A Bride's Guide to Marriage and Murder

Countess of Harleigh Mysteries, Book 5

By: Dianne Freeman

Narrated by: Sarah Zimmerman

“Pure unadulterated fun” (Publishers Weekly) for fans of Ashley Weaver, Deanna Raybourn, and Tasha Alexander, the Agatha Award–winning Countess of Harleigh Mysteries are a witty romp through the high society of Victorian England with a touch of romance, an independent female lead, and rich historical detail. In this charming historical mystery, Frances Wynn, the American-born Countess of Harleigh, finds her wedding day overshadowed by murder …

On the eve of her marriage to George Hazelton, Frances has a great deal more on her mind than flowers and seating arrangements. The Connors and the Bainbridges, two families of American robber barons, have taken up residence in London, and their bitter rivalry is spilling over into the highest social circles. At the request of her brother, Alonzo, who is quite taken with Miss Madeline Connor, Frances has invited the Connor family to her wedding. Meanwhile, Frances’s mother has invited Mr. Bainbridge, and Frances fears the nuptials may end up being newspaper-worthy for all the wrong reasons. On the day itself, Frances is relieved that Madeline’s father is not among the guests at the church. The reason, however, is most unfortunate: Mr. Connor is found murdered in his home. More shocking still, Alonzo is caught at the scene—holding the murder weapon. Powerful and ruthless, Connor appears to have amassed a wealth of enemies. Frances and George put their wedding trip on hold to try and clear Alonzo’s name. But there are secrets to sift through, not just in the feuding families, but also in their own. With a killer determined to evade discovery—even if it means taking another life—Frances’s newlywed days will be perilous indeed …

©2022 Dianne Freeman (P)2022 Recorded Books

Character development and plot

I’ve been listening to the series. I love the cast of interesting characters and the clever plots. The narrator is excellent!! I highly recommend listening to the series-start at the beginning!

Better and better.

I want to joy a few quick thoughts about the series.

I’m so glad D. Freeman chose to forgo the usual forced romantic narrative as well as the friendly Inspector conceit. It’s so much better when things happen organically.

S. Zimmerman has improved with every narration and I’m thoroughly enjoying her performance.

Lastly, though the murders keep happening at a rapid pace it always feels logical and understandable why they happen and why the two of them are involved.

Hope this is helpful to y’all and enjoy your day!👍

love this series

I quickly fell in love with this series, my only complaint is that the editors didn't remove the narrators inhales after each sentence. at times it's quite noticeable, but thankfully the overall mystery and story is so good you quickly move on from it and learn to ignore it altogether

Complex

I got dizzy from all the circling around. The family dynamics added to the confusion, but in the end, the murderer was unmasked. Yay!

Enjoy

I enjoyed this book just like the previous ones. Can’t wait for the next book to come out this summer.

GREAT END OF SERIES!!

I so hoped that there were more to this series But sadly found out I was on the last one! I still plan to look for this author and see what else she has in another series. All of the books in this particular series were so enjoyable, clean, enticing, funny, heartbreaking, well you get it...it had everything you want in it . I greatly look forward to more of her books. The narrator could not have been better! All around a must hear series from book one to this last book which sadly I'm I just finished. I was ready to go on to the next 1! Boo hood! SAD this ended, but look forward to finding more from this author & narrator! Highly recommend!

Best one yet!

I really loved this one! Although I really feel like they have the worst luck ever in terms of the murders around them, this one was a lot fun to see their wedding, the plot, and mystery level was fantastic. There were plenty of twists and turns and so much family drama and comic relief in just the right spots. I really hope to see more from this series!

Parents- PG- middle grade and up read
Language: none that I remember
Violence: normal to genre - no overly graphic murder scenes
Sexual Content- kissing, some attraction, alluded to relationships but overall it's pretty tame

The narrator does a wonderful job with all the character differentiations and her acting skills are great.

Riveting to the end

I love the story line and although I figured out the murderer early on - it was good to hear the process the characters went through to get there as well. The narration is also excellent.

Enjoyable

I hops and can hardly wait for a sequel or new series by Dianne Freeman
And now will search for one narrated by Sarah Zimmerman

The entire series Fantastic! & Clean!!

The writing is wonderful! Engaging, funny & romantic without being explicit. I loved every book because I adored every character, even Daisy Price, the meddlesome status hungry momma! The mysteries were always well mapped out and fun to watch unfold. The best part for me was watching Francis and George fall in love.So cute, and George is the quintessential modern husband! swoon

The narrator was fabulous! seamlessly changing accents and voices so perfectly! She helps weave the tale into a enchanting literary journey.
Bravo! I highly recommend all five books in the series! Read them in order to get the full adventure.