Death Comes to Kurland Hall by Catherine Lloyd

Death Comes to Kurland Hall is the third book in a Regency romance-mystery series. I very much enjoyed the first two books. The third is not quite as good but still kept my attention. 

The tame Austen-like romance is more front and center than the mystery, and the language and behavior are probably too modern for a purist. For example, Lucy Harrington, the rector's daughter, thinks mildly about the fact that her father is sleeping with his cook, and the servants are insolent and familiar. The modern language and behavior can be jarring.

Lucy and Major Kurland have a Beatrice and Benedick-like relationship, which is sometimes taken to extreme lengths. While an extremely unlikeable woman lays dead at the bottom of the stairs at Kurland Hall, Major Kurland and Miss Harrington bicker over the body before calling for help.

The dialog is sometimes quite repetitive, and a red herring regarding the identity of the murder was too red. It was easy for me to see the person was not the murderer. I guessed the identity of the murderer early and found the person's motivation and behavior not in character with the person as presented and developed by the author.

The romance is sweet and satisfying for lovers of proper romance, but the resolution of the mystery was not believable. Still, I will read the next book in the series and hope it returns to the level of the first two.

I recommend Death Comes to Kurland Hall for those interested in the continuing relationship between Major Kurland and Lucy Harrington. The first book in the series is Death Comes to the Village. The first two books are available at the Galesburg Public Library, and the third will be when it is published in late November.

I read an advance reader copy of Death Comes to Kurland Hall.