Project and content management for Contemporary Authors volumes
WORK TITLE: The Reluctant Cowboy
WORK NOTES:
PSEUDONYM(S):
BIRTHDATE:
WEBSITE: http://www.katepearce.com/
CITY:
STATE: HI
COUNTRY:
NATIONALITY:
https://www.amazon.com/Kate-Pearce/e/B002BLS9UE
RESEARCHER NOTES:
PERSONAL
Born 1963, in England; married; children: four.
EDUCATION:Degree in history.
ADDRESS
CAREER
Writer. British Civil Service, former staff.
WRITINGS
Also author of the novel Tempting a Sinner. Contributor to omnibus volumes, including Happy is the Bride, Center Point Large Print, 2017.
SIDELIGHTS
Kate Pearce was born in England, where she earned her degree in history before joining the British Civil Service. Pearce then moved to the United States with her husband and four children, where she decided to revisit her own childhood love of storytelling. Pearce soon began publishing romance novels under her own name, as well as under the pseudonym Catherine Pearce. Under either name, Pearce’s work is known for drawing on her historical background, and many of her books are set in the Regency era. While set in times where traditional gender roles are fairly constricted, Pearce often portrays characters who struggle to break the mold. She is the author of several series, including the “House of Pleasure” series, the “Tudor Vampire Chronicles” and the “Morgan Ranch” Series. Under her pseudonym, Pearce has published such serials as the “Mandrake Falls” series, the “Dark Redeemer” series, the “Windemere Hall” series, and the “Mark of Caine” series.
The “Kurland St. Mary Mysteries,” also written under the Lloyd pseudonym, begins with the 2013 novel Death Comes to the Village and continues with the 2014 novel Death Comes to London. The third installment, Death Comes to Kurland Hall, was released in 2015, and it was followed by Death Comes to the Fair in 2016. Death Comes to the School, the fifth addition to the “Kurland St. Mary Mysteries” came out in 2017. Set during the Regency era in in the English village of Kurland St. Mary, the series combines mystery and romance, all while following the adventures and misadventures of Miss Lucy Harrington and Major Robert Kurland.
Death Comes to the Village
In Death Comes to the Village, Major Robert Kurland is chair bound after a leg injury sustained at the Battle of Waterloo. His childhood friend, Miss Lucy Harrington, often stops by to check on him and help him around on the house. When Lucy next visits, Robert tells her that he saw someone outside his house the other night; and the unknown person was carrying something large and heavy. Both Robert and Lucy think the event is curious, but when a series of curious events follows, Lucy is sure that their tiny village is in the midst of a crime wave. A maid has gone missing from the rectory, shops and homes are being robbed, so Lucy and Robert decide to investigate. The staff and gentry are reluctant to help a woman and a cripple, but Lucy and Robert persevere, and their friendship begins to blossom into something more.
Reviews of Death Comes to the Village were largely positive, and Criminalelement.com correspondent Victoria Janssen remarked: “I particularly enjoyed how the barriers Lucy faces are tied into the expectations of the historical society in which she lives. That bodes well for the series, as these issues will not go away, and will provide ongoing and hopefully evolving character tension to go along with the mystery plots.” Indeed, according to a Publishers Weekly critic, “readers will hope that death returns soon to Kurland St. Mary.” As an online Historical Novel Society contributor put it, there are “enough loose ends are left dangling to ensure readers will want to see what happens. Barbara Clark, writing in BookPage Online, was also impressed, and she stated that “a nicely drawn supporting cast, including a pouting fiancé, a yucky curate, a selfish father and a dangerous town drunk, fills out the pages of this well-drawn, grown-up cozy and sets the stage for future series entries with these colorful characters.” While a Kirkus Reviews correspondent felt that this “Jane Austen imitation that doesn’t omit a single cliche of the genre,” it does “generate a few sparks worthy of Darcy and Elizabeth.” Amy Alessia in Booklist offered even more positive praise, asserting: “Lloyd combines a satisfying mystery with plenty of wit and character development.”
Death Comes to Kurland Hall
Lucy’s and Robert’s adventures in Death Comes to Kurland Hall begin as the newly minted couple returns from a trip to London. Rector Harrington, who also happens to be Lucy’s father, is about to perform a wedding for one of Lucy’s friends. He’s also planning to enter into nuptials of his own, and everyone is surprised by his choice. The rector is engaged to a known blackmailer, there widow Maria Chingford. Lucy is intent on stopping her father’s marriage, but when Maria is found dead at the foot of a staircase, Lucy becomes the prime suspect. Emily Fairfax, a relation of Robert’s estate manage is also found dead, and her body is found with a letter confessing to Maria’s murder. While the staff and gentry accept the case on face value, Lucy and Robert are sure that something more nefarious is at work.
“Though implausibilities mar the plotting,” a Publishers Weekly reviewer advised, “the protagonists’ romantic power struggles are as appealing as ever.” A Kirkus Reviews critic was equally laudatory, calling Death Comes to Kurland Hall “a saucy tale of love and murder, Regency style.”
Death Comes to the Fair
In Death Comes to the Fair, Lucy and Robert are preparing for their wedding, but social forces and family expectations are getting in the way. Lucy’s family wants a large wedding in London, but she and Robert would prefer a small ceremony at home. As they navigate the tension between their own wishes and social pressure, Robert agrees to judge the vegetable competition at the village fair. When he unwittingly awards the lion share of the prizes to the town verger, Lucy is sure the faux pas will stir up jealousy and resentment. Sure enough, the verger is found dead soon after.
Like its predecessors, Death Comes to the Fair fared well with critics, and an online A Million Kindle Books website correspondent stated that the novel “will manage to keep you riveted and turning the pages. I finished the book in almost one sitting and it is definitely a must read for cozy mystery lovers.” In the words of a Susan Coventry Blog contributor, the novel offers “a slow build, but the pace picks up and then you won’t want to put the book down until the clues all fall into place and the intrepid pair are back on solid footing.” The contributor then went on to note that “this series continues to entertain and I’ll be waiting impatiently for book five.”
BIOCRIT
PERIODICALS
Booklist, December 1, 2013, Amy Alessia, review of Death Comes to the Village; November 15, 2016, Amy Alessio, review of The Reluctant Cowboy.
Kirkus Reviews, November 15, 2013, review of Death Comes to the Village; September 15, 2015, review of Death Comes to Kurland Hall.
Publishers Weekly, October 11, 2010, review of Lords of Passion; October 14, 2013, review of Death Comes to the Village; October 27, 2014, review of Death Comes to London; October 5, 2015, review of Death Comes to Kurland Hall; October 10, 2016, review of The Reluctant Cowboy; April 24, 2017, review of Happy is the Bride.
