Solidly Atmospheric Historical Mystery: Death Comes to the Village

I am a reader of mysteries, but when something is praised as being "charming," "quirky," or "cozy," I avoid it like the plague. I like my mysteries dark and...mysterious.

So as much as the first book in the Kurland St. Mary series, Death Comes to the Village, takes place in a Regency setting in a quiet village with a rector's daughter and a wounded Major, this mystery packs a serious punch when in comes to atmosphere, bordering on the gothic. And who doesn't want a gothic mystery?

Robert Kurland, the army Major practically crippled and bedridden by his wartime injuries, sees a mysterious figure carrying something mysterious over his shoulder in the middle of his night out of the window. Later, the grouchy magistrate learns that two girls have gone missing from the village. Since he doesn't have the use of his legs, he enlists Lucy, the rector's daughter, to do the legwork for some investigating. Some of the time though, she does this without prompting, since it's members of her household that have gone missing, and she's a more well-known, respected, and integral part of the community, with a working knowledge of all the villagers and their affairs-at least on the surface.

Without giving the game away, the plot continually thickens as Lucy sees more and more recent events in the village come out of their normal, sleepy alignment, and is threatened multiple times (by multiple people, which keeps up the suspense) to keep her mouth shut and her nose out of everyone's business.

In the meantime, Robert is struggling to assert himself even as his own staff question his mental state and the effect of all the laudanum he's taking. Or is he?

There's so much to like here, especially the on-page chemistry between Robert and Lucy, who are both flawed and human, both sympathetic, and both eminently likeable. It's an absolute great start to a fantasy series, and I'm very eager to see more of their adventures.

K Rating: 5/5