaining. 

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

#NetGalley #ATerriblyNastyBusiness