ONLINE
A Million Kindle Books, http://amillionkindlebooks.com/ (January 9, 2017), review of Death Comes to the Fair.
Blogger Girls, https://thebloggergirls.com/ (June 15, 2014), review of Simply Sexual.
BookPage Online, https://bookpage.com/ (December 6, 2013), Barbara Clark, review of Death Comes to the Village.
Catherine Lloyd Website, http://www.catherine-lloyd.com (July 20, 2017).
Criminalelement.com, https://www.criminalelement.com/ (November 24, 2013), Victoria Janssen, review of Death Comes to the Village.
Dear Author, http://dearauthor.com/ (September 28, 2009), review of Simply Wicked; (May 10, 2010), review of Simply Insatiable.
Historical Novel Society, https://historicalnovelsociety.org/ (February 1, 2014), review of Death Comes to the Village.
Kate Pearce Website, https://www.katepearce.com/ (July 20, 2017).
Susan Coventry Blog, http://susancoventry.blogspot.com/ (November 4, 2016), review of Death Comes to the Fair.*
Series
Tudor Vampire Chronicles
1. Kiss of the Rose (2010)
2. Blood of the Rose (2011)
3. Mark of the Rose (2011)
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Morgan Ranch
1. The Reluctant Cowboy (2016)
2. The Maverick Cowboy (2017)
3. The Last Good Cowboy (2017)
4. The Bad Boy Cowboy (2017)
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Christmas at Castle Keyvnor (with Jane Charles and Elizabeth Essex)
4. Tempted at Christmas (2017)
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Novels
Happy Is the Bride (2017) (with Janet Dailey, Cat Johnson and Lori Wilde)
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Collections
Lords of Passion (2010) (with Virginia Henley and Maggie Robinson)
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Series contributed to
Year Without a Duke
1. Jilted in January (2016)
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Haunting of Castle Keyvnor (with Deb Marlowe and Michelle Willingham)
2. Bedeviled (2016)
Under pseudonym Catherine Lloyd
Series
Kurland St. Mary Mysteries
1. Death Comes to the Village (2013)
2. Death Comes to London (2014)
3. Death Comes to Kurland Hall (2015)
4. Death Comes to the Fair (2016)
5. Death Comes to the School (2017)
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Mandrake Falls
1. The Jilting (2014)
2. Lie For Me (2014)
3. The Way Home (2014)
4. Love Rising (2015)
Mandrake Falls Romance: Four Seasons Boxed Set (omnibus) (2015)
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Dark Redeemer
1. Wanton (2014)
2. Wastrel (2014)
3. Traitor (2015)
4. Soldier (2015)
Dark Redeemer Historical Romance (omnibus) (2015)
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Windemere Hall Trilogy
1. Betrothed (2016)
2. Betrayed (2016)
3. Beguiled (2016)
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Mark of Caine Trilogy
1. Hidden in the Shadows (2016)
2. Whispers in the Shadows (2016)
3. Revealed in the Mist (2016)
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Victorian Villains
1. Windemere Hall (2016)
2. Mark of Caine (2016)
3. The Master of Cliff House (2016)
4. Wracker's Cove (2017)
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Master of Cliff House
1. Love Torn (2016)
2. Love Lost (2016)
3. Love Conquered (2016)
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Novels
The Pirate Lord (2017)
New York Times and USA Today bestselling author Kate Pearce was born in England in the middle of a large family of girls and quickly found that her imagination was far more interesting than real life. After acquiring a masters degree in history and barely escaping from the British Civil Service alive, she moved to California and then to Hawaii with her kids and her husband and set about reinventing herself as a romance writer.
She writes the hot stuff for Kensington Aphrodisia, Random House UK Rouge Romance, Ellora's Cave and Cleis Press and is known for both her unconventional heroes and her joy at subverting romance cliches about exactly who gets into bed with whom. In her spare time she self publishes science fiction erotic romance, historical romance and whatever else she can imagine. She also writes for Signet Eclipse and Carina Press.
You can find Kate at her website at http://www.katepearce.com, on Facebook as Kate Pearce, and on Twitter as Kate4queen
Join her newsletter for more up to date information. The link is on the website. :)
NYT and USA Today bestselling author Kate Pearce was born in England in the middle of a large family of girls and quickly found that her imagination was far more interesting than real life. After acquiring a degree in history and barely escaping from the British Civil Service alive, she moved to California and then to Hawaii with her kids and her husband and set about reinventing herself as a romance writer.
She is known for both her unconventional heroes and her joy at subverting romance clichés. In her spare time she self publishes science fiction erotic romance, historical romance, and whatever else she can imagine. You can find Kate on Facebook as Kate Pearce, and on Twitter as Kate4queen.
Catherine Lloyd grew up in London, England in the middle of a large family of girls. She quickly decided her imagination was a wonderful thing and was often in trouble for making stuff up. She finally worked out she could make a career out of this when she moved to the USA with her husband and four children and began writing fiction. With a background in historical research and a love of old-fashioned mysteries, she couldn't resist the opportunity to wonder what a young Regency Miss Marple might be like, and how she would deal with a far from pleasant hero of the Napoleonic wars.
You can find Catherine Lloyd's website at http://www.catherine-lloyd.com
Happy is the Bride
264.17 (Apr. 24, 2017): p75.
Copyright: COPYRIGHT 2017 PWxyz, LLC
http://www.publishersweekly.com/
Happy Is the Bride
Lori Wilde, Janet Dailey, Cat Johnson, and
Kate Pearce. Zebra, $7.99 mass market
(384p) ISBN 978-1-4201-4262-4
Set against the backdrop of Ellie and Brady's cowboy wedding, this contemporary romance anthology is chock-full of cliches, starting with four couples who meet at the wedding. There are some nice twists, such as Air Force pilot Shane serving as Ellie's man of honor and wealthy rancher Meg as Brady's best woman. Shane and Meg are both skeptical about how quickly Ellie and Brady fell in love, but all it takes for them to believe is a tornado. City girl falling for country boy is standard romance fare, but it feels fresh when Austin wedding planner Erin and ranch hand Tanner grouse to each other about how they don't understand millennials. California sheriff Nate is lightning-struck by love when he meets photographer Delia, but to make their romance work they need the help of a fairy godmother disguised as a country I western singer. And horse breeder Lincoln gets a chance to win back his ex-wife, Tracy, but only if he gives up a three-year supply of tangy barbecued ribs and an excellent bottle of Kentucky bourbon. He doesn't hesitate, but Tracy doubts that Lincoln has truly changed and could be the husband she needs. The lovers' smart repartee is enjoyable, and each couple sizzles with chemistry. There's not a lot of emotional depth, but there are plenty of heart-warming moments for fans of light-hearted fare. (June)
Source Citation (MLA 8th Edition)
"Happy is the Bride." Publishers Weekly, 24 Apr. 2017, p. 75. General OneFile, go.galegroup.com/ps/i.do?p=ITOF&sw=w&u=schlager&v=2.1&id=GALE%7CA491250839&it=r&asid=c6d96dcdb5b4f8ce48bff4ca8ed115ce. Accessed 7 July 2017.
