I was given this copy in return for an honest review.
Mary Kingswood writes absorbing, well-researched regency mystery/romance novels, and this one does not disappoint. If you are a fan of Georgette Heyer, Jane Austen and other clean Regency novels, you will love this.
Stranger at the Villa is no. 3 in a 6 book series, with the addition of a novella (book 0). Reviewing the book as a stand-alone novel is tricky, as I’ve read books 0-2; but I don’t think it matters if you haven’t, it will still stand. There is plenty of help to understand who’s who, and the romance has its full journey within these pages. Of course it will probably sit even better if you read the others first – go on, treat yourself!
Stranger at the Villa concentrates on Susannah, the eldest daughter of Squire Winslade, who seems to wear out his poor wives like shoes before shopping for a new one. It’s only natural, then, that the running of the house is left to her. Twenty six and unmarried, you might think Susannah destined for spinsterhood; but she has a very persistent suitor. Will he be able to supplant the image of the young man she met at the tender age of 14, who embodies her ideal of manhood? Great Maeswood is a small village, and spinsters there don’t have a great deal of choice. Along with Agnes - who propositions any male who comes within her orbit -and Cass, who is secretly betrothed to the handsome vicar (I have my suspicions about him) Susannah doesn’t have any particular beauty to recommend her, so surely his persistence will pay off?
Into this scenario comes a young doctor with a mysterious past, neither rich nor eligible, nor even greatly handsome; but he brings refreshing new medical ideas, and the women - even the married ones - flutter around him like flies. When two unexpected deaths occur, he is puzzled, and starts to ask awkward questions. Those questions are picked up by Captain Edgerton and his investigative crew, who will be familiar to Mary Kingswood fans.. Alas, in raking up the past, they rake up more than the doctor bargained for….
As a mid-series novel, there are strands of story that wander through from previous novels and wander back out again without denouement, whetting my appetite for the next. I loved it, with the minor reservation that I found the solving of the murder a little disappointing, almost a side issue to the mystery of the wine and of the doctor’s past. The romance, while fairly easy to predict, did not disappoint and although I was never in any doubt who would win Susannah’s hand, in the end it’s how we get there that makes the difference. It’s very refreshing to find a Regency novel about ordinary working people rather than the Cinderella trope of the rich Duke falling for the poor nobody. Mary Kingswood writes with clarity and intelligence, and she manages to avoid modern Americanisms that don’t sit well for the English reader. Bring on no 4, I’ll certainly be buying it!
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![Stranger at the Villa (Strangers Book 3) by [Mary Kingswood]](https://m.media-amazon.com/images/I/41+TNqYhF5L._SY346_.jpg)
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