Although I love the entire Austen Mysteries series so far, some of the individual books can drag. Barron's version of Austen is always a great, funny, observant, courageous detective, so she and her supporting cast and all of the historical details that Barron includes are enough to keep me interested. But some of the books have had stretches in which I was eager to get back to the investigation. Stillroom Maid doesn't have that problem and so it's one of my favorites.
The plot really moves. When the body of the eponymous woman is found among the hills of Northern England, Austen's investigation into her death basically takes place over a weekend and she's active the whole time. The story also keeps interesting by switching between three great settings: the craggy wilderness, a quaint village full of suspects, and an elaborate estate with a lavish mansion of even more potential killers. My mind's eye was quite happy.
And then there's the fact that the maid herself was possibly a witch. Just my cup of tea.
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