Gale Document Number: GALE|A491250839
The Reluctant Cowboy
Amy Alessio
113.6 (Nov. 15, 2016): p31.
Copyright: COPYRIGHT 2016 American Library Association
http://www.ala.org/ala/aboutala/offices/publishing/booklist_publications/booklist/booklist.cfm
The Reluctant Cowboy. By Kate Pearce. Dec. 2016. 352p. Zebra, paper, $5.99 (9781420140002); e-book, $4.99 (9781420140019).
Contemporary tales with ties to the Old West continue to gain momentum as a popular new romance subgenre. In Pearce's contribution to the trend, the start of her Morgan Ranch series, historian January Mitchell is trying to document the abandoned mine and town on the Morgan property. Chase Morgan returns to the scene of his painful childhood for the first time in years to help his Grandma Ruth. He also wants to convince her to sell. Instead, as he does ranch chores and spends time with January, he realizes how unhappy he has become in his tech startup business. Reconciling with one of his brothers helps give him the courage to make needed changes in his own life as he sees the possibilities in keeping the ranch. Pearce sets up solid main-character arcs and creates good chemistry in a realistic western. While Pearce's descriptions of the ranch will inspire dreams of visiting one, the family secrets are alluring enough to make readers eager for the next book.--Amy Alessio
Source Citation (MLA 8th Edition)
Alessio, Amy. "The Reluctant Cowboy." Booklist, 15 Nov. 2016, p. 31. General OneFile, go.galegroup.com/ps/i.do?p=ITOF&sw=w&u=schlager&v=2.1&id=GALE%7CA473788245&it=r&asid=1fd29404e1e0a72fbd7ea20f536a65e1. Accessed 7 July 2017.
Gale Document Number: GALE|A473788245
The Reluctant Cowboy
263.41 (Oct. 10, 2016): p63.
Copyright: COPYRIGHT 2016 PWxyz, LLC
http://www.publishersweekly.com/
The Reluctant Cowboy
Kate Pearce. Zebra, $5.99 trade paper (352p) ISBN 978-1-4201-4000-2
[ILLUSTRATION OMITTED]
Toxic masculinity oozes from the first book in Pearce's Morgan Ranch series to such an extent that it's not clear whether Pearce has set it up as a plot obstacle or is simply swimming in it herself. At the request of his grandmother, Chase Morgan returns to his family cattle ranch in Northern California, a place he resents because it makes him feel uncomfortable emotions, which he sees as weakness. He decides the best way to stop feeling things will be to convince his grandmother to sell the ranch. Unsurprisingly, she resists, as does historian January Mitchell, who is studying the ranch's history. She wants to make Chase relive his unhappy experiences and work through his feelings rather than running from them. When he offends her, she understandably gets angry, but then she feels bad about it and tries to pacify him. The romantic thread is overwhelmed by Chase's desire to manage everything and everyone, and the offense he feels when he's called out on it. And January's willingness (o make excuses for him and forgive him, especially given that she's recently escaped her manipulative ex-husband, will frustrate readers who think she could do so much better than another overbearing, controlling man. (Dec.)
Source Citation (MLA 8th Edition)
"The Reluctant Cowboy." Publishers Weekly, 10 Oct. 2016, p. 63. General OneFile, go.galegroup.com/ps/i.do?p=ITOF&sw=w&u=schlager&v=2.1&id=GALE%7CA466616177&it=r&asid=7ad487ec705f176c442077d4417bf53f. Accessed 7 July 2017.
Gale Document Number: GALE|A466616177
Lords of Passion
257.40 (Oct. 11, 2010): p31.
Copyright: COPYRIGHT 2010 PWxyz, LLC
http://www.publishersweekly.com/
Lords of Passion
Virginia Henley, Kate Pearce, and Maggie Robinson. Kensington/Brava, $14 trade paper (320p) ISBN 978-0-7582-5107-7
This lively book collects three well-matched historical romance novellas set in England. In Henley's "Beauty and the Brute," high-born teens Charles and Sarah are wedded to settle Charles's father's gambling debts. Mortal enemies on their wedding day, they part for three years, only to reunite as strangers and experience unexpected passion. In Pearce's "How to Seduce a Wife," prim young Louisa March yearns to feel pleasure in the bedroom. Her husband, Nicholas, wants to help her, but doesn't know how. Could a Mayfair madam help them? In Robinson's delicious "Not Quite a Courtesan," a young heiress gets far more than she bargains for when she marries into a family of swindlers short on cash but long on charm. Readers will float away on the literary flair of these escapist tales, each touched with just the right amount of eroticism. (Dec.)
Source Citation (MLA 8th Edition)
"Lords of Passion." Publishers Weekly, 11 Oct. 2010, p. 31. General OneFile, go.galegroup.com/ps/i.do?p=ITOF&sw=w&u=schlager&v=2.1&id=GALE%7CA239530170&it=r&asid=55c074581d6242e426597fb17a51d66f. Accessed 7 July 2017.
Gale Document Number: GALE|A239530170
Death Comes to Kurland Hall
262.40 (Oct. 5, 2015): p36.
Copyright: COPYRIGHT 2015 PWxyz, LLC
http://www.publishersweekly.com/
Death Comes to Kurland Hall
Catherine Lloyd. Kensington, $25 (320p) ISBN 978-0-7582-8737-3
Lloyd's overly complicated third Regency mystery (after 2014's Death Comes to London) finds amateur sleuths Lucy Harrington and Maj. Robert Kurland returning from London to Kurland St. Mary, where Lucy's father, the local rector, is about to preside over the wedding of a friend of Lucy's. Rector Harrington's surprise announcement that he plans to marry widow Maria Chingford, a blackmailer who sells secrets to the London newspapers, sets Lucy devising ways to prevent the match. When Mrs. Chingford's body is found at the bottom of a staircase, almost everyone, including Lucy herself, is a suspect. Then Emily Fairfax, the stepmother of Robert's new estate manager, is found dead near a letter confessing that she killed Mrs. Chingford. As Lucy and Robert, unconvinced, probe the two linked deaths, they must clarify, their feelings for each other as well as a web of other subterfuges. Though implausibilities mar the plotting, the protagonists' romantic power struggles are as appealing as ever. Agent: Deirdre Knight, Knight Agency. (Dec.)
