The Conspiring Woman: A Victorian era clean cozy mystery (The Victorian Bookshop Mysteries Book 4) Kindle Edition

Ms. Parker does an admirable job helping us to experience Victorian London. I enjoy the blend of mystery and romance.

I love this series and am afraid this may be the concluding chapter. All the loose ends seem to have been tied up and the author seems to be moving on to a new series. If so, this ending felt a little flat after the other rousing entries in the series. The writing is as crisp and enjoyable as ever, Georgia as irrepressible as usual, and the secondary cast wonderful. I did not give it 5 stars because I was disappointed with how things wrapped up and how we got there. First, Blackford is missing for a good chunk of the book, off in America tending to his business affairs there. We left the last book with him not willing to marry Georgia due to her middle class status, despite the obvious attraction and fondness between them, and Georgia refusing to be his mistress, knowing that can only lead to heartache since he will eventually have to marry to produce the ducal heir. This tension is left hanging for a good part of the book and I missed the interactions between Georgia and Blackford. Then, when he returns, the book fails to capture the entertaining interactions revealed and developed in the prior installments. Something was just missing. Spoiler: Blackford proposes to Georgia because his visit to America showed him that a new world order is coming about. This rationale fell flat and was, quite frankly, not very inspiring on the romance side. Also, Blackford did not seem as emotionally connected as he had in prior installments. Georgia agrees to marry after some soul-searching, but the sense of romance, enjoyment in each other’s company, and physical attraction that was in prior books was just not there. Georgia continues to hunt for her parents' killer. She resolves that issue and—Spoiler-- the killer dies after a few surprising revelations. But even that resolution seemed forced and unsatisfying. We never really understand his motives and the manner of his death seems over-contrived. Finally, the resolution of the mystery that moves the book alone also seemed forced. All in all, I enjoyed the book but this is probably my least favorite of the series. It was good to see how things concluded, but the whole thing seemed forced on a number of fronts.

I have now read the entire series except for the last one!!I. I have already purchased it! The characters are fascinating and the fast pace holds the reader's attention for hours! The love story makes the book even more marvelous!! Thank you for sharing your incredible talents!!!

This was one of my favorites! The killer was very clever and persistent. Also, the mystery of the missing Guttenberg Bible was put to rest. This was a great read.

Georgia is a very high energy, determined modern woman in an era of slow advancement for women. As she, her adventure buddies, and her Duke solve the latest crime, the plots clips along very quickly. A fun read even though not entirely plausible

Even though I wanted blood for Georgia's parents murderer, the way the author handled that piece of the puzzle was neatly done, as well as surprising (when you find out who else was involved in the deception).Georgia's concerns, while easily brushed aside by readers, make sense give the time period and the class distinctions of the principles. To be honest, I wouldn't have been ready to hand over MY personal freedom to a man in that time period (though really showed Blackford's love for Georgia when he offers a legal assurance to keep the bookstore in her hands).All in all a satisfying read that wraps up some loose end but leave plenty more to be explored in future books.

In this latest and I believe last book of the series, the Archivist Society is hired to find a missing child. Georgia discovers immediately that the child has been taken by his mother and that the father has no interest in finding her. When the mother is found dead the hunt becomes more intense, and another murder Georgia becomes a suspect. There is also a subplot involving Georgia and the Duke of Blackford and one about someone from her past. This last one seems tossed in to tie up loose ends, so that is understandable. In the plus category the story moves along quickly and the supporting characters are interesting and likeable. They help to offset Georgia's obnoxious personality. In trying to make the heroine independent and resourceful the author has crossed the line into rude, pushy and disrespectful. If a man behaved this way, he would have been thrown out into the street. At times she made me wonder why the Duke would want to spend a day, let alone his life with this woman, but that is just my personal opinion. I imagine that many women will enjoy a heroine with Georgia's qualities. The plot is very weak after the first half of the book, and all action after that revolves around Georgia ignoring what amounts to a confession and running after red herrings. There are times when a writer gets so involved in the story that it is easy to miss what is obvious to the reader, but the author's beta readers or editor should have caught that one--it was so obvious. They let her down. I can say that because I am very easily fooled and usually don't even try to figure out the ending. This one, however, was dropped in my lap. If the last half of the book had been about the Archivist's attempts to dig up proof of guilt after discovering the guilty person it would have made a much better story. I finished this book and that is a compliment, for I do not hesitate to toss a book that bores or irritates me too far. I can only give it an OK rating, but I would not discourage anyone from reading it themselves. There is no graphic violence or sex and the language is not objectionable.

Brilliant couldn't put it down recommend it love all the characters ,You get transformed into Victorian timesCan't wait for next book

No continuity to events and the language did not exactly depict the period it was in. The main character who had promise fell flat seemed to be uninteresting with her lack of insight and personality.

I enjoy this mystery series. I find that Kate Parker has a wonderful way of drawing up her main characters, whom often have a quirky side to them.Although this seems to be the last book in this series it was still a fun story to read. I found that it was also quite easy to figure out who the murderer was--but this doesn't bother me. I sort of thought that the last page was stilted--somehow it just didn't quite fit...All in all 4.5 stars.

I have read this author before and have enjoyed her books. She writes well, keeps one guessing and gets the period detail spot on for my taste. A carefully thought out plot, scary without making one nervous when the lights are put out, and well defined characters one can like; what more can one ask!

To be in a loveless marriage. To find happiness and then it is stolen from you. Murder is committed while secrets are kept.