Synopsis:
A Regency widow shouldn’t be hunting spectres all night.

Lady Judith Avely’s magical gift for divining the truth makes her prodigiously good at lying. To absolve a guilty secret, she travels to the exiled Duke of Sargen’s estate, but the last thing she expects is to run into the duke himself, who is lamentably now even more attractive than in his volatile youth.

The duke has his own concerns: he has returned home to a haunted house, with skulls floating about and a footman apparently bashed by a book. Such vulgar circumstances are best avoided, but the duke needs Judith’s unique talents to help uncover the culprit – even if it might put her in the sights of a killer.

With the help of a tiny vampiric acquaintance and a continuous supply of drinking chocolate, Judith should be able to solve the uncanny mystery…if only the duke will stop making improper remarks about her mobcaps.

A lady who can discern lies, the duke who lied to her, and a gothic cosy mystery full of bats, skulls, and cocoa.

Lady Avely’s Guide to Truth and Magic features a mid-life heroine, a slow-burn second-chance romance, and a magical version of Regency England.

Review:
This book was absolutely amazing. I adored the mystery and the mysteries/backstories wrapped together. Throughout the book there are bits and pieces of advice and truths scattered about how lies work, can be detected, and effect others. One such tidbit is, “One lie can give rise to a cascade of untruths.” (Chapter 9, Page 95)

While there are so many bits and pieces of lies and mistruths and withheld information, it was interesting to see how Judith traversed through everything to find out what was actually happening. I quite enjoyed this mystery and how she had to work both with Dacian and on her own; for who could expect a widowed woman to be good at anything? The ending left me greatly wanting to continue with the second book, which was not yet out at the time of reading. There was both magic and realism, and I quite recommend this book to any who enjoy intrigue, mystery, and a hint of fantasy/magical powers thrown in.

“A lie can last for many years before you stumble across it.” (Chapter 33, page 356)

Star rating: ✯✯✯✯✯