Murder in Berkeley Square

When her plans to spend the holidays with relatives are disrupted by an unexpected snowstorm, Lady Abigail Worthing and her traveling party, which includes her neighbor, Stapleton Henderson, seek refuge at the home of Lord Charles Duncan, a London magistrate with whom Stapleton expected to dine after dropping off Abbie. However, before the group even reaches Duncan's doorstep, they discover the snow-clad body of Benjamin Brooks seated on a bench in Berkley Square. Upon further observation, Abbie and Stapleton discover Benjamin did not die from the cold but rather from a considerable loss of blood now drenching the snow around him. With the stellar third addition to her Lady Worthing mysteries, following Murder in Drury Lane (2023), Riley continues to dazzle readers with an inclusive, vibrantly fashioned historical setting while also gracefully tipping her literary cap to Agatha Christie's And Then There Were None (1940) in the form of a cleverly conceived, closed-circle-of-suspects plot and an inventive Regency-era rhyme standing in for the nursery rhyme Dame Agatha employed in her work.

Riley's immersive if under-plotted third Regency-era cozy featuring Lady Abigail Worthington (after Murder in Drury Lane) finds the mixed-race gumshoe ensnared in a snowy retread of And Then There Were None. On Christmas Eve in 1806, Abigail is preparing to celebrate in the countryside with the Jamaican side of her family. She and her cousin accept a ride to their destination with Abigail's neighbor, Commander Stapleton Henderson, who's on his way to his own get-together at the home of London magistrate Lord Charles Duncan. As a blizzard sets in, the group decides to break their journey at Lord Duncan's, and he grudgingly agrees to put up the young women for the night. Before bed, Abigail discovers the body of a respected barrister in the snow, and she joins forces with Stapleton to determine if the death was accidental. Soon, more invitees to Lord Duncan's party turn up dead, and Abigail must determine if it's the work of an outsider or one of Duncan's powerful guests. The plot mechanics are fairly rote, but Riley seamlessly interweaves edifying insights about the period's racial dynamics. The result is a so-so mystery with a top-shelf atmosphere. Agent: Sarah Elizabeth Younger, Nancy Yost Literary. (Oct.)

Brought together by murder, Lady Worthing and her neighbor Stapleton Henderson are once again involved in a case that may prove the death of them. Abigail Carrington Monroe, Lady Worthing--a half-Jamaican, half-Scottish aristocrat of mixed race--ardently hopes for the abolition of slavery in Britain. She and her cousin Florentina are attempting to cross London to spend Christmas with the Jamaican side of her family when their plans are almost derailed by a major snowstorm. Stapleton, her neighbor and partner in crime-solving, offers to take them in his sturdy carriage providing he can make a stop first in Berkeley Square to beg off a dinner party he was happy to get out of attending. But when they arrive at the home of Lord Duncan, they find the body of barrister Benjamin Brooks covered in blood and snow on a nearby bench. As the storm rages, everyone is forced to stay at Lord Duncan's dinner party, which he calls the Night of Regrets. No love is lost among the guests, who go one by one to their deaths, with Brooks followed by Duncan's valet, a Black man named Peters. The deaths seem to follow the events in "The Rebel's Rhyme," a West Indian poem, part of which was on Stapleton's invitation to the dinner. Even though they're threatened, the men are unimpressed by Abigail's reputation as a sleuth, and solving a series of murders may turn out to be simple compared to managing her personal life. Her seldom-seen husband has written suggesting that she have an affair and a child, and her feelings for Stapleton, a former Navy physician, are fanning the flames. Each death is different and few of the suspects have alibis. Who will remain alive when the poem is completed? Lovers of Agatha Christie will find this puzzle both disturbing and delightful. Copyright (c) Kirkus Reviews, used with permission.