The Strangled Servant (The Perfect Poison Murders #1) by E.L. Johnson. Historical Romance / Murder / Mystery. Release & ARC Review.

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He believes in her innocence, but could he be falling for a killer?
Welcome to book 1 in the exciting new series The Perfect Poison Murders from bestselling author E.L. Johnson!

1806 Hertfordshire - The worst held secret in town is that shy Poppy Morton has been in love with Tom since they were children. Unfortunately, Tom has long been in love with Mary, Poppy’s vivacious best friend.

When Tom proposes marriage to Mary, it breaks Poppy’s heart, But when Mary demands Poppy break his heart in return by refusing his offer for her, Poppy refuses. She won’t destroy Tom’s hopes and ruin their friendship, even if it means losing her own heart in the process.

But Mary won’t take no for an answer, and when the best friends have the fight to end all fights, Poppy ends it by shoving Mary through a glass door.

Shocked, heartbroken, and humiliated, Poppy flees. But the next day a handsome constable, Henry Dyngley, shows up at her door. A carriage has overturned on the road and a young woman’s body has been found. Poppy is the only suspect.

Will Poppy be able to prove her innocence? Or will she lose her heart again as she and Dyngley search for a killer?

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It's no secret to anyone that Miss Poppy Morton loves Tom, but he is in love with her bestfriend. After everything comes to a head one night Poppy finds herself suspected of murder. 

Constable Henry Dyngley is new to the small town.  The locals are very unhelpful in his quest to find a killer.  They have made up their minds who did it.  

This historical murder / mystery is very different to most, being set among ordinary people not high society . Those people have a stricter set of morals and demand more obedience from young women.  

It's very difficult to guess the killer,  so many suspects and nobody talking.  

Very interesting story.  I felt really sorry for our poor heroine.  As this is the first in a new series I'm hoping we will meet these characters again.  

Good fun. 

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I write novels. I'm a member of the Hertford Writers’ Circle and won the Sci-Fi London Film Festival’s 2014 48 hour Flash Fiction challenge.

When not penning stories I'm an avid reader, a decent epeé fencer, and live with my husband and cat Arya, named after the Game of Thrones character.

I also run a chatty book club in London and am lead singer of the gothic progressive metal band Orpheum.

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The Sting of a Storme (The Storme Brothers Book 4) by Sandra Sookoo. Historical Romance / Murder Mystery, Release & ARC Review.

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Sometimes, the winds of change don’t come on a storm; they arrive with a beguiling breeze.

Inspector William Storme is a Bow Street Runner who’s working a series of gruesome murder cases. His dying mother wishing to see him settled adds to the anxiety his position brings. So when he courts a pretty young lady, and she agrees only if he’ll let her accompany him on cases, everything seems to work out fine until the attraction begins and he’s forced to compete with another man for her attention.

Lame and socially shy Miss Francesca—Fanny—Bancroft, daughter of Viscount Nattingly, is a budding society reporter for the General Evening Post, but she aspires to write articles on more important topics. When she encounters the inspector at a rout and he asks to court her, she presses her advantage. What’s more exciting than interviewing a Runner? The plan is sound until she begins to desire the mysterious, oftentimes grouchy man.

While the murders increase, William and Fanny accelerate their investigation of a possible serial killer, but between the shocking scenes, an unexpected romance develops. Emotions swirl around them and truths are revealed as they track down clues and talk with suspects. Passion ignites between them, which leads to the murders becoming personal, bringing danger to them both.

It’ll take intelligence and instinct to catch the killer before it’s too late, because their love and their lives now hang in the balance.

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Inspector William Storme is under pressure from his dying mother to take a bride.  He however is not confident that he has anything to offer a woman,  and no time to find one.  

Miss Francesca Bancroft is a budding journalist.  Unfortunately her editor is only giving her the boring society page.  Her father is trying to persuade her to marry a Viscount, so that he can see her settled.  

Our hero and heroine met previously at a Storme family Christmas.  Now they find themselves involved in trying to catch a vicious serial killer.  

There is a lot of danger and excitement in this historical romance.  The characters are incredible, brave, intelligent and not afraid of risk.  

You will not guess until the climax who the killer is.  Our hero is also very frustrated that his attention is being divided between his very important work and Francesca. 

I loved every page. Great fun.  

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Sandra Sookoo is a bestselling author who firmly believes every person deserves acceptance and a happy ending. Most days you can find her creating scandal and mischief in the Regency-era, serendipity and happenstance in Victorian America or snarky humor in the contemporary world. Reading romance is a lot like eating fine chocolates—you can’t just have one. Good thing books don’t have calories!When she’s not wearing out computer keyboards, Sandra spends time with her real life Prince Charming in central Indiana where she’s been known to goof off and make moments count because the key to life is laughter. A Disney fan since the age of ten, when her soul gets bogged down and her imagination flags, a trip to Walt Disney World is in order. Nothing fuels her dreams more than the land of eternal happy endings, hope and love stories.

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