How many country-house murders do you think we're likely to encounter? —Proper English by KJ Charles

[spindizzy]

A shooting party at the Earl of Witton’s remote country house is a high treat for champion shot Patricia Merton—until unexpected guests turn the social atmosphere dangerously sour.

That’s not Pat’s biggest problem. She’s visiting her old friend, the Earl’s heir Jimmy Yoxall—but she wants to spend a lot more time with Jimmy’s fiancée. The irrepressible Miss Fenella Carruth, with her laughing eyes and lush curves, is the most glorious woman Pat’s ever met, and it quickly becomes impossible to remember why she needs to stay at arm’s length.

But while the women’s attraction grows, the tensions at Rodington Court get worse. Affairs, secrets, betrayals, and blackmail come to light. And when a body is discovered with a knife between the shoulderblades, it’s going to take Pat and Fen’s combined talents to prevent the murderer destroying all their lives.

Proper English is KJ Charles taking on the classic country house murder mystery again, this time with fewer berserkers and more lesbians. (... Now I need everyone to recommend me stories about lesbian berserkers, I have a MIGHTY NEED) It’s a Fen and Pat-centric prequel to Think of England, which was my favourite KJ Charles book for quite a while, and it absolutely lives up to that bar!

Pat is attending a shooting party that is going wrong in every possible way – there are twice as many guests as anticipated, the hosts won’t rein in their abusive bully of a son-in-law, and her old friend is practically ignoring his beautiful fiancée, Fenella. Of course the only way it can get worse from there is one of the guests turning up murdered!

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[Caution warnings: abuse, bullying] [This review is based on an ARC from the author.]