Murder Most Proper

by Josie Lloyd

Some crimes are best solved by the book …The perfect new cosy crime novel for fans of Agatha Christie, Nita Prose and Ian Moore!

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Alice Beeton runs a tight ship. Like her distant relative – the somewhat more famous Mrs Beeton – she believes there should be a place for everything, but she’s not so sure she’s in her place.

Since a whirlwind romance with a billionaire swept her best friend, Jinx, off her feet and out of the city, Alice has been running the Good Household Management Agency by herself, supplying discreet domestic staff to the hyper-wealthy. Business has been booming lately, but more work brings even more problems.

So when Jinx invites her to her new beau’s country house, Alice jumps at the chance. But when a guest is attacked and priceless heirlooms stolen, Alice’s plans for a quiet weekend reading one of her beloved mystery novels take a much darker turn.

Along with her astute canine companion, Agatha, Miss Beeton is going to find out that some crimes are best solved by the book.

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Perfect for fans

Cosy crimeGolden age crime fictionWomen sleuthsFound familyOld money and high society

Kindle Edition

Expected publication October 8, 2026

Reviews

[Books By Your Bedside · Rating 4 out of 5]

Thanks to NetGalley and HQ for the advanced copy of this title in return for an honest review.

This series is only one book old - Miss Beeton's Murder Agency - but I loved it; it had everything I could have wanted.

I couldn't remember what happened in book one so was worried I'd struggle but I did feel like no time had passed. You're back to the instantly likeable characters (except for one but that's the way he's been written), this world they live in, and it is a joyful world.

From the cover, I was expecting it to be a Christmas book with a side dish of murder. But for me, there was hardly any festivities so I felt it was slightly misleading.

There are a lot of characters, some from the first book and some new. This gives us familiarity but also keeps it fresh. I am not good with names, remembering who they are and how they link and their roles in the story. But even with all of them, I found myself being able to keep on top. And I think it's because they're all so different, so distinct that they are clearly their own person.

I still like that she' made Alice a relative of the great Mrs Beeton, instead of making Mrs Beeton herself the star. This grounds it in reality but gives Josie free reign as to write this character instead of having to rely on historical accuracy.

I didn't enjoy this one quite as much as the first but I can't really say why because I did enjoy it. It just felt slower, and wasn't quite as gripping and so I found my attention waned slightly.

I don't know how long she plans to write this series, but I am enjoying it. Even though I didn't like this one as much, I did enjoy it and I look forward to the next.

[Sara Oxton · Rating 5 out of 5]

This is a very proper five-star read. I nearly gave it four stars, and if it didn’t have such a good ending I likely would have, as for the first few chapters I felt like I was missing something, like this was a second story in a series, I now see there is Miss Beatons murder agency, and maybe if I had read that one this would have been as strong as the end all the way through, it almost felt like there were a couple of in jokes that I wasn’t in on, but then once I was into the story I got the jokes and loved the story. Agatha was just simply a great character, one that pulled some scenes together very well. The mystery did keep me guessing and the red herrings were very well done, Miss Beaton was a delight and really did pull the story together, I did find Jinx a little annoying though, maybe that’s why I struggled a little at first, but most of all the overall story was a delight to read.

[Susan · Rating 3 out of 5]

Thanks to the publishers and Netgalley for an advance copy of this book in exchange for a review.

This is the second in the Miss Beeton murder series and was almost as enjoyable as the first outing.

[BookswithLydscl | · Rating 4 out of 5]

4.5
Review to follow

Notes
A welcome return.
fast paced
Fun mystery and storyline
Loved the various reveals and ending
Main villain was pretty obvious but it didnt detract as I thought the why was really solid