Source Citation (MLA 8th Edition)
"Death Comes to Kurland Hall." Publishers Weekly, 5 Oct. 2015, p. 36+. General OneFile, go.galegroup.com/ps/i.do?p=ITOF&sw=w&u=schlager&v=2.1&id=GALE%7CA431617326&it=r&asid=0de3b42a865f9ba6034aa8aadeb3e14f. Accessed 7 July 2017.
Gale Document Number: GALE|A431617326
Lloyd, Catherine: DEATH COMES TO KURLAND HALL
(Sept. 15, 2015):
Copyright: COPYRIGHT 2015 Kirkus Media LLC
http://www.kirkusreviews.com/
Lloyd, Catherine DEATH COMES TO KURLAND HALL Kensington (Adult Fiction) $25.00 11, 24 ISBN: 978-0-7582-8737-3
A squabbling pair of Regency sleuths is presented with a complicated case. Shortly after they solved a murder while visiting London (Death Comes to London, 2014), Maj. Sir Robert Kurland asked Lucy Harrington for her hand in marriage. She refused him, and now the two are barely speaking. But they're forced to deal with each other once more because Sir Robert has offered his home for use as a venue and guesthouse for Lucy's friend Sophia's wedding to a friend of his. When a nasty gossip is found dead at the bottom of a staircase in his home, both Sir Robert and Lucy are suspicious of the circumstances. Sir Robert had been briefly engaged to the murdered woman's daughter, Penelope Chingford, whose main concern after her mother's death is how she and her sisters will survive. There is also some mystery about the late Mrs. Chingford's relationship to the widowed Emily Fairfax, who's asked Sir Robert's manager, Thomas Fairfax, her husband's illegitimate son, to return home and manage the estate for her own young son. The field of suspects is rich because Mrs. Chingford's snooping and sharp tongue earned her many enemies. Sir Robert and the decidedly independent Lucy investigate together until he alienates her with his overprotective ways. Even then, neither is ready to give up, and they continue to hunt for clues. A saucy tale of love and murder, Regency style.
Source Citation (MLA 8th Edition)
"Lloyd, Catherine: DEATH COMES TO KURLAND HALL." Kirkus Reviews, 15 Sept. 2015. General OneFile, go.galegroup.com/ps/i.do?p=ITOF&sw=w&u=schlager&v=2.1&id=GALE%7CA428372825&it=r&asid=ea62b4438dd0dad17b7ca8659240604b. Accessed 7 July 2017.
Gale Document Number: GALE|A428372825
Death Comes to London
261.43 (Oct. 27, 2014): p74.
Copyright: COPYRIGHT 2014 PWxyz, LLC
http://www.publishersweekly.com/
Death Comes to London
Catherine Lloyd. Kensington, $15 trade paper (304p) ISBN 978-0-7582-8735-9
Set in 1817, Lloyd's engaging follow-up to 2013's Death Comes to the Village takes Lucy Harrington and her younger sister, Anna, from their home in tiny Kurland St. Mary to London. There they hope to find a suitable husband for Anna through the patronage of their uncle, the Earl of Clavelly. Meanwhile, their irascible neighbor, Maj. Robert Kurland, receives a letter from the Prince Regent, who wishes to make him a baronet for his heroism at the Battle of Waterloo. Robert dislikes the prospect of such official recognition, but in the end he follows the Harrington sisters to London, where he soon runs into an old army colleague, Lieutenant Broughton. When Broughton's sharp-tongued grandmother and wastrel brother die under suspicious circumstances after the grandmother is accused of jewel theft, Robert and Lucy investigate. Regency fans will find plenty to like, though some readers may be disappointed by a paltry array of suspects. Agent: Deidre Knight, Knight Agency. (Dec.)
Source Citation (MLA 8th Edition)
"Death Comes to London." Publishers Weekly, 27 Oct. 2014, p. 74. General OneFile, go.galegroup.com/ps/i.do?p=ITOF&sw=w&u=schlager&v=2.1&id=GALE%7CA388565035&it=r&asid=72a9a7ededed1acba0d2c8c185365eb6. Accessed 7 July 2017.
Gale Document Number: GALE|A388565035
Death Comes to the Village
Amy Alessia
110.7 (Dec. 1, 2013): p25.
Copyright: COPYRIGHT 2013 American Library Association
http://www.ala.org/ala/aboutala/offices/publishing/booklist_publications/booklist/booklist.cfm
Death Comes to the Village. By Catherine Lloyd. Dec. 2013. 288p. Kensington, paper, $15 (9780758287335); e-book (9780758287342).
Miss Lucy Harrington runs the busy house of her rector father and many siblings while still finding time to solve a crime in this delightful Regency mystery. She visits with Major Robert Kurland, wounded at Waterloo and confined to his home, who believes he saw someone carrying something heavy outside one night. Then a maid goes missing at the rectory, several households and shops experience thefts, and Lucy and the major begin to connect the dots. Both are busy with personal issues in their homes, but they talk to enough staff and gentry to see a pattern of criminal activity in the neighborhood. Although one of the sleuths is barely mobile and the other is constrained by her gender, the unlikely pair persevere, forming an engaging partnership and promising much for the series. Lloyd combines a satisfying mystery with plenty of wit and character development.--Amy Alessia
Alessia, Amy
Source Citation (MLA 8th Edition)
Alessia, Amy. "Death Comes to the Village." Booklist, 1 Dec. 2013, p. 25. General OneFile, go.galegroup.com/ps/i.do?p=ITOF&sw=w&u=schlager&v=2.1&id=GALE%7CA353751740&it=r&asid=f5da24ced066ea2f414c09bc10eede18. Accessed 7 July 2017.
Gale Document Number: GALE|A353751740
Lloyd, Catherine: DEATH COMES TO THE VILLAGE
(Nov. 15, 2013):
Copyright: COPYRIGHT 2013 Kirkus Media LLC
http://www.kirkusreviews.com/
Lloyd, Catherine DEATH COMES TO THE VILLAGE Kensington (Adult Fiction) $15.00 11, 26 ISBN: 978-0-7582-8733-5
Burglary and a missing person report disrupt the quiet of Kurland St. Mary in 1816. Maj. Robert Kurland may be a hero of the Battle of Waterloo, but his broken leg leaves him helpless as a baby. On a sleepless night, he thinks he sees a dark shadow carrying something to the church. His overly solicitous valet, who saved his life in battle, thinks Kurland was seeing something that wasn't there, thanks to the laudanum that's been easing his pain. Only Lucy Harrington, the rector's oldest daughter, takes Kurland seriously. As a substitute mother for her siblings and a general caregiver to the community, she's already worried since one of her servants has disappeared. Although Lucy doesn't shrink from the less savory aspects of life, her suspicion that one of her brothers might be involved in a series of burglaries is hard to face. She and Kurland collaborate to find out how a snuffbox, an opened grave, an impoverished curate and a jilted lover are linked to what Kurland saw in this slow-paced Jane Austen imitation that doesn't omit a single clich� of the genre, including the sprinkling of freckles across the bridge of Lucy's nose. A Regency Rear Window whose chair-bound hero and the woman who civilizes him generate a few sparks worthy of Darcy and Elizabeth. But even the harder-edged elements of gambling, drug use and suicidal obsession can't set this period debut on fire.
