Mischief in Morocco

The Continental Capers of Melody Chesterton #2

by Sarah F. Noel

Melody Chesterton is off on her next Continental Caper.

Having left her brother, Rat, no choice but to take her with him on his next assignment for Britain's Secret Service Bureau, Melody should be excited about travelling to Morocco. However, that was before she found out that the handsome, charming Conte Alessandro Foscari would be accompanying them. Melody is still licking her wounds after her realisation that Alessandro's flirtation had been nothing more than a ploy to keep an eye on her brother. Or was it?

France and Germany continue to warmonger as they jostle for control over the strategically important Morocco. Melody and Rat are thrown into the middle of this combustible situation as they hunt down a shadowy figure who seems determined to ignite a conflict that could plunge the entire region into chaos.

Can Melody, torn between the investigation's needs and her growing feelings for Alessandro, navigate a dangerous web of espionage, betrayal, and shifting alliances?

Genres: Historical Fiction, Mystery, Mystery Thriller, Africa

242 pages, Kindle Edition

Published January 21, 2025

Reviews

[Emily | emilyisoverbooked]

Thanks to Booked with the Emilys and Sarah F. Noel for the gifted copy of this book!

Melody Chesterton is off on another Continental Caper, joining her brother, Rat, on his next assignment for Britain's Secret Service Bureau. They're heading to Morocco! But they also have to go with the handsome Conte Alessandro, whose flirtations with Melody left her with some ~feelings~.
This is an intriguing look into history in 1911 Morocco. In general, the country just seems so vivid and delightful, and I'm pretty sure I'm going to need to go there now! But with less political espionage and mystery on my side, lol. I always love a leading lady who is a little unconventional and modern for her time, and I loved that the mystery was caught up with the minor romantic plotline. I also enjoyed getting some of her thoughts from diary entries throughout the book as it let us see into her head a little bit more. The epilogue sets things up nicely for the next book to come -- but it does seem like it would be helpful to start at the beginning of this series and read your way through so that you get the full details and background!

The Continental Capers of Melody Chesterton are available on Kindle Unlimited!

[Jessi - TheRoughCutEdge · Rating 3 out of 5]

Mischief in Morocco is a historical mystery set in Casablanca and Fez where the reader follows a strong female lead named Melody and her older brother “Rat” as they help their home country of England during pre war turmoil. Melody is a formidable young woman and quite unconventional in her life pursuits, like political espionage, in 1911.

The setting, time period, and mystery were enjoyable and the descriptions of the food had my mouth watering! I did struggle a bit with the abrupt changing of perspectives. In one paragraph Melody would be narrating her thoughts and then suddenly Rat was the narrator. It took some adjusting with my expectations to get used to it but once I did it began to flow easier in my mind.

Having not read the first book in the series I felt like I was missing out on some important information so I would recommend reading that first before jumping into this one in order get the full scope of Melody and Rat’s lives. This is heavy with information on politics and life in Morocco during that time. A good fit for anyone wanting to know more about both!

Thank you, Partner, @bookedwiththeemilys @sfnoel

[Tristen]

Thank you, Partner, @bookedwiththeemilys @sfnoel

Short synopsis: Its 1911 and Melody is off to Morocco with her secret service agent brother ‘Rat’ and Conte Alessandro Foscari.

My thoughts: I enjoyed the mystery and especially the atmosphere of this read. You can tell a lot of research was done into properly expressing Morocco in the early 1900s.

This book had some very enjoyable complex characters, my favorite being Melody. I love a women who pushes through expected behavior and makes her own path.

Read if you love: Fish out of Water • Mistaken Identity/Secret Identity • Star-Crossed Lovers • Hidden Agenda • The Wrongfully Accused • Intrigue and Espionage • Red Herring • Betrayal

[Ka · Rating 3 out of 5]

This was a strange-ass book. Not that it contained anything particularly exciting (which, when you consider it is a murder mystery set in 1911 Morocco with spies and stuff, says something about the book)... In fact, what was kind of strange is that it felt so bland despite its interesting setting and premise. Of course I expected nothing more, since I've read all the previous books and frankly, this author takes the cozy genre's lack of danger and excitement to the highest level.

