The Mortal Blow by Elizabeth Bailey

The Mortal Blow by Elizabeth Bailey ISBN-13: 9781913028329 ebook: 374 pages Publisher: Sapere Books Released: April 13, 2019

Source: ebook review copy from the publisher through NetGalley.

Book Description from Goodreads:
1791, England. Lord Francis and Lady Ottilia Fanshawe are on their way home when their coach comes to a sudden stop. A woman is standing in the middle of the road — covered in blood. The woman refuses to speak but on further investigation they find the body of a man hidden in the woods. Ottilia insists on bringing the woman home to find out what occurred. But the more she finds out the more complicated the case becomes… Who was the man in the woods? Did the blood-covered woman murder him? Or did someone else strike The Mortal Blow…?


My Review:
The Mortal Blow is a mystery set in 1791 in London. This novel is the 5th in the series, but you don't need to read the previous novels to understand this one. This story didn't spoil the whodunit of the previous books.

Lady Fan finds a girl covered in blood and clearly in shock. With her firm but caring manner, she quickly discovers that the girl was defending herself from a man who was trying to rape her. The man is dead, and a jury is sure to convict her for killing her attacker. Lady Fan believes an earlier blow was the true cause of death, and she's determined to save the girl by finding out who dealt that blow.

This was a clue-based mystery, though it was more about trying to build a strong enough case to save the girl than difficulty discovering what happened. Lady Fan asked plenty of questions and used her observational skills, but she also got help from her husband and from a niece with some ideas of her own.

The characters were interesting, and I cared about what happened to them. Historical details were woven into the story to create the feeling of a specific time and place. There was a minor amount of of bad language. There were no sex scenes. Overall, I'd recommend this enjoyable novel.


If you've read this book, what do you think about it? I'd be honored if you wrote your own opinion of the book in the comments.