A Fiancée's Guide to First Wives and Murder (Countess of Harleigh Mystery #4) by Dianne Freeman will be published on July 27th 2021 by Kensington Publishing Corp.
Frances Wynn is in the midst of planning her wedding to George Hazelton when a woman claiming to be George's wife shows up at her door. Irena also claims to be the daughter of a Russian noble and his English lover. She also claims that she is being stalked and that her life is in danger. Refusing to believe that George is married to this woman, Frances comes to the conclusion that Irena is either crazy or lying about her identity for attention. George is able to set the record straight—he is not married to Irena but she is the illegitimate daughter of a Romanov—but not before rumors spread through the English aristocracy and threaten to ruin France's and George's relationship. The gossip only get worse when Irena is founded murdered in France's garden. Frances and George must work together to prove that neither of them killed Irena and find the real killer before their reputations are ruined.
I am a big fan of the Countess of Harleigh Mystery series, and A Fiancée's Guide to First Wives and Murder is a great addition to the series. France's confidence and independence as a widow is late 1890s England has grown and matured from the first novel. Her relationship with her neighbor and occasional investigative partner, George Hazelton, has also developed nicely. The two are engaged and their wedding is eminent. Secondary characters from the other three novels also play a role in A Fiancée's Guide to First Wives and Murder. Aunt Hetty is one of my favorite characters, and it is nice to see the development of her character as well as some of the other characters.
Overall, I enjoyed A Fiancée's Guide to First Wives and Murder. It was a fast-paced novel with a fascinating victim and several red herrings and misdirection. Irena had made a number of enemies as an actress and consummate liar, and her father also has a fair share of enemies who would go after his daughter in an attempt to hurt him. I strongly recommend the Countess of Harleigh Mystery series to anyone looking for a historical cozy series.
Thanks to NetGalley and the publisher for the ARC.