After the previous book, Melody, her brother Rat, and the Conte Alessandro Foscari (Rat's senpai in British intelligence, and Melody's love interest that she's mad at) head to Morocco from Venice with the goal of looking for some missing compatriot. They stay with a local super-sexy rich lady who hits on Alessandro nonstop and seems to have some kind of history with him. I forgot her name, so let's just call her THOT. Melody pretends she doesn't care because she's still pissed off at Alessandro for lying to her and pretending to be interested in her to keep an eye on Rat in the previous book. (Of course, we don't know if he was pretending or not since she won't speak to him.)

The characters wander the streets, visit the markets, and stay in a local house, so there's a lot of "local flavor" to the book. In addition, the main plot is heavily twisted up with the pre-WW1 European situation, as well as the specific political situation in Morocco at the time. I don't personally know much about this period in history, especially in Morocco, but the book did feel like the author did some research, so I can only hope it's historically accurate. In terms of describing Morocco, the author is at once both colorful and bland; I guess if this were a painting of Monaco, it would be a washed-out pastel watercolor... but a pretty one one with lots of detail.

How is the book? Frankly, in terms of this specific author, I'd have to put it near the top, but if you look at my other reviews of this series (including the previous series that this is a spinoff from), you may note that in general I give these books 2.5 stars and they leave me pretty unmoved... the spinoff books are way more exciting and interesting, and have much more specific historical detail! However, in terms of the "murder mysteries set around the turn of the 20th century" genre (which is far more crowded than I ever would have guessed before I got into them last year), this series doesn't really stand out in any way. Ah well.

SUMMARY AND THOUGHTS ON THE PLOT, FOR MY MEMORY WHEN I READ THE NEXT BOOK:
As soon as they arrive, Alessandro collars some random kid (I think named Mustafa? I could be remembering wrong) who is accused of shoplifting bread; he pays for the item and lets the kid go. Later, after Melody, Rat, and Alessandro visit the marketplace to look for clues about the missing guy, the same kid approaches saying he followed them because he is grateful and wanted to help Alessandro, and that he noticed some dude with a mustache is following him and appears to be planning to ambush them.

The kid also tells them he's an orphan with no family, and of course, Melody thinks about how she and Rat were also homeless orphans, so she can't help but hire the boy as their local guide. They are staying at THOT's house, and the THOT has a big party and invites all the local dignitaries and such so they can meet these people. During the party, Alessandro finds a dead body in the garden, and Mustafa confirms it's the same guy who was following them earlier.

Of course there's an uproar and Alessandro is arrested... however, unlike most rich British types, he's not just turned over to his embassy, but instead, is hauled off to be sentenced by the Sultan himself, apparently for some kind of political reason.

In the midst of this, Rat goes to the local British ambassador to get information and send an encoded telegram to Lord Langley to let him know what happened. He meets the ambassador's assistant (forget his name, we'll call him Alan) and immediately strikes up a friendship with him. Meanwhile, Melody meets a young handsome captain (maybe at the party? I forget...) who wants to court her, but of course she's a bit suspicious of men after what happened in the previous book.

Melody and the THOT, despite strongly disliking one another, are united in their desire to save Alessandro from prison or hanging, and decide they need to get to the Sultan ASAP before anything bad happens. CONVENIENTLY, the THOT's sister is the Sultan's favorite wife, so she's got an in with the guy.

So begins the strangest section of the book, which is a several-day-long trek across the desert on horseback, camping at night and eating random canned items, which is very miserable for Melody and the THOT, who share a tent and who are brought together somewhat by this shared experience. AND YET despite all the detail it's all also kind of vague. Eh.

ANYWAY they make it to the Sultan's city, and have a really awesome-sounding spa day with the THOT's sister while telling her all their problems. She promises to do what she can to plead their case and gives them some context for the political machinations, which I have forgotten.