Source Citation (MLA 8th Edition)
"Lloyd, Catherine: DEATH COMES TO THE VILLAGE." Kirkus Reviews, 15 Nov. 2013. General OneFile, go.galegroup.com/ps/i.do?p=ITOF&sw=w&u=schlager&v=2.1&id=GALE%7CA348856426&it=r&asid=72c47a72ada6830324a6dcce4e084b35. Accessed 7 July 2017.
Gale Document Number: GALE|A348856426
Death Comes to the Village
260.41 (Oct. 14, 2013): p40.
Copyright: COPYRIGHT 2013 PWxyz, LLC
http://www.publishersweekly.com/
* Death Comes to the Village
Catherine Lloyd. Kensington, $15 trade paper
(288p) ISBN 978-0-7582-8733-5
Two unlikely allies--Maj. Robert Kurland, who suffered a serious leg injury at the Battle of Waterloo, and his childhood friend and de facto housekeeper, Miss Lucy Harrington--join forces in Lloyd's delightful debut, the first in a Regency series set in the English village of Kurland St. Mary. When Robert spots a person carrying a heavy load near the church one night, he suggests Lucy, the rector's oldest daughter, make some discreet inquiries regarding a spate of recent pilfering. The disappearance of a maidservant is also cause for concern. When Lucy, who resents being constrained because she's a woman, bridles at being denied a more active role in the investigation, Robert's valet and butler try to rein her in. Lucy also must deal with her father's selfishness, her rambunctious twin brothers, the curate's unwelcome admiration, and a beautiful sister whose prospects exceed her own. Readers will hope that death returns soon to Kurland St. Mary. Agent: Deidre Knight, Knight Agency. (Dec.)
Source Citation (MLA 8th Edition)
"Death Comes to the Village." Publishers Weekly, 14 Oct. 2013, p. 40. General OneFile, go.galegroup.com/ps/i.do?p=ITOF&sw=w&u=schlager&v=2.1&id=GALE%7CA349606680&it=r&asid=45d5b672893ab29dfeb6a42522777c8b. Accessed 7 July 2017.
Gale Document Number: GALE|A349606680
September 28, 2009
REVIEW: Simply Wicked by Kate Pearce
JennieBook Reviews / C+ ReviewsErotic-Romance / European-Historical / m/m romance / m/m/f19 Comments
Dear Ms. Pearce,
0758232217.01.LZZZZZZZI wasn’t sure what to expect when I began your latest book, Simply Wicked, not having read you before and having only the vague idea that you write erotic romance, a term that has come to be applied a bit too broadly to provide much useful information for me as a reader. The fourth line from the opening was thus both a bit startling and edifying:
He licked his lips, tasting dried blood, brandy and the acrid tang of another man’s cum.
Ok-ay, then, that clears up the erotic romance part, I guess.
Anthony Sokorvsky is the 25-year-old younger son of an aristocratic family. Marguerite is a widow whose husband, Lord Lockwood, was killed in a duel under scandalous circumstances two years previously. They are brought together when her younger siblings decide that Marguerite needs to get out and circulate and choose Anthony to squire her (he seems an odd choice given that they know him from his frequent appearances at their mother’s brothel).
I felt rather at sea in the early chapters of Simply Wicked – though it is ostensibly set in 1819 London, at times it almost seems like an alternate history or alternate universe London, one where the daughter of a notorious madam can marry a lord and circulate in society with relative ease, and where the sexual pecadilloes of the hero – whose inclinations before meeting the heroine consist of playing the submissive in rough sexual encounters with other men – are openly known and discussed amongst his family, including his mother. I understand that perhaps some of the hyper-charged sexuality of the world you’ve created is due to Simply Wicked being an erotic romance, but when I think of the erotica I’ve read, even set in contemporary times (where attitudes might be expected to be looser), the sexual behavior of the characters tends to take place within a prescribed world.
I think the story would’ve been stronger if the hero and heroine were better developed. There are references to Marguerite’s upbringing in a strict convent orphanage and her desire for her own home and family, but I felt that I was missing some backstory that would’ve fleshed out her character. I had the same reaction to Anthony; it seemed that the book was written with the assumption that readers would have read previous books in the series, and would know how he came to crave punishing and degrading sex with other men.
And about that…as I am not a regular or avid reader of m/m or bdsm romances and/or erotica, I don’t feel qualified to definitively state that the presentation of the the relationship between Anthony and Lord Minshon (Anthony’s chief lover/tormentor/villain; apparently the hero of a future book in the series) was offensive. But it did feel a bit so to me. I will admit that I’ve read enough gay villains in straight romance (no pun intended) to be a little sensitive on the issue. But it does seem that their relationship was problematic in that it introduced a couple of hackneyed and unpleasant cliches: 1) the man who “turns” gay after being raped/sexually abused by another man and 2) the man who must be “saved” from his “perverted” behavior by the love of a good woman, a love that is sanctified only when he is able to dominate her in bed. On the second point, to be fair, it’s clear at the end that Anthony is still interested in kinky stuff (and Marguerite is okay with that herself, so it’s not a problem). I’m not trying to suggest that Marguerite turns Anthony straight. But there are those aspects to the story, and they did make me a little uncomfortable.
I appreciated that the story focused by and large on the emotional developments between Anthony and Marguerite, and each of their journeys to self-acceptance. Towards the end, I began to tire of the excessive self-flagellation that they each indulge in (I guess I should specify I mean emotional self-flagellation, given the subject matter presented in the book). Both of them repeatedly ponder how the other could ever love or forgive them for their misdeeds. It’s annoying when one of the lead characters does this; when they both do it’s just that much more aggravating. At least there were no extraneous suspense plots or mysteries to be solved; the heroine does attempt to discover the truth about her late husband and his death, but it’s a subplot that’s woven fairly skillfully into the story.
I thought the sex scenes were pretty hot, for the most part, and the story was well plotted and flowed smoothly. Ultimately, I wonder if Simply Wicked tried to straddle the line too much between erotica and romance. There is a slightly unbalanced feel in the way that the hero’s sexuality is depicted versus the heroine’s relative innocence (especially given her parentage). When the truth about the circumstances surrounding the death of Marguerite’s husband finally comes out, I rolled my eyes – even in a book as racy as this one, the heroine is expected to retain her essential “purity”? Really?
