Act Like a Lady, Think Like a Lord

[cornerofmadness]

Act Like a Lady, Think Like a Lord by Celeste Connally

My rating: 4 of 5 stars


Thanks to Netgalley for the ARC of this. It's a 3.5 read for me as from the mid point on I knew exactly where it was going (I read a ton of mysteries and this is not my first one with this plot) That said, I very much enjoyed Lady Petra, her lady-maid Annie, her cousin/friend Caroline and Duncan.

Lady Petra, like many historical mystery heroines, is a straight up feminist (almost a little too modernly so though I appreciate she is not homophobic which matters in this story). Again like many historical mystery heroines she is motherless and her father has indulged her including letting her ride his horses wearing her brother's pants instead of side saddle.

The mystery part takes a while to get going but I definitely predicted it. Petra's friend Gwen died two weeks ago but no one knew this. Feeling hurt and hounded at her father's home in the country by her mother's brother, a total misogynist, Petra attends the Dutchess's ball in London even though she knows she'll run into her former childhood friend, Duncan, the illegitimate child of a lord and grandson to the duke and dutchess whom she fought with three years ago after the death of her betrothed. (and a lot of this is info dumped in chapter one more than I would have expected).

Naturally he's going to be the love interest (though it was done with a too-light of hand imo) and at the ball Petra has to deal with no end of misogyny from both men and women because she declared she would never marry after the loss of her lover. Enter Doctor Drysdale and all too real ease at which troublesome women could be committed to asylums in the 1800s.

We're about half way in before there is a murder related to her friend Gwen's death and Petra with Duncan's help (such as she allows it as she blows hot and cold with him) starts to investigate it because she feels responsible for the murdered servant.

About the only thing I predicted that didn't happen (which I'm glad of) was I expected her underhanded woman hating uncle was going to bump off dad to get control of her and her money because he (like so many of the Ton) believed women shouldn't be allowed to inherit.

Even though it went as expected I still very much enjoyed the characters and hope to see more of them.



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