by Nancy Campbell Allen
Publisher : Shadow Mountain (September 7, 2021)
Language : English
Paperback : 336 pages
ISBN-10 : 1629729272
ISBN-13 : 978-1629729275
A romance develops as a detective partners with a lonely-hearts columnist to solve a murder mystery.
London, 1885
Amelie Hampton is a hopeless romantic, which makes her the perfect columnist to answer lonely heart letters in The Marriage Gazette. When Amelie plays matchmaker with two anonymous lonely hearts, she also decides to secretly observe the couple’s blind date. To her surprise, the man who appears for the rendezvous is Harold Radcliffe―a grieving widower and a member of Amelie’s book club.
Police detective Michael Baker has been struggling ever since his best friend and brother-in-law died in the line of fire. Because he knows the dangers of his job, he has vowed never to marry and subject a wife and family to the uncertainty of his profession. But when he meets Miss Hampton, he is captured by her innocence, beauty, and her quick mind.
When a woman’s body is pulled from the river, Michael suspects the woman’s husband―Harold Radcliffe―of foul play. Amelie refuses to believe that Harold is capable of such violence but agrees to help, imagining it will be like one of her favorite mystery novels. Her social connections and clever observations prove an asset to the case, and Amelie is determined to prove Mr. Radcliffe’s innocence. But the more time Amelie and Michael spend together, the more they trust each other, and the more they realize they are a good team, maybe the perfect match.
They also realize that Mr. Radcliffe is hiding more than one secret, and when his attention turns toward Amelie, Michael knows he must put an end to this case before the woman he loves comes to harm.
Amelie Hampton wants to be an independent working girl, but she is still quite a bit naive. She oftentimes finds herself having to rely on others. I liked her character growth through the book and her desire to jump right in to help in different situations.
Detective Michael Baker has lost a lot of people in his life, and it has made him seem cold and really closed off. He spends a lot of time trying to focus on his work instead of his home life.
I found the book club discussion about the most romantic book interesting. Though personally, I have never understood putting Romeo and Juliet or Jane Eyre in that category. I have never found either one romantic.
While this definitely did include a sweet romance, a lot of the book focused on the mystery. It was a lot more about Michael’s work as a detective investigating a murder than Amelie’s job as a matchmaker.
It took me a little bit to get into the book, but I ended up really liking the characters and the mystery. Amelie and Michael really balanced each other out well. I also liked Amelie’s cousins.
Written by Nancy Campbell Allen, Sarah M. Eden, and Annette Lyon
Timeless Novels 