Despite my complaints, I found some aspects of this story compelling enough that I would be interested in reading one of your future books. The excerpt of Lord Minshon’s story at the end is intriguing, even though I kind of hated him in Simply Wicked. I am concerned that again we have a hero who solely has relationships with other men until the heroine appears (or reappears, in this case). I’m not sure how I feel about that. I would love it if the heroine is given a little more leave to indulge the same behavior as the hero.
My grade for Simply Wicked is a C+.
Best regards,
Jennie
May 10, 2010
REVIEW: Simply Insatiable by Kate Pearce
JennieB- Reviews / Book Reviewsestranged marriage / m/m romance / m/m/f / Regency England2 Comments
Simply Insatiable by Kate PearceDear Ms. Pearce,
I read and reviewed your book Simply Wicked last year and gave it a C+. Since I mentioned in that review that I was interested in reading the series further (in spite of the mediocre grade I gave the book), you were kind enough to offer me Simply Insatiable. I think having read Simply Wicked prepared me for the tone of this story, and thus some of the aspects that troubled me in that book did not concern me in this one. Yet I still find myself having philosophical/political issues with some aspects of the story, much as I did with Simply Wicked. This lead to a somewhat divided reading experience for me; I’m going to try to tackle how the book worked for me on an entertainment level separately from how I feel about the depiction of sexuality in it.
The story opens in London in 1819 with Lord Minshom, the villain of Simply Wicked (who I incorrectly identified as Lord Minshon in my previous review – sorry!) brooding in his study over the hero of that book, with whom he had been engaged in a BDSM relationship (Minshom being dominant). Minshom feels that he has been made a fool of, and that is unacceptable to him. He decides to console himself by ordering his valet/secretary/sex slave, Robert Brown, to perform oral sex on him. It is then that his wife Jane, from whom he has been estranged for the past seven years, sweeps in and announces that she’s come to stay.
Jane and Blaize has married 10 years before, when she was only 18. She had met him at a party and fallen instantly in love, even though she had not even had her debut and was warned against Blaize by her family and others. They apparently resided together in harmony (Jane comfortable with Blaize’s bisexuality and sharing his kinks) for three years before a tragedy tore them apart. From then on, Jane has stayed in the country, and Blaize in London, earning an ever worsening reputation and only consorting with men.
At heart, this is a pretty simple story – husband and wife marry young, face adversity and break up. It’s a storyline I often like. Blaize and Jane must find their way back to each other, with Blaize being the main stumbling block. In addition to the terrible loss that preceded his break from Jane, Blaize is extremely emotionally damaged from events that occurred in his childhood. (I really wish there’d been more information about the three years that Blaize and Jane were together, because again, it appears that they were happy; it’s not clear to me if he was just repressing the demons that haunted him during that time or there were problems that you just don’t go into in the story.)
So again, simple story: Blaize tries to get Jane to leave, tries to scare her away with his outrageous sexual behavior, finally makes a deal with her to give her what he thinks she wants if she will then just leave him alone. The bulk of the story has them fighting, fucking, and fighting some more. The conflict got a little tiresome, but over all, I have to admit that I found it entertaining on a basic level. The writing and plotting were smooth, the sex scenes were hot (really, really hot – I think you do sex scenes very well!), and I was less bothered by obviously anachronistic behavior than I had been in Simply Wicked. (Though I thought the way Blaize took Robert with him everywhere, even to soirees where a servant would not have been welcome, was a little odd. It seemed intended to further the secondary romance between Robert and a naval officer who had previously been involved with Blaize, though).
So, from a purely entertainment standpoint, Simply Insatiable was in the B range, probably closer to a B+ than a B-. Except for those issues I mentioned earlier. This is the second book in the series that I have read (there are three earlier books – Simply Sexual, Simply Sinful and Simply Shameless – that I haven’t read); in both books, the hero turns to gay sex (and not just gay sex, but kinky gay sex, involving BDSM) after being sexually abused by a man. In both books, the hero ends up with a woman, who in a sense redeems him from his “perverted” desires. Now, to be fair, in both books there are indications that the hero will continue to have sex with men, but in the presence of and with the participation of the heroine in the future. It bugs me, however, that the heroines are apparently only allowed to have limited sexual contact with the other men involved – for all that these two books are far outside of “traditional romance” in many ways, they remain conventional in others. It’s okay for the heroine to receive oral sex from another man – at the hero’s direction – but not for another man to put his penis in her vagina. I think this mixture of romance conventions with straight – no pun intended – erotica was more personally frustrating to me than the possibly offensive depiction of sexuality.
I say “possibly” above because I’m not really sure how I feel about the depiction of the heroes’ sexuality in these books. On the one hand, I can’t say I’m personally offended – I’m really not. And I realize that both romance and erotica can have strong fantasy elements (not in the flying unicorns sense, obviously, but in the men-don’t-really-behave-that-way-in-real-life sense). So I’m loathe to criticize this depiction too harshly. At the same time, I do find it problematic – I found it problematic in Simply Wicked and I find it problematic in Simply Insatiable. Again, I’d be more comfortable with the fluid sexuality if 1) the female characters were also allowed the same license and 2) the heroes didn’t both have their sexual proclivities tied up, seemingly, with the fact that they’d been sexually abused.
I liked the characterization in Simply Insatiable pretty well – neither Blaize nor Jane are groundbreaking characters but they are fairly well drawn and sympathetic. I did like the secondary romance between Robert and the naval officer David. I found Robert’s relationship with Blaize icky and deeply unhealthy, but apart from this dysfunctional relationship, Robert seemed less tortured and conflicted by his sexuality than Blaize or the hero of Simply Wicked.
I found the denouement a little rushed and unconvincing; Blaize just sort of seems to turn around without a lot of visible motivation. In the end he seems almost too forgiving of the man who wronged him.
All in all, despite my criticisms, I did, as I’ve said, find this book pretty entertaining. It may sound strange given my issues with the themes of this series, but I think I may just have to seek out the earlier books. My grade for Simply Insatiable is a B-.
Best regards,
Jennie
Book Review: Simply Sexual by Kate Pearce
Posted on June 15, 2014 by Heather C
Reviewed by Heather C
22115058Title: Simply Sexual
Author: Kate Pearce
Series: House of Pleasure #1
Hero/Heroine: Valentin Sokorvsky/Sara Harrison
Genre: M/F Historical Romance; Erotica
Length: 272 pages
Publisher: Kensington Publishing
Release Date: April 29, 2014 (2nd edition)
Available at: Amazon, All Romance eBooks, Barnes & Noble and Kobo
Add it to your shelf: Goodreads
Blurb: Surrender to page-turning sensuality in the explosive first book in Kate Pearce’s House of Pleasure series. . .
