Murder Will Speak

The Berkeley Brigade #1

by Joan Smith

Corrine deCoventry was the lone female in the Berkeley Brigade, a quartet of aristocrats who charmed the London ton. But when the lovely young widow wore the deCoventry pearls to a masquerade ball, and they were stolen by a masked Robin Hood—the foursome, led by the dashing Lord Luten, moved into action to recover them. But there was murder afoot. First of the Berkeley Brigade mysteries. Regency Romance/Mystery by Joan Smith; originally published by Fawcett Crest

Genres: Mystery, Regency, Historical Fiction, Romance, Historical Romance

158 pages, Kindle Edition

First published January 1, 1996

About the author

Joan Smith is a graduate of Queen's University in Kingston, Ontario, and the Ontario College of Education. She has taught French and English in high school and English in college. When she began writing, her interest in Jane Austen and Lord Byron led to her first choice of genre, the Regency, which she especially liked for its wit and humor.
Her favorite travel destination is England, where she researches her books. Her hobbies are gardening, painting, sculpture and reading. She is married and has three children. A prolific writer, she is currently working on Regencies and various mysteries at her home in Georgetown, Ontario.
She is also known as Jennie Gallant

Reviews

[Vicki · Rating 3 out of 5]

Murders happen, but they are all set off by the theft of a magnificent pearl necklace, one that young widow Corinne deCoventry must soon turn over to her late husband's heir.

[Kathy · Rating 3 out of 5]

This book, the first of 10 in a series featuring a group of knuckleheads, will be sufficient for my reading. I took it up because of the reasonable price of 99 cents on Amazon, and I had very recently read one other book from this lady. I suppose if I found myself in a hospital bed for a very long time I might resort to more books in the series but I do most sincerely hope it never comes to that. I was never one for reading romance books, but some years ago I tried out Georgette Heyer and became an instant fan of the Regency Romance genre...until I later discovered she was pretty much the queen that could not be matched (imitated, certainly - but not matched). Joan Smith has her characters doing things out of tune with Regency behavior standards and saying things very much out of period. I was distracted from the snow and below zero temps, so I must say this book was well worth the price for my entertainment. If her characters had more depth and intellect I would grab up the remaining 9 books for reading fun.

[Joy · Rating 3 out of 5]

Picked this book up at the train station as I was out of material. It was a good break between other genres. Not going to rave nor bash the book. It had some interesting spots, but would not pursue others by the same author.

[Judy · Rating 3 out of 5]

This was a good book if you're looking for a quick read, cute murder mystery. I was going back and forth as to who the murderer could be (won't spoil it). This was one that I had in my library that I wanted to read and donate. Now I need something funny. I'll see what's hiding on my shelves.

[L JONES · Rating 3 out of 5]

Could have had a better ending

Good plot, wonderfully portrayed characters with fast paced entertaining dialogue, however somewhat anticlimactic ending ok I understand there are more books but I've made that mistake before and been extremely disappointed with the sequel

[Debbie Brown · Rating 5 out of 5]

An entertaining, quick read.

[Marilyn Kavanaugh · Rating 4 out of 5]

A clean Regency mystery

with the most ill-tempered hero I have encountered in this genre, and I have read a good many of them.

[Patrizia · Rating 3 out of 5]

È il mio primo incontro con 'The Berkeley Brigade", e non credo che sarà l'ultimo. Un 'mistery' di ambientazione ottocentesca, speziato e pieno di umorismo. La versione 'in giallo' di Joan Smith

[Anne · Rating 3 out of 5]

Charming start to a series that combines Regency romance and traditional mystery. Looking forward to the rest.

[Becky · Rating 3 out of 5]

Clean.

[Linda Hendry]

Not as much to my taste as some of her others.

[Beverley Charles · Rating 5 out of 5]

Excellent

Loved this book and that period in time. Hopefully book 2 will be just as good, and there are lots more of the Berkeley Brigade to look forward to.

[Rosanne Lortz · Rating 3 out of 5]

Corinne deCoventry, a young widow from Berkeley Square, discovers that her pearls have gone missing at a masquerade ball. And even worse, they're the pearls she was supposed to return to her late husband's family in the next few days, the pearls worth ten thousand pounds! With the help of her cousin Coffen Pattle and her two gentlemen friends/admirers, the Marquess of Luten and Sir Reginald Prance, Corinne sets out to discover who took the necklace and why. But when the investigation turns up a grisly murder, the stakes turn out to be higher than anyone might have guessed.

As a Regency romance, this book was fantastic. The witty banters of the characters and the immersive charm of the historical milieu is some of the best that I've read. As a murder mystery, it was more the opposite of fantastic. The red herrings and denouement were exceedingly contrived and didn't seem altogether plausible.

I will most certainly read another Joan Smith novel--she has, goodness knows, how many of them!--and I may try one of her plain old romances next time, with no murder waiting in the wings.

[SH]

Couldn't get past first few pages. Didn't like prose style. Too many cliches.

[HJ]

Couldn't get past first few pages. Didn't like prose style. Too many cliches.

[Becky · Rating 3 out of 5]

Probably the most disappointing ending of any of her books (and some of her endings really leave a lot to be desired....)