Another day, another late ARC. A Terribly Nasty Business, book two in the Beatrice Steele series by Julia Seales, is an improvement to an already delightful debut. A Pride and Prejudice homage chock full of self-deprecating humor and wit, If Seales keeps this pace up, this may be on my auto-buy list. I loved book one and was able to review it, A Most Agreeable Murder, and this was even better. Thank you, Netgalley and Random House for this opportunity!
From the Publisher:
After achieving her lifelong dream of solving a murder, bringing a killer to justice, and proving she is not, in fact, a morbid creep, Beatrice Steele feels like everything is finally falling into place. She’s traded her etiquette-obsessed community of Swampshire for the big city of London, accompanied by her ever-trusty chaperone, Miss Bolton. They’ve settled in a lovely neighborhood, Sweetbriar, known for its proximity to the Sweet Majestic theater, picturesque pleasure gardens, and an unfortunate infestation of flying squirrels. But Beatrice’s favorite part is that Sweetbriar is also home to D.S. Investigations, the new office she opened with the prickly, annoyingly logical Inspector Drake to solve the city’s brutally thrilling crimes.
However, nothing is turning out how Beatrice imagined it would. Sir Huxley, famed gentleman inspector and Beatrice’s former crush, is still considered the real investigator in London, so the only cases left for Beatrice and Drake are lost pets and spectacles. Not that Beatrice has much time for crime-solving, anyways, as her mother still expects her to find an eligible (rich) husband to protect their family from destitution. Beatrice is struggling to balance all the demands on her and begins to wonder if she can become a true detective in a city that feels full of false promises.
That is until a string of murders thrusts Beatrice and Drake into the center of a scandal that pits the neighborhood’s wealthiest against the arts community, spreading fear and chaos throughout the city. As they follow the trail through bewildering ballrooms, secretive shops, and odd operas, Beatrice must survive threats to her partnership, her business, and her place in society to break the case – before it’s too late.
What I Loved:
- The Murders. Sometimes, historical and cozy fictions sacrifice the murder mystery for the “trappings,” aka setting the scene, the love story, etc. Here, multiple NAGS (Neighborhood Association of Gentlemen Sweetbriarians, of course) are being murdered and there are clues with each body. The clues point to an intriguing pact, an old wrong buried for decades, and a raw red herring. The murders are being used to create panic around artists and theatrical types, pointing to a deeper conspiracy. I figured it out about 75% of the way in, but it was a fun and wild ride.
- The Social Implications. While the Beatrice Steele series is always heavy handed with its metaphors, here, I really enjoyed it because while women’s rights and socioeconomic divides are front and center, Seales’ humorous writing style manages to keep it light. Suppression of arts and artists and noblemen controlling the lower classes are central to the plot but shown to be a problem that Beatrice and Drake can help fix, not have to succumb to. Seales also keeps it fun by doing things like replacing fog with flying squirrels, and have the “moral keepers” be called NAGS unironically.
- The Love Plot. Without spoiling anything, I love the romantic and sexual tension between Beatrice and Drake. I also love that Seales shows a woman can find more than one man attractive, but only seriously consider one to be a real partner.
What Didn’t Work As Well:
- The Austen Connection. As the series continues, Beatrice Steele moves further away from her Austenian roots. While there is still the requisite number of sisters, the hysterical matriarch, and aloof Darcy-type, the connection has become more tenuous, especially as Beatrice embarks on her London career. This is not quite a criticism, but more of an acknowledgment that some readers who were lured in by an homage to Austen may be disappointed.
- The Tone. As a caveat again, I really liked that Nasty Business was a bit more grave than the first book. However, the tone shift is a little disorienting and Beatrice’s character is less sure of herself in this on. For people that absolutely adored the lighthearted and comical tone in book 1, book 2 may be an adjustment.
Conclusion:
This is becoming a favorite of mine to talk up as a fun and ironic take to Austen. A Terribly Nasty Business is a solid 4 waves from me! Highly recommend reading book 1 if you have not done so already, and pick up your book 2 copy here.
Books for the Beach 
This has been on my list. In Austen related books, I’ve been reading Tirzah Prince’s series.
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I haven’t read her books yet but they have been on my TBR forever. Do you like them so far?!
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The one I am reading is fun. The character’s qualities resemble those in the original but not the plot. So, the premise of this is that Mr. Dashwood was murdered. There are anachronisms but I just accept that.
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There’s a review on my blog.
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I am enjoying this read; I particularly liked it when Beatrice and her chaperon, Helen, as she tries to ditch her so that Beatrice could go spy to solve the murders. And when she was following the masked men down the dungeon stairs and trying to rescue Percival and telling him to hold his breath so that it would help him to put out the candle, and being freed to get away with Beatrice’s help, I found this to be funny, but not at all.
I also liked the names of some of the characters: Percival, Horace, in particular, to name but two, as they are legendary, implying something else, not to do with the story, yet it worked having them as characters. Unsure if this makes sense. A good reading for me so far.
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