Sexual Satisfaction
Ten years as a sex slave in a Turkish brothel left Lord Valentin Sokorvsky with an insatiable appetite for sex. Now the time has come for him to marry, but finding a woman who can satisfy his lustful desires proves a challenge. . .until he meets Sara and all he can think about is having her lie under his rock-hard body, begging him to taste and touch her. . .
Sensual Seduction
Sara Harrison knows she should be shocked and scandalized by Lord Sokorvsky’s bold advances, but instead she is secretly aroused by this sensual, seductive man. For beneath her calm and composed manner is a wanton woman who longs for a man’s intimate caress. She is most willing to be educated in the art of sensuality, to receive and give pleasure and to succumb to the wild desire that knows no limits. . .
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Review:
I asked for historical erotica with some kink, well…I got it!
Ten years after being sold to a Turkish brothel as a sex slave, Lord Valentin Sokorvsky was rescued and returned to his family. Now Valentin is a successful trader and agrees to pay off the debt of the man who freed him by agreeing to marry one of his daughters. For years, Valentin has sought is sexual needs at Madame Helene’s House of Pleasure. He has needs that no wife could ever fulfill alone and looks to marrying a complacent woman who will allow his his freedoms. But when he meets Sara Harrison, the eldest daughter, he finds she is an intelligent and opinionated woman with desires she is longing to explore…and he can’t wait to educate her.
“Have I displeased you? I forgot, I am supposed to be an innocent maiden who couldn’t possibly be interested in such matters.” ~ Sara
Umm, WOW! This book was sexy and erotic and kinky and I loved every moment of it.
I LOVED Sara. She was smart and bold and refused to follow the expectations that society put on her. She didn’t put up with any of Valentin’s shit and didn’t hesitate to tell him what she thought…or throw a book at his head when he was being an ass (LOVED that scene).
I LOVED Valentin…as fucked up as he was. I was really worried that I would hate him; I never believed he would actually stay faithful to Sara and their marriage, so he really surprised me there.
I LOVED the Red Book. What an insanely sexy idea: to write your fantasies out and share them with your lover. I found myself excitedly anticipating each new entry.
I LOVED the mystery. Someone is stealing from and trying to blackmail Valentin and Peter. The mystery was by no means the prominent storyline, and the bad guy should have been obvious to me, but I was too tied up with the smexin’ to bother trying to figure it out.
I will easily admit I DO NOT LOVE menage in my romance, but sometimes it works for me. This just happened to be one of those occasions. Valentin and his best friend Peter have a complicated relationship. They were all each other had in those ten years they were held as slaves and both have used sex to manage their demons…until Sara makes it her mission to understand and decides its time for them to start healing.
Overall, I LOVED the sexual and emotional journeys that Valentin and Sara took to falling in love with each other…
I’m curious to know how Peter will now fit into Valentin and Sara’s marriage; I have a feeling he will remain an occasional bed partner. So I will definitely have to get around to reading Simply Sinful to find out.
Overall Impression: I Loved It
Sun
Nov 24 2013 3:45pm
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Fresh Meat
Fresh Meat: Death Comes to the Village by Catherine Lloyd
Victoria Janssen
Death Comes to the Village by Catherine Lloyd is the debut of a Regency historical mystery series featuring rector's daughter Lucy Harrington and the wounded Major Robert Kurlan (available November 26, 2013).
First in a new series of Regency-set mysteries, Death Comes to the Village by Catherine Lloyd offers a historical twist on cozies. After raising her own siblings, Lucy Harrington is facing a lifetime of housekeeping and charitable visits while her widowed father, the rector of the village, indulges his passion for both horses and their ill-tempered cook. Therefore, when wounded Major Robert Kurland sees suspicious activity from his window at night, she welcomes the distraction from her domestic woes. Meanwhile, Major Kurland is glad to be diverted from the pain and frustration of his shattered leg, as well as the fear that he will never walk or ride again.
I particularly enjoyed how the barriers Lucy faces are tied into the expectations of the historical society in which she lives. That bodes well for the series, as these issues will not go away, and will provide ongoing and hopefully evolving character tension to go along with the mystery plots. Chief among her issues is whether she will remain a spinster, caring for her father and his house, or if she will be able to go to London in search of a husband.
“I feel like a child when you treat me like one, and refuse to back my authority.”
“Don’t be silly. Didn’t I just tell Mrs. Fielding to obey your orders?”
“With the proviso that I have to listen to her about what she cooks, which defeats the whole purpose of this conversation!”
The rector sat down again and looked at her over the top of his spectacles. “I do not appreciate your tone or your anger, neither of which are appropriate for a gently born female.”
“And I do not appreciate being put in an impossible position.” Lucy took a deep breath and slowly let it out. “I manage your house and children, and yet I am not your wife and I do not have the authority of a wife.”
“As my eldest daughter, it is your duty to do so.”
“But what about my life, Papa? When do I get a chance to have a family of my own?”
“Your selfishness appalls me. Do you think I complained when God took my wife from me? I took up my burden and kept on despite everything.”
“And I helped you willingly, but things are changing now. Anthony will be off to Cambridge in the autumn and the twins will go to school. You will no longer need me quite so much.”
“What are you suggesting?”
“I think it is time for me to find my own husband and home.”
It’s unclear whether there will be any future romantic entanglement between Lucy and Robert, but the seeds are there, and from their first scene, they strike sparks from each other. If, instead, they merely evolve further in their platonic partnership, the differences between their personalities will still result in intriguing plot tension that will perhaps affect how they go about solving mysteries.
Though they have very different life experiences, they are not as different as they might appear on the surface, and are tied together through their long friendship.
…the gently reared spinster daughter of the rector should have no ability to understand him or the brutal military life he’d led overseas. Robert frowned. She did understand him, and sometimes surprised him with her matter-of-fact common sense. He’d never thanked her for her care when he’d been delirious with fever and begging for someone to put an end to his agony.
Even if there is no ongoing romantic plotline, marriage was a significant concern of Regency women, so it would be unlikely to be utterly absent from the series. However, if you’re not a reader who likes ongoing romance plots, there’s still plenty of entertainment to be had from the village of Kurland St. Mary and its residents. I’m already wondering when murder will arrive there again.
Friday, November 4, 2016
BOOK REVIEW: Death Comes to the Fair by Catherine Lloyd
I received this book free from Netgalley. This did not influence my review.
