A Deception Most Deadly: An utterly addictive historical cozy murder mystery (A Cassie Gwynne Mystery Book 1)

I told my sister to add this book to her To Buy pile.

Ok that won't mean much but it is pretty rare that I do this because we don't have the same taste in books generally (except Tolkein and Pratchett) and she is a little picky.

But this is such a fun book!

Taking place in Florida in the late 1800s this book has a different feel than many other historical novels. It has a distinct American feel (which it should. Reading this alongside Sorcery and Cecelia which takes place in Regency England was an amusing head trip since they take place within about sixty years of each other but S&C takes place in England).

The characters are great, very small town America feel, and it played like a really good graphic novel in my head. Colorful but also a little grim in places.

2 things I really liked:

No romance! Often historic novels have a lot of romance. I think it cannot be helped - big dresses, balls and Proper Behavior is a catnip lure. While this one had hints of potential romance later, the focus was definitely on family and the mystery at hand.

And theres a cat. Who plays a pretty active role!

So there. I reccomend it for anyone who likes cozy mystery with a spotlight on family, intellegence, a bit of drama and animals.

And a female protagonist who is *really trying to be a Proper Lady* but cannot help following her nose into trouble. Fortunately she can get herself out again in an intelligent fashion!