Kate Pearce

“Miss Morton and the Deadly Inheritance (Miss Morton Mysteries #3) follows Miss Caroline Morton as she navigates being a helpful companion to the Frogerton family, being pursued by several men, dealing with the mess her deceased father left behind, and trying the manage a relationship with her difficult younger sister. There was never a dull moment in this story and it had no problem capturing and keeping my attention. I adored the character of Mrs. Frogerton and would love to see her be the star of the show in her own offshoot series. Overall a fun mystery book with lots going on, what a great read!… (more)

3.5 out of 5 Stars

After the suicide of her spendthrift father, Lady Caroline Morton found herself orphaned, penniless, homeless, and with the care of her much younger sister. What is an intelligent, vibrant, and intrepid young lady to do in such a situation? She found herself a position as companion to an equally intelligent, intrepid, and boisterous woman. Mrs. Frogerton, a rich as Croesus mill owner, wanted Caroline’s help with guiding her daughter, Miss Dorothy Frogerton, through a London season with the hopes of landing an acceptable husband. Dorothy, you see, wanted a titled gentleman. Since Lady Caroline, as the daughter of an earl, had the manners and contacts to see they received invitations to all of the right events, it was a match made in heaven. Little did they know – they both had a knack for solving crimes – particularly murders!

This book finds us toward the end of the season when Dorothy decides on a beau who clearly seems to care about her. That means there are many things for Lady Caroline to worry about – the wedding, her sister, and what she will do after her employment with Mrs. Frogerton ends and Dorothy is married. She doesn’t need any more worries, so she ignores the first letter from their family solicitor. So what if her father had made a second will? There were NO assets, none, even their doweries were gone, so what difference could a second will make? Evidently, someone thought it made a lot of difference because people began to die, the will disappeared from the Lawyer’s office, and Lady Caroline was attacked and threatened. Who could possibly be interested in that second will? Now that it has disappeared, maybe things will just quiet down and go back to normal. Or not!

I have always liked romance in my mysteries, and so far, this series has none. We have some characters who could be potential suitors, but none who seem to stir Lady Caroline’s blood. We have Dr. Harris who has been in all three books, but I don’t care much for him – at least not for Caroline. Then there is Inspector Ross who chose to work at Scotland Yard much to the objections of his titled family. We were introduced to another potential suitor in this book – Mr. Samuel Frogerton – son of Lady Caroline’s employer. I liked him and I could see a match there because he isn’t the typical doting sycophant – he challenges and discusses with Lady Caroline. We did rule out one potential suitor though. I just need some romance – and soon. 😊

I enjoyed this book and the mystery was good, but it just wasn’t my favorite. Lady Caroline seemed to be ‘less’ in this book – less decisive, less vibrant, less intelligent – just less. Then, in the middle of the story, a sub-plot popped up with Lady Caroline’s sister, and that sort of bogged things down. I’m sure it was to move things along in Caroline’s relationship with her sister, but everything just seemed to go on hold. So, while I enjoyed the book, I wouldn’t care to read it a second time. I will, however, look forward to the next book and hope Caroline is back to her full vibrance and that we get some romance.

I voluntarily read and reviewed an Advanced Reader Copy of this book. All thoughts and opinions are my own.… (more)

historical-places-events, historical-mystery, historical-novel, history-and-culture, British, secrets, series, amateur-sleuth, cozy-mystery, Scotland Yard, sly-humor, threats, investigations, fraud, murders, inheritance, reduced-circumstances, red-herrings, paid-companion, unpleasant-relative, unpleasant-guests, unpleasant-suspect, comic-relief, family-drama, family-dynamics, family-history, businesswoman, witty, theft*****

Penniless Lady Caroline Morton and her younger sister, Susan, are caught in a web of deceit and murder. Susan is petulantly opposed to the rural boarding school she is at and still believes that there is real money that is being kept from her. Caroline is well aware that her father squandered even more than he had and she is currently a paid companion to the extraordinary forceful Mrs Frogerton in London. The story begins when the solicitors contact Caroline and gets rolling with the first theft and murder. The author is diabolically adept at portraying each character so clearly that I wanted to clap for some and smack some others. Unputdownable!
I requested and received a free temporary digital review copy from Kensington Books via NetGalley. Thank you!
#MissMortonMysteriesBk3… (more)

Good wrap-up to the series. The story begins with a prologue, spelling out how Phoebe and Max ended up married. Phoebe, a British woman trying to wrest her inheritance from her uncooperative family, needs a husband to fulfill the requirements. Max, a Marine between deployments, draws her attention in a Reno bar. Something about him leads her to propose a marriage-of-convenience arrangement, and Max, who is always game for a challenge, jumps right in. But Max disappeared the next day without leaving contact information.

Four years later, Phoebe tracks Max down at the California ranch where he works with his two Marine friends, Luke and Noah. He never told them about Phoebe, so everyone is shocked that he is married. Phoebe still needs Max's help, and asks him to continue in the role to convince her family. Neither expected the sparks of attraction that rekindled from their wedding night. I loved seeing Max and Phoebe get to know each other as she settled into her temporary stint as a ranch wife. The more time they spend together, the deeper their connection and feelings grow. Some wonderful scenes highlight how good they are together and how happy they can be. But both of them have emotional baggage that makes it difficult for them to believe the other would want more than their temporary marriage.

I got frustrated with both because neither communicated well with the other, leading to misunderstandings and hurt feelings. Matters became more complicated when Phoebe's brother showed up, trying to convince Phoebe to return to England. George was manipulative in his attempt to get his way and zoomed in on Max's insecurities. He also knew which buttons to push to get Phoebe to react in the way he wanted. Both Max and Phoebe have some self-examination to do before they can let go of the past. I loved the advice that Max got from his friends and what he did with it. At the same time, we get to see how Phoebe's relationship with Max has changed her. There is a terrific scene with George, and later her grandmother, that shows off the new Phoebe. Max's big moment was fantastic, and I loved seeing them work things out.

The epilogue was terrific. Seeing all three couples and catching up on their lives was great.… (more)