Eventually they return to the first city, much saddened, and Rat goes to send another telegram at Alan's office at the embassy, and while there, he is hit on the head and captured by the bad guy. He manages to drop his ring before he's dragged off and thrown in a hole someplace. Melody gets worried when he doesn't come home and when she comes to look for him at the office, she finds the ring and knows something bad happened to him. The young captain who is crushing on her offers to help, and after a bunch of searching the town, they find a warehouse where they believe Rat is being held. The entire time, the author implies in several different ways that the captain is the bad guy, just like the British traitor in the first book... but ultimately, it turns out it was actually the assistant guy who was friendly to Rat earlier. The captain's brother (who, of course, has the same last name) is also involved somehow, to that worthy's chagrin. There's a gun fight and the dude gets shot (but not fatally). Rat is rescued, and as a bonus, they also rescue another guy who was being held with him. That guy turns out to be the person Rat and Alessandro came to look for in the first place! Hurrah.

Alessandro also gets released and I forget the details on that, presumably something to do with the THOT's sister. The captain, who seems like a good guy, sees how Melody reacts to seeing Alessandro again and sadly breaks up with her. He tells her that he realizes she's in love with someone else and he'll always remember her fondly and such. It's extremely lame, but whatever.

The book ends with them off on their next mission... the THOT is accompanying them for some reason related to the plot, but she also knows Alessandro and Rat are British spies and she apparently works with them in some way. They have also brought Mustafa along, because of course they did, he's part of their family now or something. On to the next book!

[Sarah Abelson Eelkema · Rating 4 out of 5]

For fans of: Sherry Thomas, Tasha Alexander
Genre: Historical Mystery
Series: 2
Rating: 🌕🌕🌕🌕🌘
Violence: 🪓
Spice: 🚫

Thanks to @bookedwiththeemilys & @sfnoel for the #gifted copy of this book.

Premise: Morocco, 1911. Melody is excited to join her Secret Service brother on his trip. She’s less pleased for Counte Fascari to join them: the fellow agent’s flirtation in Venice was only a ruse to observe her novice brother. But then Fascari is accused of murder. The more Melody investigates, the more tangled in politics the case seems.

Thoughts: I 💖 historical fiction’s ability to transport me in time & place. Noel succeeds at this in spades, plunging readers into the sights, sounds, & tastes of Morocco’s landscape & culture. Her characters are equally well-crafted. Melody feels both modern & of her time. We see her journey from supporting British Imperialism to a broader worldview influenced by exposure to other cultures. And though Melody is an intelligent, educated woman of independent means, I appreciate that Noel forces her to navigate the hurdles erected by gender & time period. The author paints her other characters with equal color & depth. Noel took on a big task, entrenching her plot in the complex political climate of 1911 Morocco. Her thorough research shows, and the cultural & political details are woven into the story rather than presented as a data dump. This does make for a complex plot. I lost my way a few times & had to double back to confirm details. But I appreciate an author who makes me think & I learned a lot about events leading up to WWI. Best of all, rather than an English mystery with a Moroccan backdrop, this twisty puzzle is inextricably linked with the local people & landscape.

[WeLoveBigBooksAndWeCannotLie · Rating 5 out of 5]

Have you ever read a series out of order?📚
I am so excited about this cute series The Continental Capers of Melody Chesterton! Mischief in Morocco is book 2 of 3 by Sarah F. Noel. I didn’t read the first book, and while this book stands alone on its own just fine, I do wish I knew more about what happened in book 1. I really appreciate that this author fills you in on what happened a little bit throughout the book instead of dumping a large summary at the beginning.
I loved the setting in Morocco, I love how the author describes everything, in many ways it reminded me of our trip to Egypt last year. I realllly enjoyed all of the history this book covers, I learned so much and it made me look up even more things about this period. Morocco has been on my bucket list for a while, and I do think Alyssa and I might make it there in a couple of years! I didn’t know anything about the history or Morocco, and this made it such a delight to read!
When Melody’s brother is on an assignment or the British Secret Service and Melody joins him, they’re thrown into the middle of something, they don’t even really understand. I enjoyed watching this story unfold before my eyes as it did for the main character.
I just looked up the other 2 books and the first one is set in Venice, and the next one will be out in August set in Amsterdam! I love both of those cities and can’t wait to read them!
Thank you so much @bookedwiththeemilys for this gifted copy!
Mischief in Morocco published earlier this year, it’s available on Kindle Unlimited and you can find this on our Amazon storefront!🧜🏼‍♀️🌺

[Niki Sran · Rating 5 out of 5]

Another excellent and exciting historical mystery installment in an intriguing series!