I’ve been reading a great deal more historical mystery in the past couple of years, mainly because I’ve found a couple of fun series that keep me coming back for the next installments. One series I particularly enjoy are the cozy Kurland St. Mary Mysteries by Catherine Lloyd.
Book Four, Death Comes to the Fair, will be released this month. The reluctant pair of detectives, Miss Lucy Harrington and Major Sir Robert Kurland, are attempting to plan their wedding. Robert wants something quick, small, and local. Lucy would like that as well, but she has to bow to the wishes of relatives who insist on a large society bash, preferably in London.
Meanwhile, the concerns of Kurland St. Mary—where Robert reigns and where Lucy has grown up as daughter of the rector and so is intimately involved with the community—take precedence. Currently, that involves a local fair. Lucy guides Robert to take on the responsibility of judging the vegetables, a chore he takes at face value rather than with any degree of tact. He finds the whole thing rather silly. And when it turns out he’s awarded the lion’s share of the prizes to just one man, the verger, he scoffs at Lucy’s concern that it will cause trouble. It’s just vegetables!
Then the verger turns up dead. An accident? Or murder? Can villagers be so disgruntled over the distribution of prizes at a fair that they will resort to murder? Or is there something more complex and sinister afoot?
So, yes, there is an inordinate amount of murder going on around this couple, but these mysteries are all so well crafted that all the mayhem is believably unfortunate.
To get the full flavor of the relationship between the protagonists, you should start with book one: Death Comes to the Village. Roger Kurland is irascible and rather high-handed, but he meets his match with the unflappable Lucy Harrington. In the first few books, they have the argumentative type of relationship typical of the genre that develops into mutual regard and then love. There is a good balance between the mystery solving and the romance.
The current novel starts rather slowly. The relationship is settled and requires little in the way of development, so the interactions between them are fairly bland. And while the fair and the vegetable judging dilemma work well to set the stage, there isn’t a whole lot of tension until things get going. It’s a slow build, but the pace picks up and then you won’t want to put the book down until the clues all fall into place and the intrepid pair are back on solid footing.
This series continues to entertain and I’ll be waiting impatiently for book five.
Death Comes to the Village
By Catherine Lloyd
Find & buy on
England, 1816. In the charming village of Kurland St. Mary, Major Robert Kurland is bedbound, recovering from wounds suffered at Waterloo. His old friend Lucy Harrington, the duty-bound rector’s daughter, has been of great assistance to him. When Robert sees something suspicious outside his window in the moonlight, he enlists Lucy to help him discover what sinister events may be unfolding in this peaceful backwater. Together they investigate thefts and possible murder, unaware that their own lives may be in danger. A blend of cozy mystery and Regency romance, this first book in a series has enough dark undertones to give readers the shivers. The mysteries are solved satisfactorily, but enough loose ends are left dangling to ensure readers will want to see what happens to Lucy and Robert in the next book. Recommended. Lloyd is London-born and holds a master’s degree in history from the University College of Wales.
Review
Appeared in
HNR Issue 67 (February 2014)
Reviewed by
Elizabeth Knowles
Death Comes to the Fair by Catherine Lloyd
January 9, 2017 by P S Karr
Death Comes to the Fair is the second installment in the Kurland St. Mary mystery series. And I loved it.
Death Comes to the FairExplore Death Comes to the Fair on Amazon
Sir Robert Kurland is impatiently waiting for a wedding date to be fixed. His soon to be wife Lucy Harrington isn’t willing to oblige. Between trying to ward off her rich London relatives who want a big wedding, and trying to put out fires at home, Lucy is just frustrated. She does want to tie the knot soon, but how and in what manner?
The village fair kicks off a wave of discontent in the village, thanks to Major Kurland’s ‘fair’ judging. Old resentments are fired up, and everyone begins to look and act malevolent. The verger is found dead in the church, and his brother sticks on until the funeral, partaking of the hospitality of the rector and the Major.
Lucy does not sit tight. She finds the death suspicious and starts making inquiries. old family feuds come to light, witchcraft is involved. The Major and Lucy try to make sense of it all.
I love retro mysteries. This one, set in the Regency era, is like a breath of fresh air. There are plenty of clues and red herrings, Gothic style excitement that will give you goose bumps, and many chances to exercise your gray cells as you follow in Lucy’s footsteps. The Major and Lucy are polite inspite of being betrothed, calling each other ‘Major’ and ‘Miss Harrington’.
Although Death Comes to Kurland Hall was slightly more exciting, Death Comes to the Fair will manage to keep you riveted and turning the pages. I finished the book in almost one sitting and it is definitely a must read for cozy mystery lovers.
Web Exclusive – December 06, 2013
Death Comes to the Village
A quaint village's unlikely detectives
BookPage review by Barbara Clark
Death Comes to the Village marks the debut of the stellar new Kurland St. Mary mystery series, as author Catherine Lloyd offers readers an authentic picture of rural village life in 1816 England, lacing it with a plausible mystery and characters that catch the fancy.
From the get-go, Lloyd presents a depressing picture of the prescribed roles for women in the Regency period. Almost totally dependent on men for their status and livelihood, they’re expected to marry as well as their place in the social hierarchy allows, to raise a family and to stay mainly interested in local gossip, fashion and socials.
However, the author provides just a hint of hope that times may be a-changin’, if only for the book’s heroine. Lucy Harrington bears the extra burden of being the rector’s daughter; she must visit the poor and sickly, maintain an appearance of rectitude, smother her own opinions and refrain from punching the pasty-faced curate who seems to fancy her. As the eldest daughter of a widowed father, it seems she’ll never escape her bonds of responsibility to a self-absorbed father who treats her like a glorified servant.
But Lucy doesn’t quite fit the traditional mold. Somewhere along the line she’s inherited a spine, and she longs to gain her independence, unlikely as that appears at the moment. Good for her—and for us as readers.
Enter Major Robert Kurland (we learn early on that he has a “dashing” appearance), wounded at Waterloo and still largely bedridden. He’s one of the “visitees” on Lucy’s do-good list, and the two slowly begin to uncover a sinister layer beneath the tranquil surface of village life. The Major witnesses a suspicious figure passing outside his window one moonlit night, and his suspicions dovetail with those of Lucy, who is concerned about the mysterious disappearance of two village servant girls, one from Lucy’s own household. Soon the two are swapping clues and theories.
The Major’s quick tongue and quicker temper ignite Lucy’s naturally questioning attitude and penchant for adventure, and the stage is set for some sparks—albeit of a toned-down Regency nature—as their unlikely romance begins to take shape. A nicely drawn supporting cast, including a pouting fiancé, a yucky curate, a selfish father and a dangerous town drunk, fills out the pages of this well-drawn, grown-up cozy and sets the stage for future series entries with these colorful characters.