For those who enjoy relaxing with well written and thoroughly researched historical mystery novels, this is another must-read by author Sarah F Noel.

While the book can be read on its own, as events from past books that are relevant to the plot are explained, this reader highly recommends reading the series in order and the original series, for maximum enjoyment of the character development. The characters are a delight and the author particularly excels at creating characters who are engaging, complex, and with whom readers emotionally connect.

The storyline is intriguing and intelligent, with lots of unexpected twists, as with all novels by this author. The historical, political and cultural context is fascinating and thoroughly explained. This reader feels more prepared to visit and/or converse about Morocco with friends who are from there or are living there currently.

However, the novel left this reader wanting a few additional chapters at the end. The ending was good and it’s completely understandable why the author and/or publisher have it end where it does - but now readers are left with eager anticipation for the next installment for the continuing aspects of the series storyline. Some more hints and/or a preview would have been appreciated.

Overall, this is a very enjoyable book that will appeal to readers who like to read mysteries with history, diverse locales and cultures, some romance, lots of intrigue, and engaging characters.

[Abby · Rating 4 out of 5]

Thank you, Partner, @bookedwiththeemilys @sfnoel


I liked this book because you can tell that the author had placed research into their work. I mean, I'm not entirely sure what Morocco back in the day would have looked like, but I would presume how it was described would be it. This book has mystery; there's espionage, and my understanding is this is part of a series. I think the world-building was really what did it for me in this story. I think that it pulls you in. Of course, the historical pull, and we love a good political intrigue in the whole mystery mayhem of it all! I actually haven't had the chance to read the first book, but it feels like this could be read as a standalone. There might be a few disconnects if you haven't read the first book, but nothing that would keep you entirely confused. This to me was also a great adventure book at the end of the day.

[Patsy Fine · Rating 5 out of 5]

like Being There!

I love this series! I can't travel anymore due to health issues of my husband. Thi series so far, especially this book, is like being there. Even that its set in the pre Great War period as if was know then before it became WWI, it was like being there in Morocco ! The descriptions of the landscape, the environment, the clothing, the food, every thing that one would encounter in the delights, challenges, and curiosities of Morocco. Besides following the intrigue of the storyline, I just really enjoyed the feeling of being there, I even started during mint tea while reading the book !

[Rebecca Chaffin · Rating 5 out of 5]

This was a great read! The thing that immediately captured my attention was the vivid imagery. I felt like I was seeing the medinas with the vendors and could hear the sounds. Add in the mystery, political tension, and international intrigued and I was hooked. I definitely want to read the other books in the series!

[Mary K. Brazzle · Rating 5 out of 5]

A fun read

I enjoy mysteries, all types of mysteries from Sherlock Holmes, Agatha Christie, to James Patterson, to cozy mysteries. Thank you for writing a magical mystery and I am looking forward to the Amsterdam Caper. Kathy B

[Julie Carithers Overstreet · Rating 4 out of 5]

The 2nd book in "The Continental Capers of Melody Chesterton." This was a good and interesting read. A spin-off from "Tabitha & Wolf Historical Mystery Series. " Melody and her brother, Rat, investigate murders. It will keep you guessing.

[Sheri · Rating 5 out of 5]

Another well written interesting cozy addition to this series by the author. Melody is a very likable protagonist and I am enjoying watching her come into her own and growing up. I've already downloaded Book 3. This is a very entertaining series.

[Katie Wascisin Hathaway · Rating 4 out of 5]

A time traveling delight!

[Carolyn · Rating 4 out of 5]

Melody is a realistic 18 year old heroine. She grows throughout the series. I enjoyed it

[Sara · Rating 4 out of 5]

A Historical Mystery led by a strong female character with a lush descriptive setting and an amazing time period to read about it all in.

This was such a fun, delightful trek through an adventurous story.

Book 2 in the Continental Capers of Melody Chesterton is available now to purchase, read and enjoy!

#giftedcopy